With NXT premiering on the USA Network tonight, several wrestlers on the roster have been promoting the show in the media. One of those wrestlers is Bianca Belair, who will compete in a fatal 4-way match to determine the new number one contender for Shayna Baszler’s NXT women’s championship.

Belair sat down with Channel Guide magazine to talk about the new opportunities NXT’s move to a major major cable network presents.

“Now that NXT is the third brand and not the developmental brand, we are a brand that can stand on its own. We’re ready and will keep doing what we’ve always been doing,” Belair said during the interview.


Belair never wrestled on the independent scene. She reported to the WWE PC in 2016. Belair spoke to Channel Guide about her first impressions of WWE.

“When I first walked into the Performance Center, I had no idea what to expect. I had never been inside a ring other than my two tryouts that I had, I didn’t even know how to do a lockup, headlock, wrist-lock. I didn’t know how to do any of that. Not only that, I didn’t know the business and the history of the business. I didn’t watch wrestling growing up a whole lot, I got a really late start and really behind. I knew that. The thing about me is any time I get an opportunity; I’m going to go full force into it.”

She also spoke about being married to Montez Ford of the Street Profits. Ford and Dawkins are expected to remain in NXT as a tag-team but continue to make appearances on RAW in backstage segments.

“My husband is great. The thing is when he succeeds, I succeed. And when I succeed, he succeeds. I know that sounds cliché, but that’s really how we operate. It’s great to have someone in this business who understands it and I can vent to sometimes. He is the one who encouraged me to wear the braid, which has become a huge part of me. We just really support each other.”