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WWE: Five candidates for women’s MVP at midyear

By Raphael Garcia

Apr 10, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Sasha Banks (green attire) and Bianca Belair (silver attire) during their Smackdown Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Sasha Banks (green attire) and Bianca Belair (silver attire) during their Smackdown Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Number 3: Candice LeRae

Candice LeRae is the NXT gift that continues to give on the yellow and black brand. Not only can she be counted on for great matches, but her character work has been hilarious to watch as she is embraced her role within The Way alongside Johnny Gargano, Austin Theory, and Indi Hartwell.

Much of her 2021 has been involved in the NXT women’s tag team division. She and Hartwell obtained the NXT Tag Team titles in May and enjoyed a short reign until July where they were defeated by Zoey Stark and Io Shirai. She has also been involved in angles surrounding Gargano’s NXT North American title run, taking part in multiple mixed tag team matches.

It is still an unfortunate fact that LeRae has not won the NXT Women’s Championship by this point in her tenure with the company. Like Gargano, it is easy to see her spending her entire time within NXT, rather than going on a run that takes her to either SmackDown or Raw.

It will be interesting to see what happens with LeRae, as she was building into a feud with the returning Tegan Nox. But now that Nox is on SmackDown a shift will have to be made. Regardless of the direction, LeRae can be counted on for being a pillar to the NXT women’s division.

Number 2: Bayley

Bayley has been one of the pillars of the entire WWE throughout COVID-19. Her career-defining title reign ended in late 2020, but that did not stop Bayley from being one of the best parts of SmackDown each week. Just like Dakota Kai, Bayley initially struggled in her role as a heel, but she is embraced and developed that role into one of the best and most beloved characters within the promotion.

This year she is picked up singles wins against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan, while taking part in multiple tag titles along the way. She has been the central foil to Bianca Belair as they have battled for the WWE SmackDown Women’s title that is firmly in Belair’s grasp.

Unfortunately, news hit that Bayley has suffered a serious knee injury that will keep her out of action for nine months. WWE made the big mistake of not booking her for WrestleMania, and now she may be in a situation where she misses WrestleMania 38 as well. Here is to hope for a safe and speedy recovery for one of the most important members of the WWE roster.

Number 1: Bianca Belair

WWE needs to find a way to continue building new stars. While they have struggled in doing so for years, they have found a diamond in Bianca Belair. From the moment she touched down in NXT wrestling fans flocked to her. Especially women of color who continue to look for faces that look like them in prominent roles.

Belair’s 2021 includes winning the 2021 Royal Rumble then going on to WrestleMania to have a heartfelt moment against Sasha Banks. She would win the title and leave fans smiling at the end of Night One, creating not only the most important moment in the two-night event, but the WWE Moment of the Year as awarded by the ESPYs.

Even though the booking in the lead-up to the WrestleMania moment was not the best, Belair’s stature has continued to outshine everything that has come against her. She is a special talent and character that has the potential to become a crossover star for the promotion. 2021 has been Bianca’s year halfway through and when things are said and done, she may be the MVP of the entire year.

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