Highlights
- Bianca Belair's knee injury, which led to her being written off WWE TV, is actually a storyline and not legitimate.
- Belair has been an ever-present star on TV for several years now, but a new report suggests that that's going to be changing
- It's being claimed that Bianca is off TV right now after being granted time off, which could see her missing for three months
Bianca Belair won the Women's Championship after a gruesome battle at WWE SummerSlam 2023, taking the title from former champion Asuka.
However, her celebration was cut short by a successful Money in the Bank cash-in by IYO SKY, ending her reign in quick fashion.
Belair was attacked by Damage CTRL after a tag team victory a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown, with the injury on her knee seemingly being used to write her off WWE TV.
Latest news on Bianca Belair
Interestingly, a new report has stated that Belair’s injury was not legitimate, and was just played out on TV purely to give the former champion a well-deserved break from the company.
The 'EST of WWE' has been portrayed as one of the biggest stars in the women’s division lately, even defeating Charlotte Flair and IYO SKY in a classic triple threat match to win the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam 2023.
However, Belair favoured her left knee throughout the battle and SKY later cashed-in her Money in the Bank briefcase to walk out of Detroit as a main roster singles champion for the first time in her career.
The worries didn’t end for Belair at SummerSlam, as after defeating Bayley and IYO in a tag team match with Charlotte on SmackDown a few weeks later, Bianca was attacked by Damage CTRL backstage.
After an assault on her damaged knee, Belair was seemingly written off WWE TV with an injury, and hasn't actually been seen on TV, in any capacity, since then.
A new report from Fightful Select has given a massive update on Belair’s injury, and what the situation is with a potential return to TV.
As per the report, which you can read below, Bianca is not legitimately injured. Rather, the attack was only a storyline and was used to write her off WWE TV, potentially for as long as three months.
Bianca Belair was planned for some time off, and was factored in creatively. However, we’ve heard differing things on how long she could be out, ranging from a few weeks (under a month) to possibly three months.
What’s next for IYO SKY?
Since she has won the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam 2023, IYO has not defended her title numerous times.
In fact, SKY put he Women’s Championship on the line for the first time on WWE TV against Zelina Vega last week on Friday Night SmackDown, winning the match and retaining her belt in the process.
Apart from the successful defence, SKY has defended her title only twice on live events.
To portray the Japanese wrestling icon as one of the biggest stars in the women’s division, which she undoubtedly is, WWE must add some strong rivalries to the mix for her.
Though there were cracks in Damage CTRL earlier, a betrayal doesn’t seem to be in plans right now, at least based on what's happened on TV over the last few weeks. One of the biggest challengers for IYO on SmackDown could be Charlotte Flair.
A singles rivalry with 'The Queen' could turn out to be a massive way to enhance the former NXT star's career on WWE's main roster, especially given Flair's undeniable star power. SKY could cement her position on the roster with rivalries with the likes of Zelina Vega and Michin. However, these can’t be used to bring legitimiacy to IYO's character, as they're both arguably below her in the pecking order right now.
It will be interesting to see what WWE and Triple H has in store for the Women’s Champion as we head out of Payback, which takes place on Saturday evening, and into Fastlane, the WWE PLE set for October 2023.
Stay connected with GIVEMESPORT to get the latest updates on Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky.