WWE: Bianca Belair gets compared to legendary IC Champion

Bianca Belair had a successful in-ring debut on WWE SmackDown, and she also earned a comparison to a legend from a Hall of Famer.

On the Oct. 23 episode of WWE SmackDown, Michael Cole called Bianca Belair one of the best draft picks in the brand’s history before her match against Zelina Vega. Although Zelina got some offense in, Belair made short work of her opponent, even lifting her around the ring in a show of strength. And she got every bit of the K.O.D.

Even before she moved to SmackDown, Belair has been hyped up by WWE with some awesome video packages. It truly does seem like WWE knows what they have in the EST, who surprisingly never won the NXT Title despite being roundly praised by fans and wrestlers alike.

On an appearance with WWE’s The Bump, Hall of Fame tag team wrestler Bully Ray compared Bianca Belair to Mr. Perfect.

He said of Belair, via 411Mania.com’s Jeremy Thomas,

"“There’s only one thing Bianca Belair needs to do: be Bianca Belair. Boom, done, end of story. All she has to do is do what Mr. Perfect did 30 years ago, be Mr. Perfect. All she has to do is just be Bianca Belair. She truly is the ‘EST.’”"

Bully Ray summed it up perfectly with that last line, no pun intended.

Bianca Belair has all the star qualities necessary in WWE

A comparison to Mr. Perfect, a two-time Intercontinental Champion and one of the best grapplers in WWE history, is high praise indeed, but it’s praise that Belair has earned. Like Curt Hennig’s character, Belair’s character is that she’s the best at everything. Other wrestlers can be mad at it, but Belair is the best and knows it. And she makes no apologies for it.

She’s so good that whenever NXT tried to book her as a heel, she would get huge babyface reactions from the crowd. Everyone in the arena soaked up her star power and confidence, and it’s hard to root against someone that talented in the ring.

Belair has a bright future in WWE. We’ve known this to be true for years, even since she first burst onto the scene as a possible breakout star during the first Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017.

Now, the EST is getting more praise from Hall of Famers, and WWE fans should be excited for her upcoming matches on SmackDown. We’re in for a fun journey.