"She is a great performer" - Bianca Belair heaps praise on a fellow SmackDown Superstar

Bianca Belair is currently in the midst of a huge feud with the record-breaking former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. Over the weeks, the pair have been involved in some intense back-and-forth both on SmackDown and on social media.

The EST of WWE recently spoke to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. During the interview, Bianca Belair praised her current rival, and had the following to say about The Role Model:

"When I first got to NXT, Bayley was actually still there. I was there when the first draft happened and people split up across the brands. We came to the Performance Center for that event so it could be televised. Bayley didn’t get drafted to RAW or SmackDown. Everyone she had worked with at the Performance Center had moved to RAW or SmackDown, but it felt like she had been left behind. But she always finds a way to make everything work. She pushes through and adapts, just like she has with the change from 'the Hugger' to 'the Role Model.' She’s still teaching me lessons just from watching her."

Bianca Belair continued to discuss how grateful she is to be currently working with Bayley on SmackDown. She said:

"I am so fortunate and happy to work with Bayley. She’s coming off this huge, long title reign, and I’m still the new girl on the block. Being on this big stage, learning every step of the way, I couldn’t ask for anyone better to work with than Bayley. I look up so much to Bayley. She is a great performer, a great wrestler, and she always has good matches. She also elevates every person she comes in contact with. She doesn’t just go to the ring and elevate herself. She goes to the table to eat, but she also pulls up a chair beside her. That’s where I am right now, learning from everything she does"

Bianca Belair discussed how her and Bayley work together on SmackDown

After sharing her praise for the multiple-time champion, Bianca Belair opened up about what it like to be creating the current storyline with Bayley:

" I’ve navigated this my own way, and I’m so grateful to be working with someone as creative as Bayley. We want to bring something fresh, something new, and something fun to what we’re doing, and Bayley is so easy to play off of. I think that comes off on screen, and we’re planning on going over and above to make magic together."

The work that Bianca Belair and Bayley have been doing on SmackDown has been well recieved by both fans and critics of WWE. 2020 was the year that Bianca Belair broke out as a star, and that trajectory seems to be continuing upward in 2021.