WWE: Should Bianca Belair get called up after WrestleMania 36?

The season is near for WWE NXT call-ups to arise to the main roster. The following will debate whether the EST of NXT, Bianca Belair, should be on that list of call-ups.

Most WWE fans evidently foresee some NXT superstars getting called up to the main roster after WrestleMania. This lead many to speculate: Should Bianca Belair get called up to the main roster after WrestleMania 36?

Dina Amanuel and Mark Justice, two of Daily DDT’s beloved contributors, will tackle this question and pontificate their opposing viewpoints in a reborn series called “Debate The Mark.”

Without further ado, here is their riveting debate on this issue, with Dina taking the side of Bianca getting called up to the main roster after WrestleMania 36, and Mark taking the side of Bianca Belair remaining in NXT after WrestleMania 36.

Dina: Bianca Belair has already proven herself main-roster worthy

Bianca’s time in NXT has been somewhat of a success. NXT is a proving ground, it’s ‘Raw’ (pun intended), intense, no smokes or mirrors. It is the place where one proves that they are ready, and Bianca? She has done much more than prove herself.

The NXT Women’s Championship may have eluded her, but her achievements are nothing to be scoffed at. A yearlong undefeated streak? The First African American woman to feature in a WarGames match? Part of the winning team for NXT at Survivor Series 2019? A record setting performance (8 eliminations) in the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble? All things she has already accomplished.

Bianca is one of few NXT superstars to ever feature in a WrestleMania before even having a match at Takeover. Remember the first ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal? Bianca was in it. What more does she have to prove? Belair may be rocking Black and Gold right now, but maybe it’s time that she starts bleeding Red or Blue.

Mark: Bianca Belair needs to win the NXT Women’s Championship first

Good points. I agree that Belair’s success in NXT as well as her highlighted performances on main roster PPVs have exemplified her readiness for the main roster. However, the real question is: Will she be ready for Vince McMahon’s booking of the main roster?

The answer to that is: No. This negation translates to a premature call up to the main roster where Vince McMahon books a talented superstar with sufficient momentum for the first two months and then buries that superstar in seconds once he gets bored with that superstar (e.g. Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, EC3, and Apollo Crews).

As can be indicated by the five superstars listed above, there is a strong trend of minorities having a tough time in reaching main event status on the main roster without solidifying their main event status in their initial divisions (i.e. Ricochet, EC3, and Apollo Crews did not win the NXT Championship before getting called up to Monday Night Raw nor did Mustafa Ali win the Cruiserweight Championship before getting called up to SmackDown Live).

To avoid this fate, Bianca Belair needs to win the NXT Women’s Championship before getting called up.

Of course, many naysayers would say that winning the NXT Women’s Championship is not necessary for success on the main roster since superstars like Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss became lengthy and multi-time women’s champions on the main roster without it.

However, none of the superstars who took such a path were minorities, so that myopic argument does not apply to the EST of NXT who is indeed an African American superstar.

When it comes to Vince McMahon, I disagree with you that she has nothing more to prove. Winning the NXT Women’s Championship will assure Vince McMahon that she is main event material and should not be overlooked.

Consequently, she should not be called up without having won the NXT Women’s Championship because it will unquestionably guarantee her success on the main roster. Instead of getting called up after WrestleMania 36, perhaps getting called up after WWE Survivor Series 2020 would give her a sufficient amount of time to have a decent championship reign in NXT.

Dina’s Rebuttal: Belair has the connective character Mr. McMahon needs

Allow me to use a few of the examples you gave to disprove your argument.

Ali vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship was the plan until Ali’s injury. How long after his call up to Smackdown did that take? Less than a month. Ricochet won the US title within months of his call up. Cedric Alexander was Cruiserweight Champion for six months before he lost the title. Ricochet and Cedric‘s recent misfortunes, are just that, recent.

There is one thing that we need to ask, and that is what is Vince McMahon looking for? The answer to that is someone with a character, someone that the WWE Universe can understand and relate to. Bianca is that person, not only is she an incredible in ring performer, she has a personality that many people relate to.

Thanks to her performances in recent main roster pay-per-views such as 2019’s Survivor Series and the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble, the “casual” WWE fan knows who she is. As for her needing to win the NXT Women’s Championship before the call up (or call across), do I want her to? Of course, but does she need it? Not necessarily.

Winning that championship does not translate to instant success once one is called up. Need I remind you of Ember Moon? Of Kairi Sane? Let’s even step out of the women’s division and give an example from the Men’s Locker-room. How long did it take former NXT Champion Sami Zayn to win a singles Championship on the Main roster?

Winning a championship in NXT isn’t absolutely necessary to prove herself to Vince. The potential matches alone are evidence that she needs a call up. Think about it, Bianca vs. Ember, Bianca vs. Sasha, Bianca vs. Becky, Bianca vs. Asuka, and Bianca vs. Naomi to name but a few.

All potential classics, all matches she is more than ready for, but most importantly all matches that would happen if she is called up to the Main Roster as she should be.

Mark’s Rebuttal: Belair’s long term success needs to be a priority

Although I appreciate your thought provoking convictions on Bianca Belair’s connection with WWE Universe, your retorts do not necessarily disprove my argument. Allow me to provide some clarification.

With the exception of Cedric Alexander who had a substantial cruiserweight championship reign but still failed to break the glass ceiling on the main roster due to Vince McMahon’s ignorance, Mustafa Ali and Ricochet still did not reach main event status.

As I said before, “Vince McMahon books a talented superstar with sufficient momentum for the first two months and then buries that superstar in seconds once he gets bored with that superstar.” This was the case for both Mustafa Ali and Ricochet.

Mustafa Ali was immediately pushed into the WWE Championship picture once he got called up, but where is he now? Ricochet got his immediate push for the United States Championship after his call up, but where is he now?

Not to mention, Ricochet won a mid card championship, not a main card championship that would have assured his main event status. On top of that, he only held it for a month and did not even successfully retain that title on his first title defense. To make things even worse, he got squashed by Brock Lesnar in a WWE Championship match and later lost a 24/7 championship match to Riddick Moss.

These are not just ‘recent’ misfortunes. These are perpetual injustices that I want a talented superstar like Bianca Belair to avoid. I agree that Belair connects with the WWE fans, but Vince McMahon quite frankly “does not give a damn what these people want” nor does he actually understand how she connects with the WWE Universe since he is currently out of touch.

As for the potential classics you mentioned, she can have those dream matches with Naomi, Ember Moon, Becky Lynch, Asuka, and Sasha Banks without getting called up to the main roster. Some of those superstars you mentioned can also go back to NXT and wrestle her there. Charlotte Flair did it and they can too.

Getting called up to the main roster is not necessary for Bianca Belair at this moment in time, but winning the NXT Women’s Championship is definitely a necessary prerequisite not only for her immediate success (which you mentioned that Ricochet and Ali obtained) but more importantly for her long term success (which Ricochet and Mustafa Ali failed to achieve).

The majority of NXT women’s champions, such as Paige, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and even Shayna Baszler are at the top of their games on the main roster to date partly because they proved their main event status on NXT with championship gold.

As an African American female superstar in a Caucasian male-dominated company like WWE, it is evident why she needs to be one step ahead at all times. Winning the NXT women’s championship will assure that she’s not only one step ahead but also that she is putting her best foot forward.

So, is Bianca Belair READY for the main roster? Absolutely. But is she SET? Far from it. Henceforth, she should not GO just yet.

What did you think of today’s “Debate the Mark,” and whose argument swayed you more? This series is brought to you by a shrewd mark who enjoys debating hot topics in professional wrestling, especially when pertaining to the WWE.

It was a pleasure debating with my guest and fellow Daily DDT Contributor, Dina Amanuel, whom you can follow on Twitter @SoloHeel_DSA. If you enjoyed this debate, check out more by clicking here.