Throughout the month of February, Diva Dirt will spotlight one (or more) Black women’s wrestler a day. This won’t be a countdown, but just a way to shine light on the past and present Black women of the industry. With that said, these daily articles will not be in any particular order.
Representation matters to marginalized groups, and here at Diva Dirt we focus on giving those individuals the recognition they deserve.
- Jan. 30 – Jacqueline
- Jan. 31 – Lash Legend
- Feb. 1 – Nyla Rose
- Feb. 2 – Sharmell
- Feb. 3 – Awesome Kong
- Feb. 4 – Alicia Fox
- Feb. 5 – Kelani Jordan
- Feb. 6 – Queen Aminata
- Feb. 7 – Cameron
- Feb. 8 – Maya World
- Feb. 9 – Willow Nightingale
- Feb. 10 – Jazz
- Feb. 11 – Michin
- Feb. 12 – Kristal Marshall
- Feb. 13 – Trish Adora
- Feb. 14 – Mara Sade
- Feb. 15 – Jaida Parker
- Feb. 16 – Red Velvet
- Feb. 17 – Fire ‘N Flava
- Feb. 18 – Kiana James
- Feb. 19 – B-Fab
- Feb. 20 – Athena
- Feb. 21 – Sol Ruca
- Feb. 22 – Kali Armstrong
- Feb. 23 – Jada Stone
- Feb. 24 – Jade Cargill
- Feb. 25 – The Wingo Sisters
- Feb. 26 – Mercedes Moné
February is wrapping up, but we still have two huge names left. For Feb. 27 we are going to chat about Mrs. Bianca Belair. Belair breaks barriers for Black women in wrestling and also sets a leading example of representation. She has a background in CrossFit, powerlifting, and track and field.
This April will mark a decade since Belair has been signed to WWE. Belair has emerged as one of the most successful homegrown talents, as she had no prior wrestling experience. She achieved her try out thanks to the influence of Mark Henry. Belair credits Jazz, Jacqueline, and Naomi as wrestling inspirations and musical artist Beyoncé was the inspiration to her signature braid.
Belair spent the first few years of her career in NXT. She adopted the EST moniker, making her the prettiEST, badEST, strongEST…
Throughout 2018 and 2019, Belair went on a winning streak before competing for the NXT Women’s Title on two separate occasions as Shayna Baszler was champion. Belair was not able to win the gold before being called up to the main roster; however, she’s more than made up for that since.
Bianca Belair joined WWE’s main roster during an especially challenging period, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill in 2020. After a relatively slow start and some early roster adjustments, she quickly found her footing and began carving out a historic run defined by record-breaking achievements.
Over the past five years, her accomplishments have been remarkable. She became one of two Black women to main event WrestleMania, sharing that milestone with Sasha Banks. She is the first—and still the only—Black woman to win the Royal Rumble, and the first woman in WWE history to win the Elimination Chamber match twice.
Additionally, she holds the distinction of being the fastest rookie to capture a championship at her first WrestleMania appearance, defeating Sasha Banks to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship in her WrestleMania debut.
“The EST” is a Triple Crown Champion, having held the SmackDown Women’s Championship, captured the WWE Women’s (Raw) Championship twice, and won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on two occasions—once with Jade Cargill and once with Naomi.
She has also made history as the longest-reigning Black champion in WWE history, regardless of gender, and holds the record for the longest single reign among women who have held the WWE Women’s Championship under the current lineage since 2016.
Belair is Black Excellence and hopefully there is much more representation from her in years to come.