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Love & WWE: Bianca & Montez (Hulu) is the latest in a string of shows that cross reality programming with professional wrestling. Married couple Bianca Belair and Montez Ford both wrestle in the WWE, but at different levels of success. They’re considering having children, but their careers place demands on each of them, in professional obligations and physical limitations. And while everyone in the WWE dreams of winning at WrestleMania, which presents the marquee matches of the world’s largest wrestling promotion, that level of exposure can be fleeting. Bianca & Montez tracks the couple’s life over eight episodes as they work toward the main event.
Opening Shot: April, 2023. Los Angeles. WrestleMania. While Bianca Belair enters as champion, “I’m walking in with everything to lose.” And as footage of her match appears in slow motion, an announcer intones that the champ is in trouble…
The Gist: But hey, let’s move it back ten weeks, and spend some time getting to know Bianca and Montez as they hang out in Orlando, Florida at their spacious Spanish Colonial-style home. In the ring, she’s been known to wield her distinctive ponytail like a whip. But off duty, it’s draped lazily across Montez’s lap as he crosses his eyes and busts bits for the camera. (He’s mischievous by nature, often looking through the fourth wall like “Watch how I’m gonna mess with Bianca next.”) They met through their respective careers in WWE, and married in 2018. But these days, Bianca has a Raw Women’s Championship belt, while Montez, who’s best known as a tag team partner with Angelo Dawkins in the Street Profits, is still searching for individual WWE glory.
The Royal Rumble is coming up. It’s like a playoff round to reach WrestleMania, and there’s pressure on both Bianca and Montez to perform. She’s defending her title against Alexa Bliss; he’s participating solo in the 30-man rumble. In San Antonio for the event, we meet Bianca’s parents, Leonard and Travonda, as well as Montez’s mom Dara. (Travonda makes it clear that she wants grandbabies sooner than later.) And though he has his moments, like propelling himself backwards over the top rope to reenter the fray, Montez is quickly eliminated.
“Like, you joke about it a lot,” Bianca says about his performance the next morning in their hotel room. “But is that to hide how you really feel?” And a few days later, back in Orlando to train at the WWE Performance Center, Bianca has a bit of a heart-to-heart about it with fellow WWE star Liv Morgan. For Bianca and Montez, their work/marriage balance is a constant topic – there might be ropes around it, but they essentially share an office. And while Montez trains with Dawkins, he shares his frustrations in a cutaway. Working in the ring as a duo is awesome. “But you can’t be WWE champion as a tag team person. It’s individual glory he seeks, while still supporting Bianca with her professional journey.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Crossing wrestling with relationships and reality television is a whole thing. After Total Divas premiered on E! way back in 2013, it spun off six enjoyable seasons of Total Bellas, starring twins and pro wrestlers Brie and Nikki Bella and their husbands, veteran wrestler Bryan Danielson and pro DWTS dancer Artem Chigvintsev, plus Miz & Mrs., which follows the married with kids life of WWE stars Mike “The Miz” Mizanin – who’s also a former MTV reality star – and Maryse Mizanin.
Our Take: “We all know anything’s possible.” Bianca Belair and Montez Ford are a very charming couple, with an easy rapport that’s full of little bits of playful bickering and a mutual admiration that’s apparent. You can see why their relationship is malleable with their show’s familiar reality template. But in the early going, it’s the insight we can gain about the machinery of professional wrestling that’s the most interesting thing happening in Bianca & Montez. As she alluded to in her training table conversation with Liv Morgan, Bianca says that with the WWE, everything just happens so fast. “You can be champion one day, and the next day you’re not even on the show.” Obviously the promotion is scripted, like all professional wrestling. This is not new, and in fact that scripted element has only grown as the WWE itself expands its reach in the media. But listening to Bianca’s conversation with Liv, or Montez’s with “Dawks,” it’s clear that they perceive their individual input as being crucial to the outcomes they receive in the squared circle. Bianca wants to create more visual pizzazz for her entrances and ring wear, really bring it for her fans, while Montez longs to showcase more of his physical repertoire. The crazy high jumps from the corner? The highest frog splash of all time? People have seen that. “I believe Dawks is onto something. I just need to slam somebody.” And in what seems like a storyline for future episodes of Bianca & Montez, footage appears of bruising WWE wrestler Otis.
Sex and Skin: Nothing overt. But the couple’s lifestyle means lots of Lycra workout clothes. And professionally, Montez wrestles shirtless, while Bianca says she’s proud to strike a balance between athleticism and femininity with the wrestling outfits she often designs and sews herself.
Parting Shot: After Bianca receives some shocking news about an upcoming wrestling event – fellow WWE star Michin claps her on the shoulder as if to say, “Damn girl, good luck with that” – we see some shots from upcoming episodes of the series.
Sleeper Star: Bianca and Montez aren’t the stars appearing here in their outside-the-ring lives. It’s cool to catch other WWE stars as they interact with the couple in training sessions or backstage at events, sometimes in costume, sometimes not.
Most Pilot-y Line: The question is posed to Bianca and Montez more than once: when will they have a baby? This is going to be a recurring theme. “I feel like I’m at a crossroads,” Bianca says. “I want to be a wrestler, I want to have a career, I want to be a wife, I want to be a mom. I want to do it all. But, I want to make sure I’m in the right space. Sometimes I’m like ‘Yes, I’m all in, I want to have a kid.’ And sometimes I’m like, ‘I’m not ready to share my chicken nuggets.’”
Our Call: If you’re a WWE fan, STREAM IT from the top rope. Love & WWE: Bianca & Montez is shot and edited in a familiar relationship reality format. But the world of pro wrestling – both inside and outside the ring – is never very far from the action.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
