Bianca Nicole Blair Crawford, born on April 9, 1989, is an American professional wrestler and fitness competitor.
Since April 2016, she has been under contract with WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as Bianca Belair. She currently holds the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship with Jade Cargill, marking their first reign together. Belair made history by winning at a WrestleMania main event and holds the record for the longest reign as Raw Women’s Champion, spanning 420 days.
Early life and Education 
Blair attended Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she excelled in various sports, notably track and field. Her track career spanned six years and included competing in hurdles. Despite facing challenges, including transferring between three universities – University of South Carolina, Texas A&M University, and ultimately the University of Tennessee – Blair achieved notable success. She earned recognition as All-SEC and All-American and was honored for her academic achievements, being named to the SEC’s academic honor roll in 2011 and 2012. Additionally, Blair showcased her athleticism as a CrossFit competitor and powerlifter, appearing in publications such as RX magazine, Femme Rouge magazine, and CrossFit.com. However, her CrossFit journey came to an end due to intercostal chondritis, a condition she attributed to overtraining.
Career
In January 2018, Belair embarked on an impressive undefeated streak, defeating notable competitors like Lacey Evans, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and Deonna Purrazzo. Her WrestleMania debut occurred on April 8 at WrestleMania 34, participating in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, where she was eliminated by Becky Lynch. However, on January 26, 2019, at TakeOver: Phoenix, Belair’s undefeated streak came to an end after she unsuccessfully challenged Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship, with interference from Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. This streak lasted an impressive 367 days. Despite her efforts, Belair fell short of capturing the title at TakeOver: New York on April 5 in a fatal four-way match also involving Kairi Sane and Io Shirai, where Baszler emerged victorious. On the May 29 episode of NXT, Belair suffered her first pinfall loss in NXT to Mia Yim. Later, a triple threat match was announced between Belair, Yim, and Shirai to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Championship, but Candice LeRae was added to make it a fatal four-way match. LeRae emerged victorious in this match, which took place on the debut episode of NXT on the USA Network.
On the October 23 episode of NXT, Belair faced Rhea Ripley and despite outside interference from Shirai and LeRae, she was defeated. At WarGames on November 23, Belair teamed up with Team Baszler but lost to Team Ripley in the first-ever women’s WarGames match. The following night, at Survivor Series, Belair was part of Team NXT, which emerged victorious in a 5-on-5-on-5 women’s elimination match against Team Raw and Team SmackDown.
At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2020, Belair entered her first women’s Royal Rumble match at #2 and made a significant impact, eliminating a record-tying 8 other superstars before being eliminated by eventual winner Charlotte Flair. Despite her elimination, she lasted an impressive 33 minutes and 20 seconds. At TakeOver: Portland on February 16, Belair challenged Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship but was unsuccessful. Her final match in NXT took place on the February 19 episode, where she faced Flair and was defeated.
At WrestleMania 36, Belair debuted on the main roster as a face, coming to the aid of The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and her husband Montez Ford) and saving them from Zelina Vega, Angel Garza, and Austin Theory, thereby establishing herself as a member of the Raw roster. Following the 2020 Draft, she was drafted to the SmackDown brand. On the October 30 episode of SmackDown, she qualified for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series by defeating Billie Kay and Natalya in a triple threat match, although her team ultimately lost to Team Raw.
At the Royal Rumble on January 31, 2021, Belair made history by winning the Royal Rumble match, becoming the second-ever Black superstar to achieve this in WWE history after The Rock. She spent over 56 minutes in the match, entering at #3. Despite failing to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at Elimination Chamber with Sasha Banks, she challenged Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37, where she emerged victorious in the main event of Night 1, capturing her first title in her career.
Her and Sasha made history by becoming the first black women to main event WrestleMania.
Belair successfully defended the title against Bayley at WrestleMania Backlash and Hell in a Cell. Although scheduled to defend her title against Bayley in an “I Quit” match at Money in the Bank, the match was cancelled due to Bayley’s injury.
At SummerSlam, Belair was set to defend her title against Sasha Banks but was instead challenged by Becky Lynch, who defeated her in just 26 seconds, ending Belair’s reign at 133 days. Despite this setback, Belair continued to compete, defeating Lynch by disqualification at Extreme Rules. Following the 2021 Draft, she was drafted to the Raw brand. Despite unsuccessful attempts to regain the Raw Women’s Championship at Crown Jewel and on Raw, Belair made history at Survivor Series by overcoming a four-on-one handicap to win the event’s traditional five-on-five elimination match.
At the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2022, Belair entered at #8 and showcased her endurance, lasting an impressive 47 minutes before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair. Then, at Elimination Chamber on February 19, she emerged victorious in the Elimination Chamber match, earning the right to challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38, reigniting her feud with Lynch. Their rivalry intensified, culminating in a dramatic moment on the March 28 episode of Raw, where Lynch attempted to cut Belair’s hair with scissors as revenge for a previous incident. However, Belair turned the tables and attacked Lynch with a Kiss of Death, ultimately cutting off Lynch’s hair instead. This set the stage for their showdown at WrestleMania 38 on April 2, where Belair emerged victorious, capturing the Raw Women’s Championship once again.
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Belair was drafted to the SmackDown brand, and interestingly, she brought the Raw Women’s Championship with her. At Backlash on May 6, she successfully defended her title against Iyo Sky. This victory also marked Belair’s milestone as the longest-reigning Raw Women’s Champion, surpassing Becky Lynch’s reign of 398 days. WWE highlighted her achievement, promoting Belair as the longest-reigning women’s champion of the modern era since Trish Stratus’ reign with the original WWE Women’s Championship in 2006. However, her reign came to an end at Night of Champions on May 27, where she lost the championship to Asuka, concluding her historic reign at a record-setting 420 days.
At SummerSlam, Belair reclaimed the title by triumphing over Asuka and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match, securing her second WWE Women’s Championship. However, her reign was short-lived as she lost the title to Iyo Sky, who cashed in her Money in the Bank contract, resulting in Belair’s second reign lasting a mere 1 minute and 35 seconds, making it the shortest reign in the title’s history. Following a two-month absence, Belair challenged Sky for the title at Crown Jewel but was thwarted by interference from a returning Kairi Sane.
At Survivor Series WarGames on November 25, Belair joined forces with Flair, Lynch, and Shotzi to defeat Damage CTRL in a WarGames match, with Lynch securing the victory by pinning Bayley.
In January 2024 at Royal Rumble, Belair participated in the Royal Rumble match at number 10, eliminating TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace before ultimately being ousted by the eventual winner, Bayley. She also competed in the women’s Elimination Chamber match at the event but was eliminated by Liv Morgan.
At WrestleMania XL, Belair teamed up with Jade Cargill and Naomi to defeat Damage CTRL. Additionally, at Backlash France, Belair and Cargill triumphed over The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Sane) of Damage CTRL to capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, thereby securing Belair’s status as the ninth WWE Women’s Triple Crown Champion.
It is also worth noting that Bianca is undefeated at WrestleMania.
Since her show of shows debut in WrestleMania 37, in a match against Sasha Banks, The EST has gone to wrestle the likes of Becky lynch in 38, Asuka in 39 and Damage CTRL in 40 and is yet to taste defeat.
Personal life
Bianca Belair comes from a family with a rich history of achievements and trailblazing. Her father was a member of the Blair Brothers band, while her brother excelled in football. Belair’s lineage includes her grandfather, Edward G. High, who was a prominent professor and chairman of biochemistry at Meharry Medical College. Additionally, her great-grandfather, Edward N. Toole, was a pioneering figure as the first licensed African American electrician in Durham, North Carolina. Furthermore, her aunt, Miranda Hunt, played a significant role in integrating St. Cecilia High School in Nashville, Tennessee.
On June 9, 2017, Belair announced her engagement to fellow professional wrestler Kenneth Crawford, also known as Montez Ford. The couple tied the knot on June 23, 2018, and Belair is now a stepmother to Crawford’s two children from a previous relationship. Belair has bravely shared her struggles with an eating disorder, acknowledging the support of a former track coach at Texas A&M University in prioritizing her mental health and embarking on the path to recovery.
Net Worth
Undisclosed