WWE star Bianca Belair has discussed how her signature hair braid became a part of her character and the brutal whips that have taken place in her matches.
The former Women’s Champion’s long hair braid has become synonymous with her persona and is as much of her trademark look as her custom gear. Additionally, the long braid makes her memorable to non-WWE fans and instantly recognisable to those more familiar with the product, who have made it a part of their cosplays when meeting the SmackDown star.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet in an interview that was released on July 29, The EST first spoke about how she was trying to perfect her look in the early stages of her career. Despite wanting to wear her hair down for matches, her husband and fellow WWE star Montez Ford was the one who recommended the image change, noting that it set her apart from the rest of the roster and would help make her appearances memorable:
“So I was, again, I was trying to figure out, like, what do I want to look like? I want to have a unique look. And I was looking at all the girls that were there. They would wear their hair down. It was beautiful. I want to wear my hair down, I want to feel beautiful and I just loved how all the girls were, glamorous. But I wore a braid one time, and my husband, he was like, ‘That’s your thing. You have to stick with it.’ He’s like, ‘You have to keep the braid.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. I feel like, sometimes I feel like I look better with the long hair.’ He’s like, ‘But everybody does that. The best way to stand out here is to do something that nobody else is doing. Look at what everybody else is doing, and if that works for them, go the complete opposite way. The first time somebody comes to a show, they might not remember your name for the first time, but they’ll remember the girl with the braid.’ And I was like, All right, I’m the girl with the braid.”
Bianca Belair Talks Brutal Hair Whips In WWE Matches
As well as the long braid being a part of her character, the hair has also been used many times in matches. While Bayley has tied Belair’s hair in the ropes and Naomi used it to help her survive in the Royal Rumble match, many associate Belair’s hair with the brutal hair whips that the likes of Sasha Banks, Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch are all too familiar with. When asked about the hair whips that echo through arenas, the former Women’s Champion stated that contrary to popular belief, there are no additional sound effects in production:
“Yeah, a lot of people think that production adds a special effect to it, no [there’s no sound effect]. And every time that I do it, it’s loud. I thought Sasha was the loudest. And then when I hit Becky, it surprises me. I’m like, Oh, that sounds like that hurt. Sorry. You know, every time it gets it gets louder and louder. [The welt it leaves is crazy]. So that’s why I don’t do it a lot too. For one, I don’t want the audience to get used to it too. I don’t want to just mark up people.”
When asked how the sound is achieved, Belair noted that she ties it in a certain way to ensure that it makes the desired impact on her opponent:
“It’s a special way that I braid it, and I can whip it in the air. This is my appearance one, it’s not braided. So when I braid a certain way, if I can hear the way that it goes in the wind, I can tell if it’s a hair whip braid. I’m like, Yep, that’s it. We’re good.”
Belair last competed at WrestleMania 41, lsoing to IYO SKY in a triple threat match that also featured Rhea Ripley. Belair earned the right to challenge for the title by winning the Elimination Chamber.
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Featured image: WWE
