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Bianca Belair Shines in New "Chronicle"
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
WWE's recent string of compelling talent biographies continues this weekend with a new documentary on Bianca Belair.
Premiering Sunday on WWE Network, the next edition of "WWE Chronicle" covers The EST of WWE’s life story while using her feud with Bayley as the backdrop of this 30-minute feature.
Just like past editions on Superstars such as Braun Strowman, Jey Uso, Bayley, Lana and Kevin Owens, this episode doesn’t shy away from covering tough topics.
For Belair, that means detailing her early athletic beginnings in track and field where a college coach pushed her so hard it caused her to develop an eating disorder known as binge eating disorder.
Bianca’s difficult struggle with the disorder led to the young athlete ending up in a psychiatric hospital after she "tried to not be here anymore." The support of her family lifted her out of the darkness, however, and she later found a new path in CrossFit, which led Belair to WWE.
As difficult as it may be to talk about such a painful topic, Bianca’s willingness to do so shows her true strength and makes it more evident than ever that she can be a real role model for WWE's young audience.
When people were out partying in her youth, Bianca was staying at home and working to better herself. When faced with adversity, she dealt with it head on and worked her way out to find success.
Each time she was met with a difficult situation, she rose to the task of defeating her demons. That's the kind of person someone can look to for guidance.
The 31-year-old makes it clear in the feature that she always strives to be a good role model for a number of reasons. One particular reason, though, is most important to her.
"I don’t have the privilege to just go out there and perform, and that’s all I have to worry about is just performing," Belair says in the doc. "As a black female athlete, I understand my responsibility of representation. I’m representing my people. I’m representing my culture. I’m representing my community. I’m representing where I come from."
"And when I’m out there performing, I’m wondering, ‘Am I representing the right way,’" she continues. "Are people gonna say, ‘You’re not being black enough’ or ‘You’re not being a positive representation.’ It’s just constantly the pressure of trying to navigate the right way in all of these things that you have to think about while performing."
"I have nieces and a stepdaughter that look like me and they go through things because of the color of their skin, and I want them to look at me and see themselves through me, and know that it’s okay. It’s okay to be who you are. It’s okay to be comfortable in your skin and be unapologetically who you are, and love yourself for exactly how you are."
Seeing someone speak so openly about a topic like this on WWE programming is crucial.
Representation truly does matter and Bianca Belair is one of the best people in WWE to speak on it.
Her powerful words on the matter gave me goosebumps and helped make the latest episode of Chronicle one of their best yet.
WWE Chronicle has also become popular with fans due to behind the scenes and never-before-seen footage shown throughout, and this episode doesn’t skimp in that department.
Moments shown include Bianca’s first NXT promo at a live event with her first use of the EST nickname, footage of Triple H backstage at NXT TakeOver: Portland telling Bianca she was getting called up to the main roster, some recent praise in the Gorilla position from Vince McMahon and more.
Near the end of the feature, Bianca also discusses her run in last year’s Royal Rumble and how she didn’t know until the night before that she would be competing in the match.
Back then, Belair says she was just grateful to be included. As this year’s event approaches, however, the promising SmackDown Superstar wants more.
Not so coincidentally, many would say she’s a favorite heading into the 2021 Royal Rumble on January 31.
In her stellar performance last year, Bianca managed to eliminate 8 participants on her own and was one of the most-talked about parts of the women’s match while still competing in NXT.
Now that she’s become a central figure on SmackDown, though, Belair won’t be satisfied unless she wins the whole thing.
WWE putting the machine behind her with this doc will only raise anticipation and speculation surrounding whether she’ll win at this year’s Royal Rumble and go on to face Sasha Banks on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" at WrestleMania 37.
Personally, after watching this, I would bet the farm (if I had one) on Bianca becoming the next face of SmackDown’s women’s division.
It’s only a matter of time.
"WWE Chronicle: Bianca Belair" drops Sunday morning on WWE Network.
