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WWE WrestleMania Rumors: Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair Deserve Night 1 Main Event
April 7, 2021
It is abundantly clear that the Triple Threat match for the Universal Championship between Roman Reigns, Edge and Daniel Bryan will be the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on Sunday, but some question remains regarding which match will headline Saturday's Night 1.
There are two bouts with a legitimate chance to go on last Saturday in the form of Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship and Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Israel Lutete of SportsKeeda), Banks vs. Belair is "being positioned in many card rundowns as the main event."
While it is unclear precisely what that means, the report seems to suggest that Banks vs. Belair is being listed internally as the headliner for Night 1 of WrestleMania, which likely means the plan is for Banks and Belair to go on last that night.
If that proves to be true, it will be the right decision on WWE's part.
Belair has been one of the fastest-rising stars in WWE for the past few years, but she has yet to win a title of any kind on the main roster or in NXT. Many fans believe she should have had a run with the NXT Women's Championship, but it never came to fruition.
That could prove to be a good thing since Belair's supporters are now desperate for her to receive the recognition she deserves by becoming a champion.
She took a big step toward it at the Royal Rumble by winning the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble match from the No. 3 spot. In the process, she became the first Black woman to win the Rumble and the second Black person overall to win a Rumble match, joining The Rock.
On the subject of representation, Banks vs. Belair will be the first singles match between two Black women in WrestleMania history, and such a significant moment would benefit from the biggest spotlight possible.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 remains the only women's main event match in WrestleMania history, so Banks vs. Belair would be the first one-on-one women's match to headline WrestleMania as well.
WWE has been building toward the match for several weeks, giving it a longer setup than Lashley vs. McIntyre. It is also a match that has never been seen before, whereas Lashley and McIntyre had a singles match for the WWE title last year.
The importance and freshness of Belair vs. Banks gives it the edge, as does the fact that it has a legitimate chance to be the best match of WrestleMania 37, and perhaps the best women's match to ever take place at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Although the bout will largely focus on putting The EST over and giving her a WrestleMania moment, Banks has worked hard for years to get to this point as well and has earned a main event match.
Along with Lynch, Flair and Bayley, Banks helped put women's wrestling on the map in WWE more than ever before. She also helped carry the women's division through the COVID-19 pandemic, appearing on SmackDown, Raw and NXT during that time.
Despite everything The Boss has accomplished, she has never had a one-on-one match at WrestleMania.
Another factor to consider is the logic of having Lashley and McIntyre go on first on Night 1 of WrestleMania, especially considering what happened to McIntyre last year.
The Scotsman was supposed to finally reach the top of the mountain in WWE by beating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in front of thousands of screaming fans. McIntyre did beat Lesnar, but no fans were in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will be a massive moment when the first Superstar makes their entrance at WrestleMania 37, as it will mark the first entrance in front of fans in over a year.
McIntyre deserves that spot after getting robbed of his big moment last year, and the fact that WWE has another strong match on the card in Belair vs. Banks gives even more incentive to put Drew out there first.
Everything is working in favor of Banks and Belair entering WrestleMania, and there should be nothing standing in the way of WWE giving them the opportunity to have one of the biggest women's matches of all time.
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