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Bianca Belair Breaks Character To Pay Tribute To Rival

By Sondra Ruth • Published 12th June 2023
Bianca Belair

Despite their bitter rivalry, Bianca Belair had high praise for a fellow SmackDown star.

Bianca Belair became Raw Women’s Champion when she defeated Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38. The two fought again at SummerSlam in 2022, and after Belair retained her title, she was confronted by a returning Bayley, who’d been out of action for over a year after suffering a knee injury.

Bayley didn’t come alone, brining Dakota Kai and IYO SKY (formerly known as Io Shirai) with her to SummerSlam. The group that would be known as Damage CTRL continued to be a force on Raw for the rest of the year, and the self-described Role Model of WWE made multiple attempts to capture Belair’s title and end her record-breaking reign.

One of their highly-praised bouts was a Last Woman Standing match at the 2022 edition of Crown Jewel. The women even used a golf cart at one point in the match, with Belair taking Bayley for a ride.

Belair’s reign finally came to an end at the hands of Asuka at Night of Champions, and on the latest episode of SmackDown, Asuka was presented with a new WWE Women’s Championship. With the old Raw Women’s Championship belt retired, one fan took to social media to praise the Last Woman Standing match, and Bayley responded with the following:

“Goodbye to the #RAW Womens title. Thanks for the special moments, this being one of MANY.”

In a quote tweet, Belair thanked Bayley for making history together and called her rival one of the greatest in the wrestling business.

“One of my absolute favs!!!!!!! Whew I love this match. Despite our difference we had we made a lot of history together. Thank you for the fights and memories especially during this title reign. … respect to one of the greatest in this business!”