Iyo Sky shocked the world once again at WWE WrestleMania 41, this time by defeating Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair to retain the Womenâs World Championship.
Seemingly the afterthought in this three-way rivalry, Sky is an afterthought no more. The Damage CTRL was widely expected to lose her title inside Allegiant Stadium. Instead, she pinned Belair after a top rope moonsault and won one of the best triple threat matches in WWE history.
In doing so, Sky prevented Blair from capturing her fourth world championship and first world title in two years. She also picked up her second shocking victory in as many months after beating Ripley to win the title just weeks ago.
Much like the WrestleMania Saturday main event, the opening match of WrestleMania Sunday was an instant classic that had the fans on their feet. Three of WWEâs most popular babyfaces entered the match, but in the end, it was Sky who won over the fans the most. Then, she won the match no one expected her to win.
Skyâs big moment demonstrated just how beloved sheâs become. It also showed that Belair is badly in need of a character change.
âThe EST of WWEâ remains in pursuit her first world title win in nearly two years. She is also looking to win back fans after they booed her yet again inside Allegiant Stadium. Whatâs triggering Belairâs sudden struggles with the crowd remain unclear, but clearly, theyâre there.
Ripley has dominated Rawâs title scene for most of her stint on the main roster while Sky entered WrestleMania 41 as world champion for the second straight year. Both stars have undoubtedly helped elevate the womenâs world title scene during that span, which featured lengthy absences from both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
Yet, they remain as popular as ever while fans were clearly rooting against Belair in Las Vegas.
Thatâs a surprise given that Belair has actually taken a step back out of the spotlight for the past couple of years.
While Ripley and Sky were busy carrying the world title scene, Belair, along with both Naomi and Jade Cargill, were doing the same for the WWE Tag Team Championship scene. That didnât quite work out as planned as a result of WWEâs start-and-stop booking of womenâs tag team wrestling, and even with Belair involved in a major storyline with Naomi and Cargill, her undeniable star power led her to an Elimination Chamber victory and world title push.
Inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Belair attempted to ascend the throne once again, but just when it looked like she was going to win after hitting Ripley with the KOD, Sky swooped in with a noonsault and pinned Belair to get the win. Just like that, Belair is no longer undefeated at WrestleMania.
That loss ended Belairâs incredible run at WrestleMania, where she was following in the footsteps of The Undertaker with an undefeated streak and incredible series of matches of her own. Too bad Sky spoiled the party.
Belairâs WrestleMania 37 match with Sasha Banks ranks among the best WrestleMania matches ever, and she had a mini-undefeated run of her own. In fact, maybe you can call Belair âMs. WrestleMania.â After all, she entered WrestleMania 41 with a record of 4-0 at the event, with notable wins over Asuka, Banks and Lynch, three future Hall of Famers and unquestioned cornerstones of womenâs wrestling history.
But thatâs over, and Belairâs babyface run may need to come to an end, too.
Although Belairâs star power as well as her ability in the ring cannot be questioned, what isnât as clear after Belairâs loss at WrestleMania 41 is where she goes from here. After all, Belair remains in a unique position because although sheâs still incredibly popular, the crowd reaction at WrestleMania 41 indicated that she was the least popular star of the three babyfaces in the bout.
Perhaps thatâs a sign of whatâs to come for Belair in the future, when failing to become champion again wonât make it easier to win over fans. And the only thing that might fix her problem?
Turning heel and targeting Sky as a villain.

