NXT Superstar Bianca Belair has shared how her husband, Montez Ford, helped convince her to keep her trademark braid. The Superstar often uses her braided hair as an offensive weapon to whip her opponents with. Belair was ready to drop the braid, but Ford convinced her to keep it.

Bianca Belair’s Braid

“Yeah he definitely helped me come up with it,” Belair confessed in an interview on Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory. “So I’m a huge Beyonce fan and she had a concert, she was on tour, she had this long braid and she was like dancing with it and it just caught my eye. And I’m like, ‘I want to do that,’ and if that catches my eye and wrestling’s about like standing out and like being able to catch people’s eye so I wanna do that braid.”

She continued, “So I did that braid but I kinda did it as just a hairstyle just to fill it out and I was kind of going back and forth with, ‘Well I’d really like to wear my hair down and you know I see all the other girls wearing their hair down and they’re so pretty,’ and I kinda wanted to do that and he was the one who told me, ‘No, you have to keep that braid. Like it stands out and trust me. Just trust me. That’s gonna be a thing. Nobody else wears their hair like that. You’re gonna stand out it’s unique, I’ve never seen anything like that before, you have to keep it.’”

Belair explained how Ford would go on to suggest how she could use her braid as a weapon in the ring, something she has done to great effect. She called him the “mastermind” behind influencing the braid.

Bianca Belair recently competed in a losing effort against NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley. The two wrestled this past Sunday at NXT TakeOver: Portland.

Get to know Bianca Belair in this NXT hype video from 2018:

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription

Bianca Belair is set to face off against current NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley this Sunday. Speaking with Newsweek, Belair addressed her championship opportunity at NXT TakeOver: Portland. She also reflected on her Royal Rumble experience and her recent exchanges with “The Queen” Charlotte Flair.

Clearly confident with her in-ring abilities, Belair stressed how this TakeOver will be the first time the WWE Universe won’t be considering her an “underdog.”

“This Takeover is going to be the first where I can say for myself and the audience that I’m not considered the underdog in any shape or form,” Belair stated. “This Takeover is the first time when everyone has finally caught on and sees me as a true competitor.”

Royal Rumble Experience

Reflecting on her appearance in the Women’s Royal Rumble matchup, Belair noted how it was the buildup that was hardest for her. The easy part is when her music hits and she can get in the ring.

“The hard part are the parts people don’t see,” she revealed. “Getting into the arena early and hanging out hours before the show starts. But I had to make the most out of this opportunity. I knew this was going to be a make or break moment for me.”

She continued, “Once I got in there I was fine. I just let my body take over and let it do what it does. Afterwards I remember having a huge sigh of relief that everything went well, and it didn’t hit me until the next day. First I was it’s over with, I’m glad I’m healthy, I think I did very well. I was in front of thousands of people, [laughs] and how I got highlighted. It was validation for me and everything I put into Bianca Belair in NXT and WWE, and it’s finally paying off. That’s the best feeling in the world. And it gives me more confidence than I already had.”

Bianca Belair On Charlotte Flair

In recent weeks, Belair has had verbal and physical exchanges with Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair. Flair, who won the Royal Rumble match, had been approached by Ripley over using her Rumble opportunity to face her at WrestleMania 36. Unsurprisingly, Belair wasn’t pleased with being overlooked given her upcoming TakeOver match. Looking back on her first experiences with NXT, Belair remembered being impressed by Flair. She recalled how “The Queen” had that “it” factor.

“[…] the first person who caught my eye was Charlotte Flair. She had that “it” factor. Her moveset, her presence, everything about her had that “it” factor. She was the one person that, if you saw her, that’s what you need if you want to be a superstar in this business.”

She continued, “Four years later I have that same person talking about me and saying all these good things. It gives me confidence, but, at the same time, I’m ready to be in the ring with her now. I want to be in the ring with the best, and doing that brings out the best of me. It’s crazy to think that the person I looked at when I first got to NXT is now talking about me. I don’t want to say validation again, but that’s a feeling of “you know what you’re doing, and you’re ready.” And I’m ready.”

NXT TakeOver: Portland takes place on Sunday, February 16th from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

Former WWE Superstar Tommy Dreamer has shared which match he feels will steal the show at NXT TakeOver: Portland. Speaking with Bully Ray on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Dreamer highlighted the in-ring talent of Bianca Belair and the current NXT Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley. Describing the women as true stars, he is confident the two will deliver something memorable this Sunday.

“For me, it’s been since Survivor Series, this woman continues to step up,” Dreamer said of Belair. “I’m enjoying them. They have been the MVPs of NXT each and every week, and I want to say that they are the top guys in NXT, and that is nothing but a compliment. She has the ‘it’ factor. She can work, she can talk, she’s officially my favorite bumper […] she just has this crispness, this ‘it’ factor about her.”

He continued, “She has a presence. I want to to be her manager so I can get a braid to cover my bald spot. I think she’s amazing, and Ripley is off the charts, putting the rocket on her for any brand, she’s a star. They’re both stars. And when you have that star power, it does nothing but help you, and at TakeOver: Portland they’re going to steal the show.”

Rhea Ripley defends her NXT Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair this Sunday at NXT TakeOver: Portland. The show takes place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

NXT Superstar Bianca Belair recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast and discussed her recent breakout appearance at this year’s Royal Rumble.

“…I was pulled aside at Worlds Collide” – Bianca Belair

Graves initially asked Belair when she found out that she would be taking part in the Women’s Rumble match. “I found out the, well, pretty much, I was pulled aside at Worlds Collide and I found out that I was going to be a part of the Royal Rumble probably…the night before it was confirmed” Belair began. “The night before is a lot more advance notice then you know we sometimes get! So [I’m] kind of used to it by now.”

“I was excited. Then directly after that, What followed was nervousness”

Belair elaborated further, describing how she felt entering her first ever Rumble match. “I was, of course, I was excited. Then directly after that, what followed was nervousness. It was my first Royal Rumble. I wasn’t a part of the Rumble the last year. So I was excited that they chose me to be a part of it this year and I was excited to get that experience and also know that I would possibly be get to share the ring with some of the girls that I always wanted to share the ring with. And possibly some legends, so I was excited to be on the big stage and get in front of some people that may not exactly know a lot about Bianca Belair. Just get to showcase who I was in front of a bigger audience.”

Belair had an impressive run in the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble. The NXT Superstar eliminated 8 women from the match and lasted just over 33 minutes in the bout. Belair took out Alexa Bliss, Mighty Molly, Nikki Cross, Mandy Rose, Candice LaRae, Sonya Deville, Dana Brooke, and Tamina.

With NXT premiering on the USA Network tonight, several wrestlers on the roster have been promoting the show in the media. One of those wrestlers is Bianca Belair, who will compete in a fatal 4-way match to determine the new number one contender for Shayna Baszler’s NXT women’s championship.

Belair sat down with Channel Guide magazine to talk about the new opportunities NXT’s move to a major major cable network presents.

“Now that NXT is the third brand and not the developmental brand, we are a brand that can stand on its own. We’re ready and will keep doing what we’ve always been doing,” Belair said during the interview.

Bianca Belair Interview Highlights

Belair never wrestled on the independent scene. She reported to the WWE PC in 2016. Belair spoke to Channel Guide about her first impressions of WWE.

“When I first walked into the Performance Center, I had no idea what to expect. I had never been inside a ring other than my two tryouts that I had, I didn’t even know how to do a lockup, headlock, wrist-lock. I didn’t know how to do any of that. Not only that, I didn’t know the business and the history of the business. I didn’t watch wrestling growing up a whole lot, I got a really late start and really behind. I knew that. The thing about me is any time I get an opportunity; I’m going to go full force into it.”

She also spoke about being married to Montez Ford of the Street Profits. Ford and Dawkins are expected to remain in NXT as a tag-team but continue to make appearances on RAW in backstage segments.

“My husband is great. The thing is when he succeeds, I succeed. And when I succeed, he succeeds. I know that sounds cliché, but that’s really how we operate. It’s great to have someone in this business who understands it and I can vent to sometimes. He is the one who encouraged me to wear the braid, which has become a huge part of me. We just really support each other.”

The full interview with Channel Guide magazine can be read here.

Charlotte Flair is scheduled to team up with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch tonight at Monday Night RAW. They will face off against the team of SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks. The women, WWE’s Horsewomen, are known for being instrumental in WWE’s Women’s Evolution.

Speaking with Smacktalks, Charlotte discussed what might be next for the Women’s Evolution. She shared who she believes could be the next two break out female Superstars, and even named Stephanie McMahon as someone she’d like to tap out.

Women’s Evolution

Addressing the Women’s Evolution, Flair listed its next steps as “[…] continuing the momentum and headlining WrestleMania again and proving that it wasn’t a fluke. The women can continue to deliver like this at high levels. It’s gonna take a couple of years to show that. Maybe we’re not the main event this year, but it’ll happen again.”

When it comes to new rivals for her in the women’s division, Charlotte Flair named both Nikki Cross and NXT’s Bianca Belair as Superstars ready to breakthrough.

“I’m expecting big things from Nikki Cross. I’m a huge fan of hers,” Charlotte admitted. “I know she’s been on RAW and SmackDown for a few months now, maybe a year. It takes time, and I think she’s gonna have that breakout moment soon. I’m 100% behind her. From NXT, Bianca Belair just has it. She doesn’t have to try. She has that natural swag. She’s a star, and that’s one thing you can’t teach. You can teach someone how to wrestle and come up with a character, but whether you have it or not is on you, and she has it. I think she’s the next big thing.”

Tap Out

Having recently faced off against WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, earning a submission victory in the process, Flair was then asked about who she would like to face from WWE 2K20’s roster of legends. She explained that having already tapped out Trish Stratus, “it would probably be tapping out Stephanie McMahon.”

Past tonight’s tag match on RAW, Charlotte Flair will be facing Bayley in a match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions on September 15th.

WWE pre-show analyst and Sirius XM Radio host Sam Roberts has responded to some criticism over the comments that he made about NXT star Bianca BelAir.

For those who may have missed the pre-show for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Roberts stated that BelAir didn’t belong on the Takeover card. This comes on the same night that she challenged WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler for the strap at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on the WWE Network.

Moving along to a few days after the show, Roberts took to his latest podcast in order to address the reason he said what he did as well as the theory going around that it was scripted.

Roberts started out by stating that WWE asks him to give his opinion on things when they invite him to the kickoff shows. “On Saturday night, I was not fed an opinion in my ear,” Roberts said.

He’s heard one of the theories and ruled that out by stating that he has never been fed an opinion in his ear but rather they have him come to the shows to give his opinion and wouldn’t do so if they told him what to say.

He admitted to having a crisis of conscience as in that moment as he felt like he was just going along with the show and decided to say exactly how he felt at that moment.

“I certainly will not be apologizing to Bianca Belair because my opinion is my opinion,” Roberts added. He continued by stating that not everyone was thrilled with his comments but noted that “we’ll see how things go as we move forward.”

With her matchup against current WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler, looming at the end of the month, Bianca Belair is readying herself for the most important match of her career to date. The two will clash for the championship at this month’s Royal Rumble event.

Bianca recently did an interview with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald. During their conversation, she spoke about being apart of the NXT roster and training at the WWE Performance Center. She even addressed the origin of her famous hair whip attack.

She calls being in NXT an “experience like none other.” Despite playing almost every sport imaginable in her youth and during her high school years, she’s “never had an experience like this.”

“[…] I feel like I have a great background [in sports] that grounds me. I’m able to pick up all things very quickly. I’m coachable. But with that being said, wrestling is nothing like anything I’ve ever done before,” she admits.

“It’s a skill in its own. It’s an art. It’s a craft. Stepping in the Performance Center two and a half years ago for the first time I barely knew anything and started from the bottom and worked my way from the top. I’m just so grateful to be surrounded by amazing coaches, amazing facility, and everything is provided for us. It basically just sets us up for success. It’s been a great experience being here and NXT.”

Hair Whip

If you’ve watched Biana Belair compete in-ring, you’ll know that a major part of her look is her long, braided hairstyle — one that she uses against her opponent whenever the opportunity arises.
When she first debuted, however, she had no idea she would end up incorporating a braid attack into her arsenal.

“When I first started, I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be, what I wanted to do, and how I was going to stand out. I had an idea of wearing a long braid. I looked around and saw no one else had a hairstyle like that. I was going back and forth, ‘Do I want to just wear my hair down, have waves, curls, like everyone else or do I want to wear this braid?’
So, my husband [Montez Ford] was the one who told me ‘No, you need to keep that braid. It makes you stand out.’ He pushed me towards that,” she said.

“At first, it was just this thing of just standing out and I was actually in the ring, he was watching and he told me that, ‘I could probably use that braid in the ring.’

One day I was in the with Sarah [Stock, NXT Coach]. She asked me, ‘Can you hit [your opponent] with it?’ That was the first time I tried it, and that’s when I realized I can actually use this thing in the ring. The first person I actually used it on was Ruby Riott in California. It was the first time it ever made the noise. That’s when it all started and has never stopped since then.”

Will we see Bianca utilize the hair whip against Shayna at the Rumble? Will she be victorious in her attempt at the championship?

Up and coming NXT Superstar, Bianca Belair, has been impressing a lot of people with her development and performance during her time on the yellow-and-black brand — not only WWE executives and fans but legends and peers.

Speaking with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald, Belair shared some stories regarding her in-ring name and ring gear as she discussed her upcoming matchup against Shayna Baszler. The two are scheduled to compete for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on January 26th.

All Herald The NXT EST

“My actual real name is Bianca Blair,” she explains. “Growing up, people always told me my name had a ring to it. People always remembered my name and so I wanted to think of something that was very similar to it. I just stuck an ‘E’ between the ‘B’ and the ‘L,’ made it from Bianca Blair to Bianca Belair. That’s where that name came from.”

When it comes to ring gear, Belair says that she favors “pretty much anything that stands out. Anything that is shiny.” She extrapolated, saying, “Anything that glitters, that’s why I’m into rhinestones. Superstars wear sequins, so I wear sequins and rhinestones. That’s where my whole gear comes from. The lip print that just highlights my femininity. I pride myself on being an athlete and I have muscles, but at the same time I am a woman and my muscles make me empowered as a woman. My lip print is just my step on everything, every time I step in the ring.”

The conversation then turned to January 26th and her match against current NXT Women’s champion, Baszler.

She claimed to be “100% ready” for the match, adding that “As an athlete my whole life I have been taught to always stay prepared, so I never have to get ready. I’ve been ready for this. I’ve been begging for this match. Basically begging for the title opportunity and now I have it.
Going in I know that Shayna, she comes from a great background. She’s coming in with a whole other skill set that I know absolutely nothing about it.
At the same time, I think about it, I walked in the Performance Center two and a half years ago knowing absolutely nothing about what I was getting myself into and look how quickly I’ve caught on. I’m going into this match 100% confident that I’m coming out with the NXT Women’s Championship.”

Do you think Belair can do it? Will she be walking out of Phoenix victorious?

Bianca Belair recently took to Twitter to make fun of her rival Shayna Baszler. Belair will be facing Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship after she earned the opportunity by winning a fatal four-way match on NXT.

Shayna had recently tweeted a picture saying “UFC IS FAKE” during UFC 232.

#UFC232 pic.twitter.com/vIz7L5zQV9

— Shayna Baszler (@QoSBaszler) December 30, 2018

UFC 232 featured a match between Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes and Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg. Nunes won the match and became the Featherweight Champion, making her the first person to hold two championships from different divisions.

These two women also happen to be Shayna’s opponents in the past in UFC, where she lost her matches against them. Bianca took this opportunity to get into Baszler’s head by mocking her losses in the UFC:

Awww stop it Shayna
I just watched the women that y'all ran away from…

BUT

I will do their work for them at #NXTTakeover Phoenix https://t.co/C090Wht9XN

— Bianca Belair (@BiancaBelairWWE) December 30, 2018

Shayna responded with asking Belair how many fights she has been a part of:

Ran away? I’ve literally been in the cage w/both of them. How many fights do you have again? https://t.co/joHJXMYaqK

— Shayna Baszler (@QoSBaszler) December 30, 2018

This continued until another former MMA fighter Jessamyn Duke came in:

…If this counts… then you got me.
I apologize.

See you in Phoenix#NXTakeover pic.twitter.com/mQavfCu5Km

— Bianca Belair (@BiancaBelairWWE) December 30, 2018

Only those who have never stepped foot in a cage or a ring think there is shame in a loss. On Jan. 26 Shayna is going to educate you on the difference. #NXTTakeOver

— Jessamyn Duke (@jessamynduke) December 30, 2018

Shayna Baszler will be meeting face-to-face with Bianca Belair in the ring at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on January 26 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The match up will be interesting to see after all that heated talk between the two. Make sure to check out SEScoops for the coverage.

WWE will present 4 previously unaired television programs today. At 3 PM est, the NXT UK brand will debut on the network. At 7 PM est, the WWE Network will air 205 Live, NXT, and the next episode of the Mae Young Classic.

Here are the matches and segments airing on the Network today:

NXT UK Brand:

United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne (c) vs Noam Dar

The United Kingdom title will be defended tonight on NXT UK. Pete Dunne will look to keep his 500 day plus title reign going when he faces Noam Dar.

Toni Storm vs Nina Samuels

The NXT UK brand’s women’s division kicks off with two stars destined to become a bit part of the brand.

Mark Andrews vs Joe Coffey

Joe and Mark Coffey cost Andrews a match during the second UK title tournament and now he’s out for revenge.

Dave Mastiff vs Sid Scala

Big Dave Mastiff looks to make an impact tonight when he takes on Sid Scala.

205 Live:

Akira Tozawa vs Drew Gulak

Drew Gulak recently kicked Brian Kendrick out of his small faction. Tonight he’ll take on a former Cruiserweight Champion in Tozawa. Gulak’s other ally, Jack Gallagher, lost to Tozawa in single’s action recently as well.

Why Did Mike Kanellis Attack Lince Dorado?

Mike and Maria Kanellis showed up on 205 Live last week and cost Dorado a match against Lio Rush. We’ll hear why Mike and Maria did what they did this week.

NXT:

NXT Tag Team Championships
The Undisputed Era (c) vs War Raiders

Hanson and Rowe will have a chance to win NXT gold tonight when they take on Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong.

Nikki Cross vs Bianca Belair

The last time these two met it was a double count-out after a tense match-up. Cross had been lobbying William Regal for a rematch and she gets her wish tonight.

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan In Tag Action

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan will team up tonight. Their opponents haven’t been announced.

Shayna Baszler In Single’s Action

Shayna Baszler will also be in single’s action tonight. Her opponent has not been named either.

Mae Young Classic:

4 quarter-final matches will take place tonight. Each winning Superstar will earn entry into the tournament’s semi-finals.

Quarter-finals to air tonight:

• Toni Storm vs Mia Yim
• Tegan Nox vs Rhea Ripley
• Io Shirai vs Deonna Purrazzo
• Lacey Lane vs Meiko Satomura

Former four-time WWE Women’s champion, Lita, commented recently about the possibility of wrestling in the WWE past her one-on-one encounter with Mickie James at WWE Evolution, stating that “you never know.”

If it were to pan out that Lita wanted to continue wrestling, it would be interesting to see where that trajectory takes her. The WWE Hall Of Famer has evidently been keeping up to date with the current product as she has an unabahsed admiration for one NXT superstar in particular.

Speaking with The Sun, Lita was effusive with her praise for Bianca Belair.

“Down at the performance center, all the guys at NXT are in the ring every day and in class,” Lita said. “They have everything they need to learn and there is so much talent in regards to physical ability and thinking about their character. But for someone to have that intangible star factor… Bianca Belair, along with some other the others there, is very talented.”

Lita would highlight Bianca Belair’s “great attitude,” and note how “physically gifted” she is before confessing “[…] when I very first saw her she [Belair] had that intangible star quality that I just want to see more.”

Commenting on Belair’s unique offense, where she utilizes her hair as a weapon, Lita observed, “It’s crazy, no-one has ever used their hair as a weapon. It’s so cool how she thought of that and how it works. She sure has that star quality and uniqueness.”

Charlotte Flair has pegged an up-and-coming NXT talent as the future of WWE. Flair believes NXT’s Bianca Belair is the future of the company. She made the comments while speaking with Give Me Sport recently.

“Bianca Belair,” answered Charlotte when asked who she feels is the future of the business. “She is the future. She’s a real stud.”

Flair is not the only one confident in Belair’s abilities.

Bianca Belair – Blue-Chip Prospect In Development

Amy “Lita” Dumas has also chimed in on Belair’s talent after working with her in the WWE PC recently as well.

“Bianca Belair, along with some other the others there, is very talented,” Lita said to SunSports recently. “She’s physically gifted, a great attitude, and when I very first saw her she had that intangible star quality that I just want to see more.”

Belair was a Track and Field star at 3 different high-level Universities. She then competed in power-lifting and Crossfit before getting into wrestling. Belair was scouted on the Crossfit scene by Mark Henry and signed after shortly after. She was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in April of 2016. In that time, she has developed into someone the company is confident in putting on NXT television and someone who is turning the heads of others in her industry.

Belair was married earlier this summer to a member of the Street Profits, Montez Ford. The newlyweds will both make their video game debut in WWE 2K19 which will be released later this month.

Tonight’s episode of NXT will feature matches taped before Takeover: Brooklyn IV on Saturday night. The main event will feature a match for the United Kingdom Championship.

Two matches have been announced for tonight’s show. Fans can likely expect several highlight packages of Saturday’s Takeover event as well.

NXT 8/22 Preview

WWE United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne (c) vs Zack Gibson

The winner of the NXT U.K Championship tournament in London earlier this year will get another crack at Pete Dunne tonight. Dunne defeated Gibson in Royal Albert Hall following Gibson’s tournament victory.

Meanwhile, Dunne has expressed interest in challenging for Ricochet’s newly won NXT North American Championship. He’ll have to get by Gibson tonight for that to happen, however.

Bianca Belair vs Deonna Purrazzo

A back injury forced Bianca Belair out of title contention but she’ll return tonight to take on newcomer Deonna Purrazzo. Belair is hoping the newly signed Mae Young Classic competitor isn’t the first one to hand her a loss in NXT.

Purrazzo made her in-ring NXT debut at a live event on the 17th. She competed in the MYC tapings which were held on August 8th and 9th.

The fallout from NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV

With two new champions crowned on Saturday, fans can expect to see plenty of the Takeover fallout tonight.

Ricochet is the new NXT North American Champion but you can bet Adam Cole won’t simply let that go without a fight. Shayna Baszler was also dethroned by Kairi Sane and does not appear finished with the original MYC winner either.

– Paul Heyman was at the WWE Performance Center for a few days last week running promo classes with talent, according to PWInsider.

On Friday, the official Instagram account of NXT posted photos of Heyman teaching Bianca Belair and Kona Reeves on “how to address a sold-out crowd.”

https://instagram.com/p/BmBifKMBI7X/

Bayley attended the class and posted a photo on her Instagram Story of Heyman instructing Lars Sullivan.

Is Lars Sullivan about to become the next "Paul Heyman Guy"? #SummerSlam #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/Y8XST0TmGh

— Lost in the Midcard (@LITMCPodcast) August 3, 2018

– Ronda Rousey will compete on Raw for the first time ever tomorrow night as she takes on Alicia Fox. Ahead of the match, WWE.com posted a photo gallery of the first time The Undertaker, Braun Strowman, Sasha Banks and other current Superstars wrestled on Raw.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–IgkhIVCl0&w=560&h=315]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP2iIMP0gK0&w=560&h=315]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=954z6aUOkK4&w=560&h=315]

• Read Lars Sullivan’s letter to WWE Magazine in 2009

One of the faster-rising athletes in the NXT women’s division has just been placed on the injured list. Bianca Belair will miss the upcoming Mae Young Classic and a scheduled #1 contenders match with a back injury.

WWE’s Sarah Schreiber broke the news earlier today.

The update only stated that Belair was dealing with a back injury. There is no timetable for her return.

Bianca Belair Injured

Belair was scheduled to face Nikki Cross, Candice LeRae, and Kairi Sane in a fatal 4-way match to determine the new #1 contender for Shayna Baszler’s belt. With Belair removed, the match will now be contested under triple threat rules.

It is also not clear if this injury is legitimate or part of a storyline. Lars Sullivan’s reported broken jaw from Takeover: Chicago has since been reported as only part of a storyline. Belair and Montez Ford were married late last month and the injury angle could be a way to explain Belair’s absence from television due to a honeymoon. That is only speculation, however.

Bianca Belair in the Original Mae Young Classic

Belair defeated Sage Beckett in the first round of the Mae Young Classic last year. She lost to the eventual tournament winner, Kairi Sane, in the second round, however.

She has steadily moved up the rankings in NXT as well. At the moment, Belair is 7-0 in single’s matches on NXT programming. She has defeated Lacey Evans, Latoya Allsopp, Jessix Hill, Miss Drew Renee, Candice LeRae, Aliyah, and Dakota Kai.

The captain of Team Kick has been on something of a losing skid as of late. She’s dropped her last two matches in NXT.

Kai was defeated by Shayna Baszler on the May 9th episode of NXT. She had been portrayed as having been scared of the NXT Women’s Champion but finally did overcome her character arc and learned she can compete with the best the brand has to offer.

This week on NXT, Kai lost to Bianca Belair in a match taped from Chicago’s All-State Arena before Takeover: Chicago II. The 30-year-old from New Zealand recently commented on her loss.

https://twitter.com/DakotaKai_WWE/status/1009594515123064833

https://twitter.com/DakotaKai_WWE/status/1009636249974530048

Bianca Belair and Lacey Evans Comment on Dakota Kai

Kai’s loss to Bianca Belair on NXT this week will likely move Belair closer to a title shot. The former track and field star has been moving up the rankings steadily the last few months. Since WrestleMania, Belair has defeated Candice LeRae, Aliyah, and now Dakota Kai.

Belair took to Twitter to claim that after defeating Kai, she is the new captain of Team Kick.

I'm the Captain Now.#TeamKick@DakotaKai_WWE pic.twitter.com/3K8AJdbnp6

— Bianca Belair (@BiancaBelairWWE) June 21, 2018

Another member of NXT’s women’s division, Lacey Evans, also took to Twitter in response to Kai’s recent loss.

Another big match for @DakotaKai_WWE and yet again…another loss. Nxt isn’t for little girls sweetheart. ? #StandDown #MoveOver #LadyOfNxt
.@WWENetwork @WWENXT

— Macey Estrella (@LimitlessMacey) June 21, 2018

Evans might be on quite a winning streak but she has lost to Dakota Kai in the past. Kai defeated her earlier this year on the February 8th, 2018 edition of NXT. Evans also lost to Belair on a show which aired last August. The First Lady of NXT recently defeated Kairi Sane, however, seemingly indicating she is in line for a push.

Toni Storm will be the next in line to challenge for Shayna Baszler’s championship. The two will meet next week on the WWE UK Tournament shows. Depending on what happens between Baszler and Storm, Belair or Evans could be the next in line for a title shot.

NXT Women’s Roster:

Champion: Shayna Baszler

• Nikki Cross
• Bianca Belair
• Lacey Evans
• Kairi Sane
• Dakota Kai
• Candice LeRae
• Vanessa Borne
• Taynara Conti
• Aliyah

NXT made a round of cuts last night, releasing two women from WWE’s developmental program.

Abbey Laith Released

Formerly known as Kimber Lee, Abbey Laith was released from the company yesterday. She signed with WWE in January of 2017 and made it to the 3rd round of the Mae Young Classic.

Before signing with WWE, Laith competed in Chikara, Shine, and Shimmer. In 2012, she joined a CZW stable with Drew Gulak called “Campaign for a Better Combat Zone”. Gulak and CZW initially trained Laith in 2011.

Sage Beckett Released

A graduate of the Dudley Boyz school, Sage Beckett also began her WWE developmental career in January of 2017. Before signing with WWE, she was known as Rosie Lottalove in TNA.

Beckett did not wrestle much in NXT but she did compete in the Mae Young Classic. She was defeated by Bianca Belair in the 1st round.