Bianca Belair Beats Bayley, Retains WWE Women’s Title at WrestleMania Backlash

Bianca Belair defeated Bayley at WrestleMania Backlash on Sunday to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship. 

Belair kicked out of the Bayley to Belly suplex. As the challenger went to lay in some more damage to the champion, The EST of WWE used her braid to tie up The Role Model in a quick pin to pick up the victory.

After beating Sasha Banks in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 in an instant classic to win the SmackDown women’s title, Belair took some time to celebrate, but it wasn’t long before a new challenger emerged.

In the weeks following The Show of Shows, Bayley made it clear she wanted a shot at the title after previously holding it for over a year straight.

Bayley first won the SmackDown women’s belt in May 2019 and held it for 140 days before dropping it to Charlotte Flair. The Role Model debuted a new attitude and won it back five days later, though, thus beginning a 380-day reign.

Banks finally beat Bayley for the title at Hell in a Cell in October 2020, which marked the start of a cold stretch for the two-time SmackDown women’s champion, two-time WWE women’s tag team champion, one-time Raw women’s champion and one-time NXT women’s champion.

Bayley entered into a rivalry with Belair in December and January. She beat The EST the first time they faced off, but Belair subsequently defeated her rival in an obstacle course and then a singles match.

The EST also eliminated Bayley from the women’s Royal Rumble match en route to winning from the No. 3 spot and earning a WrestleMania title opportunity.

That catapulted Belair to the top of the women’s division, while Bayley tumbled down the card and didn’t even have a match at The Show of Shows.

The snub did little to change The Role Model’s attitude, though, as she attempted to get under Belair’s skin in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania Backlash by feigning respect only to laugh in her face.

There was no love lost between Belair and Bayley heading into Sunday’s contest, and their history added even more intrigue and excitement to the bout.

Belair’s first title defense was a successful one as expected, but given how well Bayley performed, she may not stray far from the championship scene.

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