Bianca Belair hoping WWE can inspire those struggling with mental health

‘When one person opens up, it opens the door for others to feel more comfortable’

Bianca Belair is reigning SmackDown women's champion.jpg (WWE)

Bianca Belair wants professional wrestling to continue as a force for good in mental health – admitting the industry has helped tackle the issue that was once “very lonely.”

As reigning SmackDown Women’s champion in WWE, Belair is every bit the bona fide megastar. At just 32, she is one of the top performers in Vince McMahon’s billion-dollar empire with an adoring worldwide following.

In the space of just a few years she has begun to master a trade she barely knew much about when she first stepped through the doors of their plush Performance Center training facility in Florida.

More crucially, though, she’s grappled with an opponent that dwarfs anyone on WWE’s roster – that of her own mental wellbeing.

She’s performed at a high level for years thanks to the freakish ability and stamina that saw her boss the academic athletics and stand out in the world of CrossFit and powerlifting.

It was a rise to stardom and elite level performance that left its mark, though, with the Knoxville native explaining in an exclusive interview with The Independent that, when something had to give, it was often the understanding of how to manage her own mental health.

“As an athlete there had always been times where I felt things weren’t right and yet we still pushed through,” she said. “There was this stigma of ‘you have to push through and if you don’t, you’re not tough.’

“We have all done that. At times we go out there and we don’t perform to the best of our abilities and people from the outside looking in, they don’t understand.

“We’re the ones who have to go home and carry that burden with us and no one knows what’s going on in our minds.

“Now knowing that we’re looked at as much more than just an athlete… I think it was Simone Biles who said along the lines that she never felt she was more than her accomplishments.

“In this moment she realises she is and that we are… we have to put our mental health first and I love that there is a more inclusive space for that now because when I was in college going through it, it was very hidden, and you felt ashamed.

“Nobody understood and it was lonely, very lonely. Now it is more talked about and accepted, and I am excited and happy for athletes now and in the future.”

It’s undeniable that the world is now far more open to dialogue around mental health than it perhaps was years ago.

The 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble winner knows that wrestling, too, is emerging as something of a leader for that debate – though admittedly an unlikely one.

For while many will welcome the insight into the mental health of, say, a footballer or an Olympian, it’s not outrageous to say that professional wrestlers might still come some way down the list when it comes to considering those who might benefit from such support.

The truth is, of course, that need is equal, which is why Belair readily admits she’s far from at the end of the “marathon” that is her own health.

She’s embraced the global spotlight that has come with headlining WrestleMania earlier this year where she beat Sasha Banks in the main event to win her title in front of thousands live and millions around the world on pay per view.

Fans now study her every move, every Tweet and every word: wrestling and its passionate, vocal, worldwide fanbase has given her a platform she is determined to use.

With a knowing nod she smiled and added: “That’s why I was very open and vulnerable about my mental health journey.

“What justice am I doing to myself and to others if I can’t share my story? For me it was easier to talk about it because I’m not going through it so much anymore – I’m still working through it of course because it’s a marathon – and I’m on the other side.

“It is something that needs to be talked about because we do have such a huge following and an impact globally that it’s the perfect place to do it.

“What’s amazing is that when one person opens up, it opens the door for others to feel more comfortable.

“Now you realise it’s not such a lonely thing… it’s something that we can all lean on each other, learn from and get through together.”

Bianca Belair meets Sasha Banks as WWE presents its annual SummerSlam spectacular on Saturday, 21 August, airing in the UK on BT Sport Box Office and WWE Network. Visit wwe.com for more.