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Bianca Belair is worried about kids having to deal with racist abuse after trolls tried to ruin her historic WWE 2K24 cover.
The EST made history as the first black woman on the front of a WWE video game as she and Rhea Ripley graced the deluxe edition as the first all-female cover stars, but cruel comments threatened to overshadow her achievement before fans and fellow wrestlers rallied behind her with waves of support.
She exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘That’s why representation, I always say it’s not a request, it’s a requirement, you know?
‘It’s very important for people to see representation to show them their possibilities, because representation is where they fit in the world, it’s what is perceived as where they fit in the world.’
The former world champion, who is expected to be part of next weekend’s WrestleMania 40 doubleheader in Philadelphia, admitted she still ‘hasn’t seen one negative comment’ from that day.
She was dancing in her home gym when her phone blew up with messages of support, but she had no clue what had happened.
Bianca Belair has spoken about the power of representation (Picture: WWE)
Bianca and Rhea Ripley made history with WWE 2K24 (Picture: 2K)
When Bianca – who put representation into practice with her emotional entrance at last year’s WrestleMania – checked on Instagram, all the tags were ‘Bianca Belair appreciation posts’, as her ‘community formed this wall of positivity’.
‘The negativity never actually got through to me. I’m not I’m not one that goes in searches or vanity searches my name anyway,’ she laughed. ‘But I’ve still to this day never actually seen what was actually said.’
It made Bianca, whose husband is fellow wrestler Montez Ford, appreciate the importance of support online as well as worry for children who aren’t so well equipped to deal with racism.
‘I’m 35 years old, and I’m able to handle that. But kids, that’s what kids are going through now,’ she said. ‘So we have to make sure that we stand up for that type of stuff.’
The EST is a huge part of this year’s game (Picture: 2K)
Bianca’s WrestleMania 39 entrance last year was an emotional moment (Picture: WWE)
Bianca even ‘felt bad’ for fellow WWE 2K24 cover stars Cody Rhodes, who fronts the standard edition, and Rhea, adding that ‘it was their day to celebrate too’.
‘Instead, they were writing tweets and supporting me,’ she said. ‘But I appreciate my co workers. They’re amazing.’
Thankfully, Bianca has been able to celebrate what she described as a ‘very surreal’ moment, making history as ‘the first black woman to be the cover’, as well as her joint achievement with Rhea.
‘People are picking up this video game that you’re on the cover of, it’s just amazing,’ she beamed.
In an exclusive survey done by 2K of over 500 WWE gamers for International Women’s Day, 41% believed women are underrepresented in sports and gaming, while Bianca was in third place as the best woman wrestler of all time behind Hall of Famer’s Chyna and Trish Stratus.
WWE superstars Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks, AKA Mercedes Mone, fight over SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37
She’s glad to be at WWE in an ‘amazing’ point where women are treated more seriously, and get more of the main event spotlights on Raw and SmackDown.
Back in 2021, Bianca and Sasha Banks were the first black women to headline WrestleMania, and Australian’s Rhea Ripley main evented Elimination Chamber last month in her home country.
‘I love that I’m here right now. And I think it’s just evolved so much over the years, even from the time when I first got into WWE,’ she reflected. ‘I was here when they had the very first women’s Royal Rumble match. And now, a couple years later, I kind forget that there didn’t used to be one.’
However, Bianca and Sasha’s historic bout was also the last time women have headlined WrestleMania, and this year’s Royal Rumble winner Bayley will be the latest to miss out.
Bayley’s story with Damage CTRL has been building for over two years (Picture: WWE)
Night one will end with Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes facing off with Roman Reigns and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, with Cody battling Roman for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on night two.
‘I’m always pushing for the women, when they win the Royal Rumble, to get the main event,’ she said. ‘I know how it changed my career and I know how important that is to us.’
She added that Bayley challenging former Damage CTRL teammate Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Title is a ‘great main event’ with a story building ‘for over two years’.
She added: ‘[But] we’re at a time where our roster is so stacked from the men to the women that any match on the card could be the main event.’
Meanwhile, Bianca’s WrestleMania match is yet to be confirmed, despite rumours she and Naomi could challenge Damage CTRL’s Asuka and Kairi Sane for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
The EST of WWE is waiting to find out her match at WrestleMania 40 (Picture: WWE)
‘I’ve always had a guaranteed match in the past at WrestleMania,’ she pondered. ‘This year is very different.’
She is ‘still very grateful’ to be on the posters for the big event, and while some people find it ‘frustrating’ in her position, she’s enjoying the excitement of not quite knowing what will happen.
‘Last year, I was champion, I was just waiting to see who my opponent was,’ she recalled. ‘This year I’m being kept on my toes.’
She added: ‘It’s interesting and fun for the fans to wait and figure out, “are we going to be spelling WrestleMania with EST this year or not?”‘
WWE 2K24, including the deluxe edition with Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley on the cover, is available now on PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.
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