[media-credit name=”Photo: WWE.com” align=”alignleft” width=”620″]
[/media-credit]
Tonight at NXT Takeover: R Evolution, Charlotte defends the NXT Women’s Title against Sasha Banks. Will The Boss take over? The Diva Dirt team weighs in:
Adrian: Charlotte’s loss to Natalya on Raw was a masterclass by WWE in how NOT to present your future stars to the casual audience. However, NXT is very much a separate beast and I can’t wait to see what happens here tonight. From their iffy debuts, Charlotte and Sasha have become the two most highly-improved women on the NXT roster and they’re both destined for great things in the, er, limited confines of the main Divas division. I’m not sure who wins here though – if Charlotte drops then her move up to the main roster is imminent but after what happened on Raw she needs a little more time just so that her real debut is as fresh and as emphatic as possible (despite her clearly being more than ready for the call-up). Sasha, on the other hand, could still do with a few more months just to tweak her heel character from the almost-perfect that it currently is to the utterly-impeccable it has the potential to be, and the NXT Women’s Championship would be the perfect vehicle for that to happen. I think it’s too close to call, but I’m going to follow my heart and say Sasha Banks wins the belt. Whatever the case, we should see a hell of a story told tonight.
Bobby: I’m really excited for this! Sasha Banks has been my NXT Jesus for ages, and it makes me so happy she’s (fiiiiiiiiinally) getting the chance on a live special. This girl has everything except the Women’s Title, and I really think and hope tonight is her night. With Charlotte, it’s almost surreal to think this time last year she was almost an entirely different person, in that she was very flippy, and you could tell she had potential but she hadn’t quite reached it yet. This year was her breakthrough, and she’s such a star now it makes me beam with happiness. As far as who I think is going to win, I’m going with Sasha Banks. I know Charlotte’s loss on Raw raised some eyebrows, but I see it as more showing she’s beatable because, unless I’m mistaken, that was her first televised singles loss by something other than DQ, right? I think it makes the playing field seem more even now that the loss has perhaps taken Charlotte off her game and showed her that she’s not as impossible to beat as it might have seemed (which will make her be on her toes even more). To me it’s time for something fresh, and Sasha Banks is that. I’m so ready to see what she can do as champion, and I would definitely bank on it being nothing short of greatness.
Chris: I have literally been waiting for this for the past six months. Since the moment Charlotte won the NXT Woman’s Championship back when Takeover didn’t have sub-names, a feud with Sasha was sure to happen and I can’t wait. I love both these ladies and given my glorious (ahem…) prediction record, I’m going to go out on a limb and say Sasha Banks will become the new NXT Woman’s Champion and Charlotte makes moves up to the main roster shortly there after. I can’t wait to see the former BFFs face off.
Cryssi: This match is interesting to me and so far, on every NXT special, the divas have managed to steal the show. Do I think Charlotte and Sasha can pull that off? Well, I thought Natalya and Charlotte would be a disaster and I couldn’t have been more wrong. So I’ll watch with an open mind and go out on a limb, and say we will have a title change tonight. Sasha Banks will be champ and Charlotte will show up on the main roster.
Erin: With how things went down for her on Raw, I don’t see Charlotte jumping up to the main roster just yet. I think they’re still investing in her as an NXT talent more than they are grooming her to make the leap. Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but I can see her sticking around in NXT for a bit longer. I really think an extended feud with Sasha (an actual, week-to-week feud) would help her get comfortable with mic work and ready her for the big time, so I’m betting on Charlotte to retain here.
Jack: Just because Charlotte had an exhibition match on Raw, that doesn’t mean to say she is going to drop the belt and get called up. NXT talent such as Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, The Ascension and Tyler Breeze took part in exhibition matches and they haven’t been called up yet. Although saying that, The Ascension lost their titles after their main roster appearance. But I don’t think that’s going to happen just yet. I think Sasha is more than ready for developmental glory yet I don’t think she will win just yet. I see Charlotte losing the title in a Triple Threat between her, Bayley and Sasha, just because Bayley is so prominent in the feud still. I could be wrong and Sasha will win and then continue to feud with Bayley yet there is still more fuel to add to the fire between the former BFFs. Charlotte retains.
Josue: I’m pretty excited for this match as these NXT live specials always deliver when it comes to the women’s matches. This particular rivalry between Charlotte and Sasha Banks has a lot going behind it and I don’t think it’ll come to an end at Takeover. Though Charlotte may have already gotten a taste of Raw with her match against Natalya this week, I just don’t see her leaving NXT just yet. With that, Charlotte will retain to keep her feud with Sasha going on a bit longer before graduating up to the main roster.
BREAKDOWN: 3 for Charlotte, 4 for Sasha.
Who do you agree with? Who is just dead wrong?
