Sasha Banks proved her supporters right again at WWE WrestleMania 37

Sasha Banks is one of the most beloved wrestlers in the world. Wrestling fans recognize that Banks is already one of the greatest of all time, even though she has yet to reach the age of 30. What she’s done since joining WWE in 2012 is nothing short of extraordinary. In less than a decade, she’s created some of the most enduring memories of the “New Era”, including the one she and Bianca Belair crafted together at WWE WrestleMania 37 in the first main event featuring Black women and headlined by two Black wrestlers of any gender.

This main event was nothing short of history-making, but there is a great deal of pressure that comes with being in this position. Becky Lynch, who was one of the three women to main event a WrestleMania for the first time, brought up the point that women face far more scrutiny in big spots than men do. So now imagine the level of pressure Bianca and Sasha felt as Black women in an industry where misogynoir – please read this interview with Moya Bailey, who created this term to describe the intersection of anti-Black racism and misogyny that Black women face – is observed at seemingly every turn.

Bianca’s and Sasha’s reactions when entering the ring showed the magnitude of this moment in wrestling history. And for all the issues in the wrestling fandom, it was heartwarming to see how the crowd reacted with overwhelming positivity to Belair and Banks. The fans knew the importance of this match, and beyond that, they knew they were in for an instant classic between two of the best performers in the company.

To say that Banks and Belair delivered would be an understatement. They put on a match that will stand the test of time as one of the greatest in the history of WrestleMania. It is certainly the greatest we’ve seen in the last five years.

Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair was the epitome of a great WrestleMania main event

What made the match so good? One of my favorite things about pro wrestling is seeing two performers who know each other and trust each other do a “give and take”. The best pro wrestling matches feature story-telling and selling, which require both performers to know each other and to execute unselfishly in a way that brings the best out of the other wrestler.

And there’s something else. When a match is designed to make someone a true babfyace superstar, the most experienced wrestler is the heel and they need to be the epitome of “giving”. They need to do whatever they can to make the other wrestler shine. That means taking hellacious bumps, turning up their character to 11, and pacing the match so that the crowd can get behind the babyface in all the right spots.

I absolutely loathe when I see “THAT” section of the wrestling fandom (if you know who I am talking about, you know) criticize Sasha Banks or insinuate that she is unselfish. Because she is the definition of someone who will go above and beyond for her opponent, as she has done so many times throughout her career.

Her supporters – and from my years covering Sasha Banks for this website, I have gotten to know many of them for their kindness and passion – have said for years that there is no better wrestler for the biggest moments than Banks. And there is no better wrestler to have the most pivotal match of your career against than Sasha.

Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair was just the latest instant classic from the Legit Boss in WWE

In the main event of WWE WrestleMania 37, Sasha proved her supporters correct once again. Of course, she did not have any sort of a point to prove. Her matches with Ronda Rousey at Royal Rumble 2019, Bayley at two NXT TakeOvers, Bayley again at Hell in a Cell 2020, and Becky Lynch at HIAC 2019 were all masterpieces of the highest order. They are five of the greatest matches in modern wrestling history, and that is not an exaggeration.

Her main event match with Bianca Belair can stand with any of those five matches. And it was so important as the first WrestleMania main event with two Black women and as the night that entrenched the EST as one of the biggest stars in WWE.

Sasha Banks may be 0-6 at WrestleMania, but she transcends these simplistic figures. Because this night will forever be linked to both Bianca and Sasha. It was Bianca’s crowning moment, and she was the MVP for pulling off some of the most incredible moves I have ever seen in a WrestleMania main event. But as the wrestling cliche goes, it takes two to have a great match. Sasha excelled in another huge match, putting on an all-time classic and showing any last remaining wrestling fan who is not also a Sasha Banks fan that she is indeed the Legit Boss.