If there's one performer who knows how successful the WWE developmental system can be, it's Bianca Belair.

A college track and field star who transitioned to the squared circle when she ran out of NCAA eligibility, Belair joined the WWE Universe in 2016 and slowly worked her way up the ranks, becoming a fixture of NXT, then SmackDown, and finally, RAW, where she became the longest-reigning singles woman's champion in WWE history. She's seen Superstars come and go, watched flashes in the pan disappear without a trace, and others, like Rhhea Ripley, become certified main roster fixtures after finding their voice and their gimmicks in developmental.

So, when Belair takes particular interest in a young superstar, fans should take an interest, as the “EST” doesn't just hand out kind words willy-nilly. Fortunately, such a situation happened in a conversation with Brad Gilmore on The Collection, when Belair put over Lash Legend as a performer to watch moving forward, placing the collegiate hooper in the same category as Tiffany Stratton.

“Of course, Lash Legend. When she first came in, any collegiate athlete, I feel they have a similar background as me, I always saw her when she first came in, and she recently had a great showing,” Bianca Belair told Brad Gilmore via Fightful. “I'm so happy for her, she had a great showing. I think there is a lot of greatness to come from her. I would be so excited to get in the ring with her one day. Tiffany [Tiffany Stratton] is doing amazing things. I was very impressed with her, how quickly she became champion in such a short amount of time being there. I don't think people realize how impressive that is to maybe be there a year and change and be champion. She did so well in that role. She's a star now, she's going to be a star in the future. There are so many women in NXT. There is a lot of talent down there, and those girls are being thrown on TV so quickly and catching on so quickly. That's a testament to what kind of noise they're going to make in the future.”

Initially signing with WWE in December of 2020, Legend made her television debut in the fall of 2021, where she began hosting her own show, Lashing Out with Lash Legend. While you'd be hard-pressed to find many fans who would place Legend among the cream of WWE's developmental crop as a worker, as she's wrestled just one singles match versus Sol Ruca back in January that earned more than a 6.0 rating from the community on Cagematch, who knows, maybe Belair sees something fans don't, and the duo will be main eventing WrestleMania one day in the not-too-distant future?

Bianca Belair opens up about her WrestleMania 39 medical issues.

Elsewhere in her conversation with Brad Gilmore on The Collection, Bianca Belair discussed her very eventful 2023 before informing fans that she was actually incredibly sick heading into her biggest match of the year at WrestleMania 39 against Asuka.

“It was the most rewarding, but exhausting time of my career. Everyone wants to be champion, but a lot of people don’t realize the schedule that comes with that, the pressure that comes with that, the reputation that comes with that,” Bianca Belair said via SE Scoops.

“Every time you step out, you want to put on a champion performance. It’s multiple segments on the show, you’re on every single show, every single live event, you’re doing media between the weeks. Everyone else is going home after RAW and SmackDown, you’re going to New York or California to do media, to do press, to do opportunities.

“I got to do a lot of amazing things and took the title to so many places when I was champion. From NBA games, NFL games, Kentucky Derby, Kevin Hart, Wild N Out, College Gameday, I did so many amazing things, but I was never home. It also comes with the pressure.

“I’m someone who is a perfectionist. When it comes to WrestleMania, I put everything into it. I was so sick that WrestleMania. Physically, I was run down and so sick. It’s a lot of pressure that comes with it, but it’s the most rewarding, but exhausting time of the year. You’ll see how exhausting that journey is, but rewarding and trying to balance everything.”

Goodness, if Belair was able to wrestle one of the best matches of her professional wrestling career in front of 80,000 fans at SoFi Stadium while “run down and sick,” imagine how impressive the “EST” will look in Philadelphia later this year, assuming she comes into whatever match she's booked for fresh. Considering the comparably lighter workload Belair earned in the back half of 2023, things are certainly trending in that direction.