Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varmado and Bianca Blair Crawford made history on April 10, 2021. They may be known better by their in-ring names, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. The date was Wrestlemania 37. The annual WWE spectacular was back in front of a live audience after having to adjust on the fly to an in-studio event in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The crowd at ##stadium name### were treated to a two night event. (Due to the size of the roster sand length of previous Wrestlemania’s, WWE made the decision to have the event take place over two nights.
Each night had its own main event and night one was a match between Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. Now the WWE has done a lot to promote its female division over the years. Gone are the ‘Bra and Panty’ matches and gone are the times of using female superstars just for their appearance. The focus now is on their in ring ability. Over the last several years many female superstars have excelled in this spotlight. Years ago the first women’s match to main event a Wrestlemania happened and it was Ronda Rousey, yes the UFC Ronda Rousey against Charlotte Flair, Ric’s daughter and Becky Lynch. While the match itself was ground-breaking, women in the main event of Wrestlemania!, the match itself wasn’t great. It was on the tail end of a 7 hour pay per view, Rousey was checked out, and the match just didn’t live up to the hype.
Well, in life you learn from your mistakes and the WWE sure did as years later they had another all women’s main event but this time was incredibly different.
You had the veteran, Sasha Banks, the champion, versus the rising star, Bianca Belair. Both of these women have the attributes to make any WWE superstar successful, in ring and on mic talent.
This marked the first time in history, two black women main evented Wrestlemania and the result was one of the best matches of the year. I have been critical of WWE recently but make no mistake, this match was amazing. With over 6 hours of programming each week the WWE sometimes has the challenge of being fresh and exciting. This match was all of those things. These amazing performers left everything in that ring.
Who won? The fans! I mean that. No WWE match I saw in 2021 was as impressive as this one. It was an impressive display of timing, athleticism, and entertainment. Everything you would want in a high profile match like this. What WWE does better than other organizations is sell a story and that’s what fans are buying.
The lead in promo for this match was brilliant.
When the two competitors made their entrances and stood in the ring across from each other they had to fight back tears showing they understood the significance of the moment.
Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair according to the ‘script’ were opponents but make no mistake, on April 10, 2021 they were business partners. They delivered one of the most exciting matches I have seen in recent memory and made history in this main event and showed once again, the women’s division is alive and thriving in WWE. These are the reasons why I find them fascinating.
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