Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s review of NXT. Tonight, Vanessa Borne and Kairi Sane squared off in one on one action. The bad blood between Borne and Sane originally stems from two weeks ago, when Borne insulted Sane during an interview. Refusing to be deterred as a result of Borne’s mocking, Sane responded to Vanessa last week by confidently saying that she would beat Borne and move on to winning the NXT women’s championship. Thus, tonight’s bout between Sane and Borne looked to settle the score between these two competitors.
While Borne and Sane’s rivalry came to a conclusive end tonight, we saw the reemergence of a feud between Dakota Kai and Lacey Evans. Additionally, as a result of comments made by Shayna Baszler last week, one contender within the division decided to stand up for herself and confront Shayna directly.
#WWENXT Women’s Champion @QoSBaszler messed with @CandiceLeRae on the WRONG day… pic.twitter.com/F99qcuE5zr
— WWE (@WWE) July 12, 2018
Earlier today, Candice LeRae was interviewed right outside of Full Sail. Candice was asked about her recent win against Lacey Evans as well as any possible momentum she may have gained from that victory. Before LeRae could fully elaborate, she spotted Shayna Baszler leaning up against a truck. When LeRae asked Baszler about her comments, Baszler simply responded that LeRae should go back to being a sidekick. LeRae would retaliate by slapping Baszler, which then led to a pull apart brawl between the two.
.@DakotaKai_WWE is DONE with @LaceyEvansWWE’s trash talk and wants the #LadyofNXT to prove herself in the ring! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/I20xD0AZ3O
— WWE (@WWE) July 12, 2018
Following the confrontation between Baszler and LeRae, Cathy Kelley interviewed Dakota Kai. Kai was also asked to respond to Baszler’s comments from last week. With confidence in her voice, Kai told Kelley that Baszler would be seeing the captain of team kick very soon. Before she could continue however, Lacey Evans came onto the scene. Evans told Kai that no one cares about her, and that if she were to become the NXT women’s champion, she would ruin the prestige associated with the title. Evans then went on to state that the division needed a champion with class. Kai then challeneged Evans to a match for next week, promising to kick the class right off her face.
When @KairiSaneWWE locks in the ??, it's OVER.
What a victory for the #PiratePrincess on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/j1ciMOF836
— WWE (@WWE) July 12, 2018
Right after Kai challenged Evans, Kairi Sane and Vanessa Borne went toe to toe. Using a dragon screw leg whip, Sane targeted Vanessa’s left leg. However, as Kairi went for a crucifix pin, Borne was able to counter Sane’s pinning attempt with a Samoan drop. Borne maintained control of the match by using maneuvers such as submissions and a twisting suplex. However, as Borne went for a reverse vader bomb, Sane moved out of the way. Despite Sane’s wherewithal to avoid Borne’s aerial attack, she was not able to regain complete momentum. As she went for her signature InSane elbow drop, Vanessa pulled Sane off the ropes. Borne then went for a roll up to end the match. However, Sane countered the pin and placed Borne in a bridging boston crab (which Sane refers to as the Anchor). Having no where to go, Borne tapped out, giving Sane the decisive victory.
Well, @KairiSaneWWE just made it VERY clear. She's coming for @QoSBaszler's TREASURE! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/yFTYBrmh3b
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 12, 2018
Once the match was over, Sane grabbed the microphone to address Shayna Baszler. Sane admitted that Baszler was strong. However, Kairi reminded all of us that she has already beaten Baszler, and will do so again. Sane ended her sentiments by claiming that she is coming for the “treasure” that is the NXT Women’s Championship.
BREAKING: @KairiSaneWWE @NikkiCrossWWE @CandiceLeRae & @BiancaBelairWWE will do battle NEXT WEEK to determine the #1 Contender to @QoSBaszler's #WWENXT #WomensChampionship! pic.twitter.com/wyfuLcwOCQ
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 12, 2018
Not too long after Kairi’s declaration, we were told that next week, a fatal four way between LeRae, Sane, Nikki Cross and Bianca Belair would be taking place, with the winner becoming the official number one contender to Shayna Baszler.
When your kid wants to win a dance competition against competitors who twerk….you pull a @thescotty2hotty and make it happen. ???
.#1stPlace #Winners #CruiseDanceOff #LikeALady #KeepItClassy pic.twitter.com/1lLhJoXb4r— Lacey Evans (@LaceyEvansWWE) July 7, 2018
This last part of the review actually has nothing to do with tonight’s show so I do apologize. I saw this video pop up on my timeline this past weekend. And the adorableness of it definitely caught my attention. Going forward I will try my best not to blatantly give attention to one competitor over the other. That being said I hope you guys will enjoy the video above.
Thoughts: The segment between Baszler and LeRae came across a little flat to me. Baszler’s delivery of her line and Candice’s slap could have been more effective. I was a fan however of the pull apart brawl. I think those suit Baszler’s character much better than a promo. Plus it’s always a delight seeing Serena Deeb on television because that woman is great. In light of tonight’s announcement for next week’s match up, I wonder if this segment served as a way to kind of spoil who will win the match. I personally don’t read the spoilers, because I like being surprised and in the dark when I watch. Time will tell though.
Out of the two backstage segments, I enjoyed the interaction between Kai and Evans more. Kai to me seems comfortable on the microphone. Evans also comes across as very comfortable with her character. Much like the preceding segment, the interaction between Kai and Evans was short. Yet this particular segment was sweet, and it helped set up next week’s match between the two. I’m looking forward to this match. Especially since their last televised match in March was relatively short. This time around, I’m hoping Evans and Kai get some time to shine.
Sane and Borne’s encounter was good. Aside from seeing Sane’s submission hold and Borne’s twisting suplex, nothing stands out as too memorable to me about this match. But I do think Borne is progressing nicely as an in ring competitor. Borne looked good both on offense and bumping tonight. Right now, it appears that Borne has been relegated to being the one to take the losses within the women’s division. But with time who knows. It may be Borne that’s in the top spot someday. And if she keeps progressing I’m all for it.
Sane’s post match promo was very similar to her interview last week. The language barrier will always make things kind of tricky. Yet I thought Sane did a good job of making her intentions clear.
I personally think the fatal four way next week has the potential to steal the show. Or at least that’s my hope for the match. What I love most about the match is that is doesn’t feel too predictable. I mean the segment with LeRae and Baszler kind of makes me lean towards picking Candice as the one who will win next week. But I could easily see any of the other three women winning as well. Again I didn’t read the spoilers so I legitimately have no clue who will win. Regardless of who wins though, I am really looking forward to seeing this match play out.
It’s also such a nice change of pace to not only have two matches for next week, but to also have a match that’s not a singles bout. I remember reading a comment about the redundancy of singles matches that happens on television. And now that I think about it, I don’t know if we’ve had a multi women match this year on the black and yellow brand. I understand on the main roster it seems like multi women matches are the norm. But they hardly happen on NXT. And there’s certainly enough women on the roster to make tag and multi women matches happen. Maybe going forward we can see more of those. It would certainly be a nice change of pace to always seeing singles matches.
What did you think of this week’s match? Are you looking forward to next week’s contests? Who do you think will be Shayna’s next contender? Let us know in the comments below!
