Bianca Belair’s “EST of WWE” persona and her iconic, weaponized braid have made her one of the most unique and recognizable superstars in the modern era. In a recent interview, she revealed the origins of her famous gimmick, crediting WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry and her husband, Montez Ford, for helping her find her voice and her look.
A Lesson from Mark Henry
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Belair told the story of a conversation she had with Mark Henry at the WWE Performance Center when she was still developing her character. Henry’s advice to “simplify” her identity led to an unexpected breakthrough during a promo class.
“He’s like, ‘You have to simplify it.’ I’m like, ‘How do I simplify this? I’m just the best at everything. I can’t just put myself in a box. I’m the strongest, I’m the fastest, I’m the roughest, I’m the toughest, I’m the quickest, I’m the greatest, I’m the best.’ Whoa, wait, all those things end in EST. Oh, so I’m the EST of everything. So it really all just came together in this one promo that I had on a coconut show. I was just kind of rambling, and it all just came together and it stuck. And so I just became the EST of NXT, now EST of WWE.”
The Girl with the Braid
Belair also revealed that her signature braid was the idea of her husband, fellow WWE Superstar Montez Ford. He encouraged her to adopt the unique look as a way to stand out from the other women on the roster. She also confirmed that the loud “crack” from her hair whip is completely real.
“I wore a braid one time, and my husband, he was like, ‘That’s your thing. You have to stick with it.’ He’s like, ‘You have to keep the braid.’… He’s like, ‘But everybody does that. The best way to stand out here is to do something that nobody else is doing… they might not remember your name for the first time, but they’ll remember the girl with the braid.’… Yeah, a lot of people think that production adds a special effect to it, no [there’s no sound effect]. And every time that I do it, it’s loud… It’s a special way that I braid it, and I can whip it in the air… if I can hear the way that it goes in the wind, I can tell if it’s a hair whip braid. I’m like, ‘Yep, that’s it. We’re good.'”
Bianca Belair’s distinct character and presentation have helped propel her to the top of WWE, where she has enjoyed multiple championship reigns and has main-evented WrestleMania.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
