4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Jan 24)
Downs...
3. Winning Without Shining
Bianca Belair is going to be huge.
A relative rookie with just 16 months of experience under he belt, she's blessed with the kind of presence that can't be taught, and already carries herself like a big deal. The intangibles are on-point, and hooks like her signature hair-whip will help her get over after settling into a more regular TV role. With all that said, she's still very much a work-in-progress between the ropes, and last night proved it.
Her squash of Latoya Allsop wasn't bad, but wasn't successful in presenting a dominant Belair either. Though she completely controlled her opponent, Bianca's offence lacked intensity, and she wasn't able to pull the crowd into it until she pulled out the hair-whip. The power spots were fun, but she's still learning how to fill the space between moves.
We're not too down on it, as it'd be wrong to expect excellence from someone so new to the sport, and her Mae Young Classic bout with Kairi Sane proves that Belair does have the chops to succeed. She has all the pieces; it's just a matter of putting them together.