Total Divas inspired Bianca Belair.
Speaking to Lilian Garcia on the Chasing Glory podcast, Belair discussed her decision to enter the world of professional wrestling thanks to an episode of Total Divas and a social media message from Mark Henry.
"Mark Henry saw me on YouTube, doing CrossFit. My sister-in-law saw it and texted me. I was like, 'That's fake, that's not real.' It was before Instagram had the blue checks. He actually messaged me and asked me, 'Have you ever thought of being a WWE wrestler?' That's when I realized it was real," said Belair. "A couple weeks before that, I started telling my mom...Total Divas was out and I started watching it and that's what got my attention. I told my mom, 'I think I wanna be a wrestler.' I went to the website to enter my information, but I never did it. Then, after Mark Henry contacted me, I was like, 'This is either too good to be true or it's perfect.' He told me, 'I can get you a tryout, but you have to do the rest.' He made it clear that he thought that I had what it took. He believed in me and got me a tryout."
Belair signed with WWE in April 2016 and made her NXT television debut in May 2017. She recently challenged Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Title at TakeOver: Phoenix.
In the same interview, Belair opened up about her struggles with bulimia and depression. You can view her comments here.
