Hi guys! Welcome to this week’s review of NXT. Per last week’s announcement, tonight’s installment of NXT featured a rubber match between Lacey Evans and Kairi Sane. Sane was the first woman to earn a victory, defeating Evans back in New Orleans. Evans was then able to bounce back with a victory of her own a few weeks ago. In addition to Evans’ and Sane’s tie breaker, the show opened up with Shayna responding to what transpired last week.
The ? of ?? has arrived.@QoSBaszler #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/izfyRzJaZN
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 7, 2018
Baszler, with the NXT women’s championship around her waist, came down to the ring and bragged about her victory over Dakota Kai, stating her victory proved that the strong always defeat the weak. Baszler then went on to claim there’s always one person who thinks that the rules don’t apply, and Baszler stated that person was Nikki Cross.
Did @QoSBaszler just meet her match in the form of @NikkiCrossWWE? #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/edy5JW4TGn
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) June 7, 2018
Soon enough, Nikki Cross emerged and went face to face with Baszler. Baszler began to antagonize Cross, and stated if Cross ever pulled another stunt like last week, she’ll be put to sleep in a heartbeat. To further irate Cross, Baszler threw her microphone into Nikki Cross’ face before practically begging Cross to do something about it. Shayna would not have to wait long for a response, as Cross soon after mounted Shayna and began unloading on the champion. Shayna was able to implement some offense, but Cross countered Shayna’s comeback with a forearm and a diving cross body. The segment ended with Cross standing tall as Shayna retreated up the ramp.
It's official: #WWENXT #WomensChampion @QoSBaszler will defend her title against @NikkiCrossWWE at #NXTTakeOver: Chicago! pic.twitter.com/STNc2Sqn5m
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) June 7, 2018
Following Cross and Baszler’s brawl, a championship match between the two competitors was officially announced for TakeOver: Chicago II.
Later on in the evening, Kairi Sane and Lacey Evans once again met in the ring. Evans offered a handshake to Sane to start off the match. However, Sane opted to lock up instead. Sane’s quick offense allowed her to take control of the early match up before Evans countered and took control. Evans would then lose control of the match herself after attempting a double jump moonsault. The miscalculation by Evans ultimately allowed Sane to regain control, hit the InSane elbow drop from the top rope, and secure the win.
Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed the segment between Cross and Baszler. My one nit picky thing is that I don’t think it was ever explicitly stated how Baszler regained possession of her championship. Notwithstanding, I think this segment set up the match for TakeOver: Chicago II perfectly. Both Cross and Baszler have established themselves as two of the more physical competitors within the women’s division. So having them duke it out prior to TakeOver was perfect. While there was still some promo work done, there was also a good amount of fighting. Similar to Ember and Shayna’s feud, I am a firm believer that brawls over promos will be an effective way to further this feud.
Although I love Nikki Cross and want her to win at TakeOver, I don’t see Shayna losing the belt so early. Which is a shame because Nikki definitely deserves to be champion at some point. However, my gut feeling is that Baszler retains, or leaves TakeOver with the women’s title as a result of a disqualification or count out. Regardless of the outcome of the match, I hope these two ladies have a kick ass match. TakeOver is where talent gets to shine, and I hope Baszler and Cross knock their match out of the park.
I am so glad that we were able to get a tie breaker between Sane and Evans. I know the feud between these two will most likely not lead to a high profile TakeOver match or anything like that. But it was just nice to see a little side feud played out in addition to the storyline regarding the NXT women’s title. From what I saw, the match looked pretty good. There were little touches that were put into tonight’s match, such as Sane stomping on Evans’ right hand and Evans doing a push up while covering Sane, that really added to the match up. If tonight was indeed the final battle between these two competitors, then I am content with that.
I’m not exactly sure where this leads Sane or Evans going forward. If we are lucky enough to get another side feud, perhaps Bianca Belair and Sane could have a program. I for one would welcome a program between those two women with wide open arms, especially considering the match they had during the Mae Young Classic. Time will tell though. In the meantime, hopefully we continue to have more than one feud for the NXT women’s division play out on television.
What did you guys think of the match between Evans and Sane? Did you enjoy the segment between Cross and Baszler? Are you looking forward to Baszler and Cross fighting at TakeOver: Chicago II? Let us know in the comments below!
