WWE Superstar Bianca Belair recently appeared as a guest on The Gorilla Position for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling. During the discussion, Belair gave her thoughts on Jade Cargill:
“You saw the reaction with Jade right? You know, it was the Royal Rumble. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t do anything. We didn’t wrestle. We didn’t touch each other and the crowd was going crazy. I think the Instagram post on WWE had like 9 million views within two days. That alone just shows the type of magic that we can create by just getting in the ring, so imagine the magic that we can create whether it’s a singles or a tag. Who knows what can happen? I think just the two of us being in the ring, people are just buzzing for it and it’s magic to be made. I don’t know if that’s this year’s WrestleMania. I don’t know if it’s next year’s WrestleMania. She was in the Rumble. Now, when she gonna come back? So I’m ready for either or.”
On the differences she’s seen in the TKO era:
“I’m super excited for the TKO. I actually got to go to New York to be a part of the whole thing. It’s exciting times. I’m seeing a lot of the girls that I was in NXT with, they’re now on the main roster in the same locker rooms together. It feels like I’m back in NXT. It’s a whole new generation of women that are coming through from NXT like the Tiffany’s and you’re starting to see more women on TV and being able to showcase themselves. It’s exciting. We’re doing more things outside of wrestling as well going into the mainstream. My husband and I have our Hulu show, WWE: Bianca & Montez. I feel like we’re kind of going outside of the wrestling bubble and we’re getting to really get more eyes on the product and show them how much wrestling has evolved. I think that we’re all just excited for the possibilities of the future right now and I’m just glad that I get to be a part of it and to see what is going to happen with it.”
On being on the cover of the WWE 2K24 video game:
“I was very shocked and super excited. It’s hard to put it into words. The fact that you’re on the cover of a video game, you look at everybody else that has ever been on the cover, and to have your name in that conversation with them and be on it with Rhea Ripley as well, and for us to get to share this cover, it’s really cool. It’s representation for women. It’s representation for people of color. It’s unprecedented to have an all-female cover and to be the woman that’s doing that along with Rhea, it’s cool.”
Rhea Ripley looking back on this past year in WWE:
“It means the world. This has honestly been the biggest year of my entire career. It’s something that’s going to help my legacy stay strong within the WWE and wrestling in general. It’s something that’s really opened me up in this business in a way where my confidence has grown. The person that I am has grown. Everything about Rhea Ripley and myself entirely has gotten so much better. I’ve really taken that step and if other things happened within this year, we might not have seen the rear view that we see today. I’m so glad that everything has happened for a reason and I’ve been able to grow in front of everyone’s eyes and get better, not only in the ring, but on the microphone as well. That’s something that I had always been really terrified of doing. I feel like being a part of the Judgment Day and being on this platform where I have been out there with the guys more and being more in the men’s division, I’ve had more of a chance to speak on the microphone and get used to that and that’s another thing that has helped me grow. This last year really has been massive for Rhea Ripley. It’s probably one of the best years of my career.”
Ripley joined the show. She talked about headlining the Elimination Chamber in Australia:
“It definitely met all my expectations. It was something that meant so much to me. The last time that I competed over there was seven years ago and it was for Riot City Wrestling and I left as the Women’s Champion for Riot City Wrestling. It’s wild to come back, not only as a WWE Superstar, but as the Woman’s World Champion, being on this dominant run, and help put Australian wrestling on the map. To come back and finally have that big moment while having all these accolades and go in there and defend my title against arguably one of the best in the women’s division, Nia Jax, like I was in a threatening position with my title run because she is so strong. To have such a perfect opponent in such a perfect area, everything just sort of worked out so nicely for me. It told a great story.”
“I tried my best not to get emotional on camera because honestly, coming out and doing my entrance and seeing all the Australian flags and hearing how excited everyone was and how hot they were to not only have WWE come back to Australia, but to have homegrown talent on the show, it was a very heartwarming moment. There were a couple of times where I had to scream or shake my head just to make sure that the tears wouldn’t come out of my eyes. Once the match was all said and done and I got the opportunity to sort of take it all in while being out there, because a lot of the time I don’t get to take it all in. I’m normally like, go, go, go and just get it done so I can feel good afterwards and think about it later, but I really didn’t want to do that with this specific PLE because this was my WrestleMania before WrestleMania. It was one of the biggest highlights of my career. So to actually have that moment after the match because we were the main event so I could be out there longer, just sort of sit in the ring and take it all in, it’s wild. It was such a lovely feeling.”
You can check out the complete show below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
