WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1: Bianca Belair makes shocking WWE return after nearly a year away

After nearly a year away due to injury, three-time Women’s Champion Bianca Belair made her long-awaited return to WWE Saturday night at WrestleMania 42 Night 1. Belair has not been seen on WWE television since July’s Evolution PLE, in which she was the special guest referee in a match between Jade Cargill and Naomi.

Ahead of the show’s Main Event between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton for the WWE Undisputed Championship, Belair made her surprising return.

Belair suffered a gnarly hand injury in her match against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley at last year’s WrestleMania 41 event. She has not wrestled in a match since after fracturing her fingers and breaking the joint of her left knuckle. She finally underwent surgery in February, as recovery had not quite gone originally to plan.

“Most days after therapy, this is what happens,” Belair wrote on social media. “My finger just stiffens back up. It feels like I’m constantly starting over and every time it’s painful. Every hour I’m trying to move it so eventually it won’t be this way. Also, trying to keep scar tissue from forming again.”

The absence of Belair on WWE television has been felt immensely. Many fans believed that she would be returning at January’s Royal Rumble PLE, and she was even labeled as one of the favorites to win the match. She, however, did not return, as she still hadn’t undergone surgery yet.

BodySlam+ first reported in late March that Belair had begun light training, as she was working towards making her return to the ring. If she were to have been able to compete at this year’s WrestleMania, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that she was slated to face her former friend (in kayfabe) Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship. That spot, instead, went to Rhea Ripley.

Across her six-year main roster career, Belair is a two-time WWE Women’s Champion, a one-time WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, and a two-time WWE WOmen’s Tag Team Champion. She also won the Royal Rumble match in 2021, and became the ninth Women’s Triple Crown Champion with her tag title win with Cargill in May 2024.