Bianca Belair made history as she was crowned SmackDown Women’s Champion after defeating Sasha Banks in the main event of WrestleMania 37 – night one!
The 2021 Royal Rumble winner would defeat ‘The Boss’ during the shows main event, becoming the first WrestleMania singles match to feature exclusively Women of Colour and the second-ever WrestleMania to be main-evented by women following on from Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35.
It was announced earlier in the week, by WWE Chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon, that Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair would ‘headline’ WrestleMania whilst the WWE Championship match between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre would open the show.
Ultimately, it was Belair’s superior athletic ability and focus that provided The EST with the edge over her more experienced opponent ‘The Boss’ Sasha Banks, with the KOD the difference-maker in an otherwise even bout.
The momentum swung back and forth, with both women keenly aware of the gravity of the clash. Belair executed an incredible press from outside the ring back in, among other feats of strength on her way to victory. But Banks somehow always found a way to reply. As the contest reached a crescendo, Belair whipped her hair across Banks’ midsection, to a huge gasp from the crowd, before hitting the KOD to pick up the win.
Belair has become only the 10th ever SmackDown Women’s Champion joining a prestigious list of names alongside:
- Bayley
- Becky Lynch
- Charlotte Flair
- Sasha Banks
- Naomi
- Carmella
- Alexa Bliss
- Asuka
- and Natalya.
Banks’ reign would end at an impressive 166 days, capturing the Women’s Championship for the first time at WWE Hell in a Cell back in October of 2020 defeating long time rival Bayley in a critically acclaimed Hell in a Cell match.
Elsewhere on the show, Natalya and Tamina booked their tickets to night two of WrestleMania after successfully conquering the WWE Tag Team Turmoil match setting up a clash with the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler on night two of the prestigious event.
The WWE RAW Women’s Championship will be defended on night two of WrestleMania, with the recently debuting Rhea Ripley clashing against ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ Asuka in a much-anticipated bout with Ripley aiming to leave her mark on WrestleMania for the second year running following her WrestleMania 36 defeat at the hands of ‘The Queen’ Charlotte Flair.
Full live results and analysis of WrestleMania 37 night one and two are available on ITRWrestling.com alongside live discussion and analysis of the show available on the Inside The Ropes Twitter account.