WWE Superstars come from all works of life, and for Bianca Belair, a single message from Hall of Famer Mark Henry changed everything for the EST. Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Belair explained how her athleticism and natural showmanship in a CrossFit video caught Henry’s attention in an unexpected way.
“Mark Henry saw a video of me. I had this big bow in my hair and I’m talking to the audience, and he’s like, ‘Hey, have you ever thought of being a wrestler?’”
While wrestling had its sights set on Belair, the feeling wasn’t mutual. At the time, the last thing the future Women’s Champion planned on doing was competing in a ring, despite being aware of WWE’s programming.
“Like, ‘Nah, not really, but I was watch—I’ve seen Total Divas and I joke with my mom like maybe I’ll be a wrestler.”
Eventually, Henry was able to convince Belair to give wrestling a try. As the WWE Hall of Famer explained, Bianca was already training for pro wrestling, without even realizing it at the time.
“You’re basically doing everything that a wrestler does. You’re wearing wrestling gear. You’re wearing entrance pieces. You’re grabbing the microphone.”
Belair’s charisma was already on display in her CrossFit persona. In a precursor to her colorful WWE role, Belair was attracting fans more interested in seeing her than they were in CrossFit
“People would come to the CrossFit events to see what I was going to wear… I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and I don’t know how not to be an athlete.”
Henry was able to get Belair a tryout, though made it clear he couldn’t make WWE hire her. After two tryouts, Belair’s future was secured as a WWE Superstar. While she had Henry rooting for her, she acknowledged not everyone may be so fortunate.
“Listen to your gut, because sometimes you might not have that Mark Henry in your life. You have to be your own Mark Henry.”
Belair’s story shows how there is no guaranteed path for any WWE Superstar. While Belair remains out of action due to an injury, fans eagerly anticipate the in-ring return of the EST.