Sasha Banks lost the SmackDown Women’s Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 37 Night One on Saturday night, and she left with a nasty welt on her ribcage as a souvenir. Throughout the match Banks tried to use Belair’s long hair to advantage, pulling it to throw the challenger off-balance and tying her up in it while applying finishers. But her final attempt was thwarted when Belair overpowered “The Boss” and regained control of her hair. She then used it as a whip to smack Banks directly across her midsection, leaving her wide open for the KOD and the victory.
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The welt could immediately be seen when the camera cut to Banks outside of the ring.
When admin says he screamed when @BiancaBelairWWE whipped @SashaBanksWWE 😱😱😱
Look at the mark that left!#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/yMmFZOxuR8
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) April 11, 2021
Belair’s victory gives her the first championship reign of her WWE career. Meanwhile, Banks continues to be winless in WrestleMania matches. She’s 0-6 at the event, though Saturday marked the first time she’s been in a standard one-on-one match.
Banks, who turned back into her heel persona leading up to her match with “The EST” talked up a huge game leading into Saturday’s match. She even claimed in interviews that she should get a WWE Hall of Fame induction next year.
“I always felt like I was a legend in the game when I first started,” she told The Root earlier this week.
“I always felt seasoned as a rookie and before my time. So this is nothing new. I go up against rookies every single week on Friday Night Smackdown. This is nothing new to me,” Banks said regarding her WrestleMania match with Bianca Belair.
“This is new to her that she’s going to face a star so bright,” she continued. :She’s just coming out of NXT, this is her first year on the main roster. If she would’ve listened to me, she would’ve walked into WrestleMania as the Women’s Tag Team champion, but she didn’t want to. She got a big head, she got a long braid, but come WrestleMania 37 I’m gonna show her what she already knows: That I’m the boss, the blueprint, and the standard for the women’s division.”
Check out the full results from WrestleMania 37 Night One below:
- WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley def. Drew McIntyre
- Natalya & Tamina def. Lana & Naomi vs. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. Riott Squad vs. Billie Kay & Carmella (Tag Team Turmoil Match)
- Cesaro def. Seth Rollins
- Raw Tag Team Championships: AJ Styles & Omos def. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
- Braun Strowman def. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage)
- Bad Bunny and Damian Priest def. The Miz and John Morrison
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Sasha Banks
Photo: Twitter/@WrestleCritic
