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Heading into her fifth WrestleMania, Bianca Belair is engaged in a bit of an embroilment. Two, actually.<\/p>\n
The five-time champion known for seemingly superhuman strength and agility will be squaring off against her two greatest rivals, Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley, for the women\u2019s world championship Sunday night, April 20, at Allegiant Stadium. These three have been wowing audiences and dominating the WWE women\u2019s division in recent years, and there\u2019s no clear favorite.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s some other drama. Belair\u2019s friends and former tag-team partners Jade Cargill and Naomi will be battling each other in WrestleMania 41\u2019s first night on April 19. It\u2019s a long story, but basically, Naomi betrayed and assaulted Cargill in order to take her spot by Belair\u2019s side. Since the truth came out, they\u2019ve been exchanging attacks, with Belair hopelessly caught in the middle.<\/p>\n
It’s as emotionally complicated as it sounds, which you know if you watch WWE\u2019s live TV shows every week. The storylines in pro wrestling these days take no backseat to the most popular weekly dramas or viral reality shows, and that\u2019s a big reason why WWE has surged to new heights in global popularity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super excited,\u201d says Belair. \u201cThe women in WWE right now are really showing up and showing out. We have some of the strongest storylines going into WrestleMania, and I get to be part of not just one, but two. It means a lot to me, and it\u2019s a lot of fun, and also very exhausting. But both have different energies\u2014I\u2019m devastated in one, and trying to prevail in the other.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quality of the storytelling turns viewers into fans of specific superstars, she explains, and can convert someone who casually watches pro wrestling on TV into someone who might buy a ticket to WrestleMania in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been able to be part of a lot of WrestleManias \u2026 but when you get a story like these, it allows you to show other sides, and it really connects with fans on the emotional side,\u201d Belair says. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve been doing with these stories, intriguing the fans. You couldn\u2019t ask for anything more.\u201d<\/p>\n
In wrestling, there\u2019s always more. WrestleMania is the biggest night of the year for the WWE Universe, but it\u2019s not just one night. The annual supercard takes over Allegiant Stadium Saturday and Sunday, and last year\u2019s WrestleMania was a two-day sellout at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, a larger stadium at 67,594 seats.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just two nights. WWE also brings its three different live TV shows to T-Mobile Arena, and don\u2019t forget about the WWE World interactive fan experience running five days at the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. There\u2019s also the Hall of Fame ceremony and a comedy wrestling roast at Fontainebleau.<\/p>\n
Is that enough? Never. There are too many adjacent wrestling and entertainment events to list, which further proves the concept that any big thing gets bigger when it comes to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cVegas definitely has strong energy as a WWE city,\u201d says Belair. \u201cWe feel like we\u2019re at the top of the industry. We\u2019re innovative and groundbreaking. So when you combine Vegas with the WWE Universe, it\u2019s going to be colossal. People come from all over the world here to have fun, so you put WrestleMania here and it\u2019ll be even bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n
While WWE events have been consistently held in Las Vegas in recent years\u2014including SummerSlam in 2021, one of the first major events with fans in attendance at Allegiant Stadium\u2014its signature \u201cPLE\u201d (premium live event) has been hosted in Vegas only once before. WrestleMania IX took place on April 4, 1993 at the former outdoor arena at Caesars Palace, a venue better known for boxing bouts. Attendance was just under 17,000.<\/p>\n
By comparison, the crowd at T-Mobile Arena for the warmup and cool-down events surrounding this year\u2019s WrestleMania (SmackDown on April 18 and Raw on April 21) will almost certainly exceed that number. This week, Las Vegas will be a showcase for how big WWE has become in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first got in [to WWE], because I didn\u2019t come from a wrestling background, it blew my mind how big WrestleMania was,\u201d says Belair. \u201cIt was one night. It evolved into two nights because our roster is so amazingly talented, we just needed more spots to showcase it, and that\u2019s what the fans wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s a whole week of festivities, including WWE World where fans can be a part of this interactive world with meet-and-greets and buy all their merch. It gets bigger every year, and in our world, it\u2019s even bigger than the Super Bowl. We work all year long for it and each year, try to top ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
WRESTLEMANIA 41<\/strong> April 19 & 20, 3:30 p.m., $180-$1,035. Allegiant Stadium, ticketmaster.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n