WrestleMania 37: Why Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair should main event Night One
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
WrestleMania is now one week away, and to me, it’s more evident than ever that the main event of Night One should be Sasha Banks versus Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship.
First, for anyone who missed SmackDown this week, the continuing story between Banks and Belair was fairly simple.
Bianca said in a backstage interview that she was happy the real Sasha finally appeared before their match at WrestleMania. Then she went on to defeat Carmella in a quick match and had a staredown with "The Boss" afterward.
What I liked most about this was the fact that it kept the focus on what’s important for the SmackDown Women’s title match: Bianca and Sasha being top-level competitors on a collision course for next weekend on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."
No Reginald. No Nia Jax. No Shayna Baszler.
Just Bianca and Sasha trying to out-alpha each other.
Now back to WrestleMania. Let me outline the reasons I think these two women should headline Night One, starting with a pretty straightforward one:
Two Royal Rumbles. Two nights of WrestleMania. Two main events.
Add it up, and there’s no excuse not to put the winner of the women’s Royal Rumble in a main event match to close out one of the nights. The winner of the Royal Rumble is supposed to get a headlining title opportunity at WrestleMania. Period.
Just as important, though – and the reason there's such a groundswell within the WWE Universe to see this main event – is the simple fact that these two women earned the spot.
Sasha Banks was one of the best parts of WWE programming throughout the pandemic and has made a name for herself outside of the company with her role in "The Mandalorian."
There’s absolutely no denying that she’s one of the top stars in the entire company at the moment.
As for Belair, from day one, it has been evident that WWE had a future star on their hands with her. Now, it's only a matter of time before she’s one of the biggest names in the company, so putting her in the main event of WrestleMania helps establish that from the jump.
WWE says they do what they do to put smiles on people’s faces and that they listen to what their audience wants, so this is a great opportunity to prove that.
As for the alternatives? Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley gain nothing by being in the main event match at this point (other than pride points), so why not give it to the match fans have started an online movement for?
That rings especially true when there’s a better spot on the card for Drew and Lashley that’ll provide a much bigger moment for both competitors – the show opener.
Before you roll your eyes at that, let me explain.
This week, WWE announced that a special WrestleMania edition of SmackDown will be taking place next Friday, with matches that normally would’ve taken place on the kickoff show happening on FOX.
It would appear that this was done to create a memorable moment at the start of WrestleMania when the first Superstar walks out at WWE’s first show with fans in more than a year and receives a thunderous response from the crowd.
That honor deserves to go to Drew.
He would’ve gotten a huge pop from the crowd last year, had they been there to witness his victory over Brock Lesnar, but the pandemic robbed him of that. Therefore, it would be incredibly appropriate if he’s the first Superstar fans get to cheer for when the show begins.
The crowd would also be on fire for that title match.
If you still somehow need convincing, consider this: When it comes to Sasha and Bianca headlining, the most obvious reason is how historic that would be.
Two Black women main eventing WrestleMania would be an iconic moment in WWE history.
The world is evolving, and almost every industry and corner of society is making changes to ensure representation and inclusion on every level.
That should include the main event of WrestleMania.
We’ve seen two men in that position. Men of different ethnicities. Multi-man matches. Even a triple-threat match with three of the biggest female Superstars in WWE history.
What we haven't seen is a main event at WrestleMania featuring two Superstars who are Black – men or women.
Young fans having role models who look like them in prominent positions on TV is important on so many levels.
Just look at the effect The Four Horsewomen have already had on women’s wrestling for the next decade and beyond due to their game-changing matches, as well as the way they were positioned.
Now, imagine what taking that to the next level could do.
To steal a phrase from John Cena, the time is now.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
