The EST of Baby Showers

Look, we all knew that when Bianca Belair and Montez Ford finally threw a baby shower, it wasn't going to be some low-key gathering at a local Applebee's. We are talking about the EST of WWE. We are talking about a couple that treats their ring gear like Met Gala outfits. On May 16, they threw down in a way only they could.

According to the reports floating around, half the WWE locker room showed up to celebrate. You just know the gift table looked like a premium live event sponsor layout. You can't just show up with a generic gift card. You have to bring absolute heat.

But beyond the balloons and the ridiculous fits, this shower was a massive wake-up call for SmackDown. It officially marked the halfway point of the strangest period in recent WWE history. Bianca Belair is gone from television. She is building a human being. And the ripples of her absence are absolutely destroying the blue brand's weekly television product.

The Favorite Era

There was a specific quote that came out of this weekend that immediately caught my eye. Frankly, it should terrify the creative team.

"I’ve completely fallen in love with being pregnant, this is my favorite era!"

That is terrifying news for the women's roster. Let me break down exactly why.

When Becky Lynch got pregnant, she dropped the Raw Women's Championship and treated her maternity leave like a grueling Rocky training montage. You always knew she was coming back angry. When Carmella had her child, she was very open about the struggles and the desire to reclaim her spot. But Bianca? Bianca is calling this her "favorite era."

She is finally resting. Do you realize the insane schedule this woman has been on since 2021?

She carried the entire division on her back through empty arenas, weird ThunderDome eras, and absolute booking disasters. She smiled through every terrible backstage promo. She made chicken salad out of whatever the creative team handed her, week in and week out.

Now she is sitting back, glowing, and watching the rest of the roster try to figure out how to cut a live promo without hyperventilating.

If you thought she was rushing back to take blind bumps on the apron from Nia Jax, you are out of your mind. She is going to take her time. And honestly? She deserves a two-year vacation. She gave WWE her prime athletic years and never complained once.

The Massive Hole in the Roster

Let's talk about the actual television product right now. Without Bianca Belair anchoring the ship, the babyface side of the women's locker room looks completely lost at sea.

WWE relied on her as the ultimate break-glass-in-case-of-emergency star. Need a 20-minute banger on a random episode of Raw? Call Bianca. Need someone to make a celebrity look like a million bucks at a premium live event? Call Bianca. Need someone to do 45 local morning show interviews before 8 AM and still smile? You get the idea.

Since she stepped away, the creative team has been throwing spaghetti at the wall. They are desperately trying to heat up secondary stars, but the crowd is just not buying it. You can literally see the panic in the booking sheets.

You cannot simply replace a generational talent by giving someone else a sudden push. The fans know the difference. The fans can smell a manufactured top star from the cheap seats.

You can push Tiffany Stratton to the moon, but she isn't Bianca. You can give Bayley all the television time in the world, but she doesn't have the crossover appeal of the EST. Iyo Sky is incredible in the ring, but she isn't getting booked for the ESPYs. Bianca was the bridge between the hardcore wrestling bubble and mainstream pop culture.

This is my absolute biggest issue with how Triple H has booked the women's division over the last twelve months. It was always dangerously top-heavy. It was always Rhea Ripley on one side and Bianca Belair on the other. They never built the middle class.

And now the bill is coming due. The mid-card is suddenly being asked to main event, and it looks exactly like what it is. A mid-card masquerading as elite.

The Montez Ford Problem

While Bianca is enjoying her favorite era, we need to have a serious, uncomfortable conversation about her husband. Because what WWE is doing to Montez Ford right now borders on professional malpractice.

Let's rewind the tape. Two years ago, everyone universally agreed that Montez Ford was the next breakout singles star. Think back to that Elimination Chamber performance. He walked into that structure and completely stole the show from established main eventers. He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.

He had the charisma of a young Rock. He had ridiculous athleticism. He hits a frog splash that looks like he is being launched from an anti-aircraft cannon. The building holds its collective breath every single time he climbs the turnbuckle.

He even put on an absurd amount of muscle. He completely transformed his body to fit the massive WWE main event mold. He did everything the office asked him to do.

And what is his reward? The Street Profits are still stuck in exactly the same spot they were in five years ago. They come out, they yell about getting the smoke, they have a solid 12-minute match, and they lose to whatever random heel faction needs momentum that month.

It is infuriating. It is legitimately the most frustrating booking blind spot in the entire company right now.

With Bianca at home, this was the perfect window to pull the trigger on a Montez solo run. Give him a grueling 30-minute classic for the Intercontinental Championship. Let him show the world that he isn't just a tag team hype man.

Instead, they are treading water. They are throwing him into multi-man matches and backstage segments with no stakes. You have a guy who looks like a superhero and talks like a preacher, and you are using him as background noise for other people's storylines.

I don't care if Angelo Dawkins has to go find another partner. I don't care if they have to split them up in the draft. You cannot keep putting a governor on Montez Ford's engine.

If they wait much longer, the crowd is going to stop caring entirely. You only get so many chances to strike while the iron is hot.

The Reality Show Machine

Of course, there is another massive layer to all of this. The cameras are always rolling.

If you think the baby shower wasn't heavily documented for their reality show, you don't understand the modern wrestling business. Every major life event is now monetized content. That is just how the game is played in 2026.

And I'm not even mad at it. The reality show is actually doing something that the wrestling shows refuse to do. It's treating Montez and Bianca like actual, three-dimensional human beings. It shows the stress, the terrible travel schedules, and the ridiculous pressure of being at the top of the card.

When the next season drops, this baby shower is going to be the emotional climax. Mark my words. You will get the slow-motion drone shots of the WWE stars arriving, the tearful speeches from family, and the overly dramatic gender reveal.

But the reality show also brutally exposes the flaw in the weekly wrestling product. On Hulu, Montez Ford is a complex, driven, ambitious star trying to figure out his legacy. On SmackDown, he's a guy in a track suit yelling old catchphrases.

The disconnect is absolutely jarring.

The Return Clock

So, when does she come back? Every single wrestling fan on the internet is already doing the terrible fantasy booking math in their heads.

Some people are looking at the calendar and trying to figure out if she can make a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble. Please stop. Stop projecting your impatience onto a woman who is literally creating life.

She said it herself. This is her favorite era. She is in no rush to get back into the ring with people who don't know how to catch her on a suicide dive.

My prediction? We won't see Bianca Belair wrestle a meaningful match until at least SummerSlam of next year. She is going to take her time, get in ridiculous shape, and return only when the division absolutely begs for a savior.

And when that music hits, the pop is going to register on the Richter scale. The building will literally shake. It will be the kind of reaction you cannot script or manufacture.

Until then, we are stuck watching the B-team try to hold down the fort. We are stuck watching Montez Ford pretend he's completely fine being a mid-card tag team guy. And we are stuck waiting for the EST to finally decide she's bored with being at home.

I just hope WWE figures out how to book a compelling wrestling show before she gets back. Because right now, the product is completely missing its anchor.