Bianca Belair should be added to the Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair storyline

Bianca Belair shouldn’t be ignored heading into WrestleMania as the “EST of NXT” must be booked to hang with two of the biggest names on the WWE roster today.

Initially there was groaning and gnashing of teeth when Charlotte Flair won her first Royal Rumble a couple short weeks ago. Initial thoughts were that seeing Flair challenge either Becky Lynch or Bayley is a tired angle that we’ve seen time and time again. But there’s a third WWE champion in Rhea Ripley who has had an amazing 2019.

The idea of Flair vs. Ripley has taken ahold of the wrestling public, but it shouldn’t be that cut and dry so fast. There’s a third name that should be included: Bianca Belair.

When given the opportunity, Belair has shown she can shine when the lights shine the brightest. What better an opportunity for the EST or NXT to be included in a main angle heading into WrestleMania.

Many voices from around the professional wrestling industry and those watching at home have clamored for something “new” from the WWE. After so many rematches and rehashes of the same pairings, things have become stagnant in recent years.

The WWE boasts a bloated roster with more talent than they can consistently get on TV; especially in the women’s division. Flair being in the title picture once again for WrestleMania is understandable, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be the same story told in the past. So far, WWE Creative seems committed to giving everyone something different.

If Flair is the standard that many on the WWE roster attempt to achieve, then Ripley is surging forward as the future. At 23-years old and with seven years of experience, there’s a lot of justifiable excitement around what Ripley’s career can shape up to be.

Fans and wrestling media members all pitched the idea of pairing Ripley against Flair for WrestleMania, but the picture should not be that clear.

Belair is currently tied to Ripley in the main women’s angle on NXT. She’s challenging for the NXT title at NXT TakeOver: Portland in less than two weeks. While many see this as an opportunity to make Ripley look strong heading into a match with Flair at WrestleMania, booking should not give Belair the short end of the stick once again.

Belair has stood out multiple times when given the opportunity. She entered the same Royal Rumble that Flair won in the number two position. She held down the ring for more than thirty minutes while eliminating eight opponents.

She also had a major moment at WrestleMania 34 where she hit a 450-splash during the Women’s Battle Royal. She’s challenged for the NXT Title twice, but was stopped both times by Shayna Baszler – a call that still leaves some puzzled as to why her push was slowed at that time

As a character, Belair delivers. No one would have to worry about her being overshadowed by Ripley or Flair in the lead up to this match.

Also, adding Belair would help with storylines to happen post-WrestleMania. If Belair wins, Ripley could remain on NXT to further that storyline. Flair could cost Ripley the title, causing Ripley to follow Flair to Raw to continue that narrative as well.

There’s an opportunity to make two NXT names look much stronger coming out of the most important “season” for the WWE if it is handled correctly.

Either way, Belair should not be treated as filler heading into NXT TakeOver: Portland. Her abilities and character have the potential to put her on par with what we’ve seen in both Ripley and Flair.

The question is whether WWE Creative would have the faith to keep all three women involved in this storyline with the pay off a Triple Threat in Tampa. Based on what she’s shown in the past the answer to that question should be a resounding “yes.”