Steve Carrier on October 31, 2025
Bianca Belair’s absence from WWE has stretched on for months, and fans are still waiting for the EST to make her return to the ring. What first seemed like a minor injury at WrestleMania 41 has turned into one of the most frustrating recoveries of her career.
The injury happened during her triple threat match against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY at WrestleMania, where a mistimed landing left Belair with multiple broken fingers. Speaking to CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri in July, she revealed just how severe the damage was and why it’s taken so long to heal.
“I broke it in three places and the joint. It healed, but it won’t bend. You can’t wrestle with a straight finger because it’ll break again… I can’t even sew right now. I can’t even make gear. We’re on the end of this healing process, so we might have some time, but you never know. Crazy things happen.”
Belair, who hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania, admitted that the downtime has been a blessing in disguise after years of nonstop work.
“I needed this break. I’ve been going for the past five years nonstop in the title picture, filming reality TV shows and appearances. I think I had over 300 appearances in one year.”
Just days later, Belair spoke on Insight with Chris Van Vliet and walked fans through the exact moment everything went wrong. During the now-infamous top-rope German suplex spot, her hand got caught under Rhea Ripley, causing an immediate and severe break.
“It was when we were doing the triple German spot… my hand got stuck underneath Rhea. Also I went to the wrong side of Rhea, but my hand, I thought she was gonna go further over me, we kind of just collapsed together. So when my hand went back, it got stuck under her, and she literally crashed on my hand.”
The pain was instant, and Belair admitted she panicked in the middle of the match.
“I knew immediately it was broken… In the moment I thought I broke all my fingers. The ref comes to me. He’s like, ‘Are you okay?’ I’m like, ‘I just broke all of my fingers!’ You just see me rolling around on the ground… Rhea had to snap me out of it. She’s like, ‘Bianca, Bianca!’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ Oh, we have to finish this match.”
Even though she finished the match, the experience left a lasting emotional toll.
“I don’t want to watch it back because I know I’m going to pick it apart… it just takes way too much out of me, because I get nervous when I watch it again. I feel all the emotions again. By the end of watching, I just feel so exhausted. So I’m like, okay, one and done, and I’m happy with that.”
Months later, Belair appeared on the Club 520 Podcast and revealed her finger still hasn’t fully healed — something that’s surprised even WWE’s medical team.
“I have my wedding ring on my right hand because my left finger is still broken.”
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that WWE initially thought she’d return within a couple of months but underestimated the severity of the injury.
“When the injury happened, WWE did not think she was going to be out this long. Now, her finger looked terrible from what I understood — it like swelled up big time. People were coming and checking on it. It was on the triple German suplex spot at Mania where I think that she thought she broke all of her fingers, but she actually broke the knuckle. So it ended up a lot worse than they thought.”
Despite everything, Belair still looks back at the match with pride, calling it one of her best performances.
“That’s one of my matches I’m super proud about at WrestleMania this past year with Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY. There was a lot of strength and athleticism that we displayed, and storytelling. That’s what’s amazing about WWE, it’s sports entertainment, for sure, and that’s what we do. I’m super proud to be a part of something like that.”
As of October 31, Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer confirmed there is still no timetable for her return, adding that her recovery has taken far longer than expected.
“There is still no return date for Belair. She’s been out since WrestleMania with broken fingers, so that injury must have been far worse than usual broken fingers that people often work on and would usually be, even with surgery, only a couple of months.”
At this point, Bianca Belair’s recovery remains one of WWE’s longest ongoing injury absences. While she’s made sporadic appearances on TV, her in-ring comeback is still on hold — and fans are left hoping she won’t need surgery to fix lingering issues with mobility.
Do you think Bianca Belair should return to chase a championship or come back in a new storyline altogether? Share your thoughts in the comments and let us know how you’d book her WWE return.
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October 31, 2025 2:13 pm
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