During a recent interview with The New York Post, Bianca Belair commented on potentially winning the women’s Royal Rumble match, facing Sasha Banks, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On potentially winning the Royal Rumble: “Winning this year would mean everything. That’s something that would bring a feeling that I can’t even put into words. The answer is just a feeling. It’s a feeling like everything you put into being a WWE Superstar it’s all making sense, it’s all coming together. This would be your ticket to get to WrestleMania. Everybody’s dream is to have a match at WrestleMania, so winning this Rumble would mean the world to me. The expectation are high for me this year being that I tied for the most eliminations at eight and I lasted over 30 minutes and everyone is like how is she gonna top (that) this year? And, I think how could I possibly top this year other than winning.”
On WWE trusting her in a main event spot: “I think last year being that they told me the night before I was going to be in the Royal Rumble and I was the second entrant and I was starting the match. That right there told me that they also had faith in me and they handed me the ball saying, “you asked us to put you in the game, show us what you can do with it.” I think I was able to prove that to them last year and I think every single time I step out there I’m proving that to them even more. I want my name to be in the conversation whenever there are big moments about to happen. When they are figuring out these big moments, I want my name to be in those conversations because I want to have the reputation that I will always come through and I will always show up and show out.”
On representing herself as a Black athlete and the pressure that comes along with that: “I definitely feel this way because I have this platform and I could choose to not use my platform in that way. But I feel like that’s my responsibility because when I think about when I was a little girl when I looked up to Flo Jo (Florence Griffith Joyner) and Gail Devers and Dominique Dawes those were the people I saw myself in and I became a gymnast because of Dominique Dawes. I became a track athlete because of Flo Jo and Gail Devers. Because I did those things, I am where I am now. Because I saw myself in them I’m able to be who I am now. They helped me really navigate through life. They helped me find my place in this world and they did that for me. I have a platform now and I feel like the torch is being passed to me and that’s my responsibility. The same thing that they did for me, I want to do for other people.”
On the best part of being married to Montez Ford: “The person that everyone sees on TV is 100 percent the person I have at home, always making me laugh. When I first met him I called him weird and he was so offended. I was like, “No, I mean that as a compliment.” Because I think I’m a little weird and quirky. And I was like, “No, I definitely mean that as a compliment.” Being weird is a great thing and we can be weird together. He keeps me laughing and he is the perfect gentleman. He opens my doors.”
On a potential match with Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37: “Just the thought of Sasha Banks and I having a match at WrestleMania gives me goosebumps. I’ve said this before, it’s not about feeding my ego, it’s so much bigger than just having a wrestling match. Just having two strong women whose characters stand for, you know we are alpha females. We want to empower women and having two females who stand for the exact same thing and two African-American women standing in the same ring that is top-level representation right there and that’s for women, that’s for black women. I just feel like anybody, whoever you are that right there is just inspiring and just the thought of it … That answer is the same thing, it’s a feeling that you can’t describe if I was ever to be in the ring with Sasha Banks at WrestleMania.”
