Bianca Belair Praises IYO SKY After WWE Backlash

IYO SKY headed into WWE Backlash as the underdog, but judging by the crowd reaction, Puerto Rico was firmly behind the "Genius of the Sky" last night. SKY, of course, opened the premium live event as she challenged Bianca Belair for the "Raw" Women's Championship. The two battled feverishly for 18 minutes, as SKY unleashed her high-flying arsenal onto "The EST," but in the end, it was Belair who took home the victory.

Despite her loss, SKY has earned great applause from the WWE Universe, and her Backlash opponent. Following their critically acclaimed contest, Belair spoke with WWE's "The Bump" about SKY's performance. "I said before, [SKY is] dangerous. She's unpredictable. She's amazing. She's one of a kind. And she went out there and she proved that...She made herself tonight. She let everybody know what her name was."

As Belair alluded to, the majority of the cheers during their match were geared toward SKY, who usually generates boos when accompanied by her Damage CTRL stablemates, Dakota Kai and Bayley. In singles competition, though, it appears that SKY won over the crowd, which forced Belair to elevate her own game even more. "Everybody found out what I already know. I knew IYO was a star, so they were chanting it, but I couldn't let it get in my head," Belair said.

SKY's allies did attempt to interfere in the match, but it ended up backfiring, as SKY missed a moonsault, allowing Belair to land a KOD for the win. With her victory, Belair surpasses Becky Lynch to officially become the longest reigning "Raw" Women's Champion.