Cody Rhodes has high praise for Bianca Belair. He thinks she may be the best athlete WWE has ever had.
Rhodes spoke about her on the Double Coverage Podcast with host Zach Hirsch. They were discussing the strongest wrestlers Rhodes has worked with, and the talk turned to Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
Hirsch noted that wrestlers with defensive-tackle builds who can also run a four-second 40 shouldn’t really be possible.
Rhodes agreed, then said he likes WWE’s current tryouts and its NIL signings of football players, because pro wrestling can make many kinds of performers work. He said a wrestler might be a pure introverted artist with strange ideas, like Mick Foley, or a blend, like Bret Hart, or someone like Oba Femi, Lesnar, Trick Williams or Belair.
No [that shouldn’t be possible], but that’s modern–Again, I love that we’re doing these tryouts and the NIL stuff is, let’s find some of these guys who have this [defense tackle type builds.
I love to have the performative because you can make it all work in pro wrestling. You can be fully this introvert artist and crazy ideas, kind of like Mick Foley was, right? Or you can be a combination like Bret Hart, or you can be someone like an Oba, like a Brock, like a Trick, like a Bianca Belair.
On Belair, he was direct. He called her a prime example for anyone who wonders why WWE cares so much about athleticism. In his view, athletic ability gives a wrestler an edge, though each person’s edge is different. For some it’s promos, for some it’s savvy, for some it’s consistency or self-belief, and for others it’s the physical ability he described with Lesnar.
Bianca Belair is maybe WWE’s greatest athlete ever. So to be able to have that melting pot. She’s a prime example of if anyone looks at the system. If they look at the system today and think, ‘Oh, why do they care so much about the sports and the athleticism?’ It can really help in the ring.
It can really give you a side of an edge. Some people’s edge is their promo. Some people’s edge is their savvy. Some people’s edge is their sheer consistency or their ability to believe in themselves. Other people’s edge is just like we’re talking about with Brock. Just the fact that you said he can run a four-something, he looks that way, and his size.
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Belair hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 41. She appeared at this year’s WrestleMania, where she publicly announced her pregnancy. She has long been regarded as one of the most athletically gifted performers to come through WWE.
