From her unparalleled athleticism to her infectious charisma, Bianca Belair has established herself as one of the most dynamic superstars in professional wrestling. Known as "The EST of WWE" for being the strongest, fastest, most demanding, and all-around best, Belair has consistently broken barriers and shattered expectations since her debut. Her impeccable resume includes being a three-time women's champion, a former WWE SmackDown Women's Championship and the WWE Raw Women's Championship twice, with a record-setting reign from April 2, 2022, to May 27, 2023. She also won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Jade Cargill.

Along with her in-ring skills, Belair appears in Netflix’s WWE: Unreal, which premieres on July 29. The highly anticipated docuseries gives viewers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the world of WWE, going beyond the ring and into the writer's room, where the storylines, the creative process, rivalries, and how the spectacles are created. 

In a recent interview, Belair shared that although she is one of the most recognizable superstars in the WWE, she did not grow up a big wrestling fan.

“I didn't watch wrestling. Growing up, my brother watched it. Because of him, I thought that Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were cool. The Undertaker was always super scary to me. I did love to watch Goldust,” Belair told BET. “He was just very captivating. I was always wondering what he was going to do next. That's why I love meeting people who say they don’t watch wrestling,’ because that used to be me, until the curtain was pulled back for me, and then I fell in love with it.” 

With the success of WWE Evolution, the brand’s pay-per-view that features all-women wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, women in pro wrestling are experiencing tremendous popularity. Belair spoke about the impact of Evolution and how this is a “golden era” for women’s wrestling.

“From the matches to the fans, the fans showed up in a major way for Evolution. We were able to prove that women's wrestling can make money, people want to see it, and we can put on amazing shows,” she said. “I was so proud of all the women who were able to go and be a part of it. I was able to be a part of it despite my fingers still being injured from being a special guest referee.”

In this era of women's wrestling, we have so much talent where we were trying to fight to get every woman on the card to Evolution,” she continued. “I think that we can continue to set the precedent that Evolution is something that is a priority and is a must going forward.”

With so many Black women competing in the WWE, Belair shared that Black excellence in sports entertainment is the rule and not the exception.

“I love the fact that it's now the norm. There was a time when I was able to be a lot of firsts for women of color in wrestling. I just love the fact because I'm not going to be the last and the only one,” Belair explained. “I love that now we have representation, but we also have diverse representation. It’s not just one or two Black people  trying to represent, and all that pressure falls on them.”

"As Black people, we aren't a monolith. Every Black person can look at the WWE and see that there's somebody who's just like them. They see multiple Black women doing amazing things, and Black excellence is a norm now in the WWE,” she went on. “I love that I get to be a part of that, and that we get to open the door for more Black women and people and women of color to come through.”

Outside of the ring, Belair is married to fellow WWE superstar Montez Ford, who, alongside Angelo Dawkins, are  "The Street Profits.” The dynamic duo are four-time WWE Tag Team Champions, having held the NXT, RAW, and SmackDown Tag Team titles. Belair shared that having Ford with her on this journey has been amazing.

“We are very lucky to do what we love to do with each other. Having him backstage and being there with me is incredible. He's someone who understands the ins and outs of the business and how chaotic and stressful it can be,” she said. “He also knows me as a person. He knows when I'm stressed, when I'm nervous, and knows how to calm me down. I know I can trust him. It's cool to have him backstage and have him as my support system.”

“Because we're husband and wife and also wrestlers, we have to navigate when's the time to be a worker, when's the time to be a spouse. It's fun, but it's challenging. For WrestleMania, I had a match and he didn't. He could have sulked and pouted and had a bad mood about it, because as a worker, you're going to be disappointed,” she continued.

“But he put that aside that day. He was a spouse, and he was supportive. That's how we have to navigate this all the time. We get to go through the lows together, but it’s a blessing for what we do and how we're able to do it together.”

With the forthcoming premiere of Unreal, Belair is looking forward to showing how the creative magic of the WWE is made and just how much preparation it takes for her to perform in the “squared circle.”

“I'm excited about Unreal. I was super excited when the opportunity was presented to me to be a part of it. People who aren't wrestling fans might have misconceptions about wrestling,” Belair said. “I think all those misconceptions are going to be erased. They're going to see the grind that goes into it, the production that goes into it, the hard work that goes into it, and see that wrestling is a skill and it is an art. I'm excited for them to see that.”

Although she’s used to being in front of the camera and in front of thousands of cheering fans in some of the largest stadiums and arenas across the world, being a subject in a docuseries took some adjusting for Belair.

“It was a little nerve-racking, but once I’m in character with my gear on, ‘I am BelAir.’ Pulling that curtain back and having that camera in our faces, in our most vulnerable moments, when the moments that nobody else gets to see, was crazy,” she laughed. “The crowd gets to see us out there wrestling for 10-20 minutes, and when everything comes together. But before that, there's so much chaos that's happening backstage. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

*WWE: Unreal premieres on Netflix, Tuesday, July 29*