Bianca Belair's spectacular WWE run features victories over personal hurdles (2025)

Bianca Belair’s in-ring persona exudes confidence that has stood out in her biggest WWE moments. Her femininity and swagger are seen in her skipping entrances, her beaming smile and her ring attire — gear she designs herself. There’s also her trademark ponytail, noticeable because it is a few feet long.

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Her catchphrases are more than that — they’re affirmations. The former track and field standout at Tennessee considers herself the “EST of WWE.” The strongEST. The fastEST. The smartEST. The roughEST. The toughEST. The bEST.

That confidence was shownat WrestleMania 37, when she and Sasha Banks became the first Black wrestlers to main event the show and where Belair captured the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. It also was seen last year at WrestleMania 38, when she beat Becky Lynch in what some considered the best match of the weekend to win the Raw Women’s Championship.

What doesn’t fall into her ESTs, however, is how she’s learned to unapologetically love herself. Her personal road to success has had its share of obstacles.

For starters, one look at Belair (real name Bianca Blair Crawford) shows she is a fit, muscular woman. However, she grew up being told she was too big and needed to lose weight as a youngster running track.

“I could do 10 push-ups, and my shoulders would look like Dwight Howard’s,” Belair told The Athletic. “That’s just how my body is, and I was very ashamed of my body when I was younger. I feel like once I found CrossFit and WWE, it gave me this platform to where I can finally love my body and embrace my body. Because of my muscles, I can do these beautiful things, and I can be feminine.

“I went way too long not loving my body. And now, it’s pouring out of me how much I love my body.”

Belair now calls her strength her “superpower.” Still the Raw Women’s Champion, Belair will face Asuka this weekend at WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium.

Her transparency extends even further. Belair’s track career in college got off to a rocky start because she dealt with bulimia and struggled with depression. Track and field — particularly the hurdles — was Belair’s first love, but there was a time she needed help because she no longer wanted to run.

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Belair started her college career at South Carolina in 2008 but only competed during the indoor season. She transferred to Texas A&M in 2009 but left after struggling with her mental health. Belair regained her in love with the sport when she walked on at Tennessee in 2010. Attending Tennessee meant a return to Knoxville, where she was born and attended Austin-East Magnet High School.

That’s where Belair met coach Sharon Couch-Fikes, who put Belair’s mental health above her athletic ability. Belair began to find herself again and ultimately earned a place on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2011 and 2012. Belair also received the 2011 Herb Neff Award, given to the best Lady Vols walk-on on the team.

“At that point, I had transferred twice, and coaches are like, ‘No, you’re damaged goods. We don’t want you,’” Belair said. “But Tennessee, they gave me a chance.”

After college, Belair admittedly overtrained to be a CrossFit athlete, working out as many as three times a day. That’s when she discovered she had intercostal costochondritis, or slipping rib syndrome. Intercostal costochondritisoccurs when cartilage on the lower ribs slips and moves in the body. It can lead to pain in the chest or upper abdomen. The condition ended Belair’s CrossFit career.

It almost led to Belair postponing her WWE tryout in 2016.

“It’s the most frustrating injury ever,” Belair said. “There’s no cure, there’s no surgery. If you take an MRI or X-ray, you really can’t see it. There’s no one to validate your pain, but you feel it. I couldn’t even bend down to tie my shoe.”

Belair said she’s learned to manage the pain when she feels her ribs shift and even knows how to move them back in place. She added the WWE medical team has been great with assistance.

She decided to go through with her 2016 tryout, and she eventually signed with WWE that spring and made her first appearance with the NXT developmental brand in June. She made her NXT television debut in May 2017.

Since then, Belair has managed to find her confidence again. She’s proud of her appearance and loves that her husband, WWE superstar Montez Ford of the tag team The Street Profits, is a fan of her muscles as well. Ford also is the one who suggested she keep her ponytail — hair she said she has been growing since 1989 — because it’s something only she has.

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It also requires special attention. Belair said the ponytail is “heavy,” and she has to adjust its position so her head doesn’t get sore.

“I’ll watch myself back in matches, and I’m holding it in my hand when I’m turning a moonsault or when I’m hitting the ropes,” Belair said of her hair. “I don’t even know I’m doing that, but it’s become part of my body, and I’ve had to learn how to use it to my advantage.”

Belair’s career in WWE already has been historic. Since joining the main roster in 2020, she holds the record for the longest singles title reign by a Black WWE superstar, surpassing Montel Vontavious Porter’s (MVP) 343 days as United States Champion in 2007-08 on March 13. It was MVP who told her she had the new record. The next goal is the record for holding the Raw Women’s Championship; Lynch held the title for 398 days.

Belair admits she is too in the moment to take in the history she’s making. She and Ford travel together, and he is her biggest cheerleader. They can relate to the ups and downs of the business while he reminds her to enjoy what she’s accomplished.

“My husband is the one who always makes me slow down and celebrate something, the small moments,” Belair said. “But I’m going; I’m riding with this momentum. … It still feels surreal, but in 20 years, I do feel like I’ll look back and say, ‘Whoa, that was a crazy journey, a crazy ride.’”

Belair considers this weekend her “biggest WrestleMania yet.” Pre-match jitters are normal, and that’s something she welcomes. Her father, former Chattanooga football player Leonard Blair, told her when she first started competing in track and field at 5 years old that it’s OK to feel that way. It just means you care.

“Coming off WrestleMania 37, I thought I would walk into 38 being more confident, but I was more nervous for 38 then I was for 37,” Belair said. “I know I’ll be more nervous this year than I was the previous two years. …I’ve been an athlete my whole life, so I’ve learned how to embrace the nervousness and let it fuel me instead of scare me.”

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As she continues her career, Belair remains open about how she reached this level of self-love. As she dealt with depression and bulimia, she said she remembered not seeing many stories of Black women overcoming similar adversities. She wants to be a support system for others.

“I felt very alone, so I wanted to shed a light on it to say we go through this too,” Belair said. “And if I came out of it a WWE superstar, there’s hope for everyone out there. I wanted to be an inspiration.”

Belair uses her social media platform to highlight positivity and wisdom. She wants to leave a legacy not only of great work in the ring, but also with making fans feel good about themselves.

Especially anyone who has similar back stories as she does.

“I just want to inspire everyone else to love their bodies and let women know you can still be beautiful, pretty and still have muscles too,” she said.

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(Photo: Courtesy of WWE)

Bianca Belair's spectacular WWE run features victories over personal hurdles (4)Bianca Belair's spectacular WWE run features victories over personal hurdles (5)

Jason Jones is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Culture. Previously, he spent 16 years at the Sacramento Bee, covering the Sacramento Kings and Oakland Raiders. He's a proud Southern California native and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Follow Jason on Twitter @mr_jasonjones

Bianca Belair's spectacular WWE run features victories over personal hurdles (2025)
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