FINALLY, A Real Update On Bianca Belair (WWE News)

Bianca Belair to undergo finger surgery today.

Feb 16, 2026 February 16th, 2026

With many fans holding out hope that a returning Bianca Belair will be the one to challenge Jade Cargill for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 42, there's a disappointing update on the EST.

Taking to Instagram yesterday, Bianca said, "Finger surgery tomorrow", indicating that she'll be going under the knife later today.

Belair has been out of action since WrestleMania 41, where she came up short in an excellent, Match of the Year contender, as Iyo Sky retained the Women's World Championship against Bianca and Rhea Ripley in the opening bout of 'Mania 41 Night 2.

Initially, it was believed that Bianca Belair had broken a finger at last year's Showcase of the Immortals, but the star herself has since specified that she broke her knuckle. The former three-time Women's Champion originally thought this would be a straightforward recovery of between eight and 12 weeks. As it stands, it's now been ten months on the sidelines for Bianca, with more surgery to come today.

While she's not been able to compete, Belair did make an appearance at WWE Evolution last July, serving as the special guest referee as Jade Cargill defeated Naomi in a No Holds Barred contest.

As alluded to, many fans thought that Bianca Belair would be facing WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42 this April, with plenty making Bianca their pick to win the women's Royal Rumble and shoot her shot at her former tag team partner. And when Belair was entirely absent from the Rumble, the next logical thought was that she'd somehow end up in the women's Elimination Chamber later this month, and thought that would be how she'd earn a crack at the WWE Women's Title.

It could always be possible that Bianca Belair is somehow cleared and able to enter the Elimination Chamber, but spots in that match are filling up fast, with Tiffany Stratton, Rhea Ripley, and Alexa Bliss already having qualified for the Chamber, and two more qualifiers set for this week's Raw (Bayley vs. Asuka vs. Nattie) and SmackDown (Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax vs. Keanna James) - leaving just one vacant spot.

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Andrew Pollard

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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