Bianca Belair was billed to compete with Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship to see if she could keep the title for a full year, since her current reign began at Wrestlemania 38.
Arriving with an army of Comptonites (The young Divas of Compton dancers, that probably rode the Rosecrans route to get to the So-Fi stadium in Inglewood that day) in a tight black and gold leotard reminiscent of her garb during her rookie days at NXT, Belair arrived bouncing to the arena ready for Asuka, despite the predictions favoring the former multi-champion.
Driving Asuka in the corner early with a pair of dropkicks, Belair was in rare form for 2023’s ‘Mania; though an inverted suplex into the first pin attempt (followed by some killer kicks aimed at Belair’s breasts) revealed early on that the face of WWE was not going to have an easy night in my city.
Still, the early flex from Asuka wasn’t enough for her to get The Champ off the top rope for a slam. And while Asuka struggled, Belair met her efforts with a rough powerbomb. But on the second night of April, Asuka made it clear that the litany of firsts that Belair had accomplished didn’t matter to her by following up the first pin attempt of the match moments later with the first submission attempt of the night. And at this point stuck in Asuka’s submission, Belair looked like she’s spent a little too long at the top of the promotion as she struggled to find the bottom rope with her feet to break Asuka’s hold. Flailing desperately about, Belair rolled outside the ring to regain her stamina. Asuka followed and got powerbombed for trying to bring the announcers table in the mix. With the fight continuing back inside the ring, Asuka wisely feigned fatigue to set Belair up to run into the turnbuckle.
Attempting to capitalize off this mistake, Asuka locked in Belair’s leg, but Belair was just too powerful for Asuka, breaking the hold with a side plex ! Undeterred, Asuka tried an ankle lock, and Belair broke out of that. But wearing down the bottom half of Belair for so long allowed Asuka to fell The Champion with a top rope dropkick for a close two. Returning back to the upper body, Belair’s breasts received even more punishment with Asuka Kicks leaving Belair hung on the middle rope. Taking the battle to the apron, a dropkick from Asuka caused Belair to hit the post, but instead of hitting the floor, The Champ ate the bump and rolled back into the ring to perform a suplex off of the top rope, that amazing as it was … was only good for a two-count.
Asuka got the best of Belair in the obligatory blow-for-blow exchange that followed the previous pin attempt. Multiple roll – ups and pin attempts on either side left The Champ exhausted and laid out, while Asuka mockingly sprawled on top of Belair like a pin-up model for a photo finish – but even a moment as poetic as this still was only good for two ! Fighting from the ground up, Belair took a page out of Flair’s book and hit a Natural Selection on The Kabuki Warrior. With her adrenaline pumping, Belair ran to the top rope off Flair’s signature to further channel Charlotte with something of a moonsault. But, despite emulating the only relevant wrestling Queen this side of Guinea (anytime during the night’s broadcast Queen Aminata could have made her WWE return and got retribution for that squash match she was in against Asuka a few years ago. WWE needs to cut the check), performing past champions signatures only awarded Belair with another two count.
Asuka nailed Belair in the face with a knee and Belair responded with a shoulder block, leaving the two laid out to rethink strategy. Teasing a K.O.D. off the top rope, Asuka took the spirit of the Lion on her Oni mask to heart and countered Belair’s finisher with a Codebreaker. Belair responded by putting Asuka in a crucifix, but Asuka fought out before Belair could slam her. Asuka missed a kick, Belair missed a whip (with her braid of course) and the ref caught a bump, miraculously still standing as in the previous night’s SmackDown Women’s Championship match. These referee’s are just getting tougher every year … Tired of these mistakes, Belair decided it was time to put the toys away and stop playing! Hoisting up Asuka for a K.O.D., The Empress of Tomorrow rolled out and put Belair in an Asuka Lock, looking to seal the deal by sealing off Belair’s biggest airway. Struggling out of the lock by using her size and weight advantage, Bianca Belair broke the Asuka Lock and delivered a labored K.O.D. to retain the Raw Women’s Championship and continue her latest reign a year prior to first picking up this gold at ‘Mania 38; successful in earning the gold at ‘Mania for the third year in a row.
Despite the detractors that wanted Belair to drop the title on the second night of April, Belair continues to blaze a trail through WWE as a prominent athlete first and a double minority second.
The Face of the company just wouldn’t be the same without the gold, and right now no one in WWE’s entire roster can compare to just how over Bianca Belair is inside and out the ring. Until another wrestler in the locker room can build a brand as big as Belair, her reign will continue, and it would be impossible for any pro-wrestling head to not enjoy every near-fall. As for Asuka, a match at Backlash could swiftly be on the horizon, but if she goes to the back of the line for Belair’s title and feuds with the rest of the locker room (squashing every competitor as she has over the past few months since her return) there is nothing wrong with that either.
Now is Bianca Belair’s time. And as she continues to shatter records and her opponents that vie to stop her from making milestones, there’s a certain comfort in knowing that a pure athlete is making strides with the Raw Women’s title and adding to the legacy of WWE instead of the normal chicanery of hot potato title runs that diminish the respectability of women’s wrestling.
Bianca Belair, The Face of WWE, defended her title WrestleMania in a standard Greco-Roman leotard. Pro-Wrestling can’t get more of the first “W” in WWE than in that woman’s performance in TinselTown right there.
Score : 5/5
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