Io Shirai vs Candice LeRae – NXT TakeOver: Toronto II
Once great friends LaRae and Shirai became bitter enemies when Shirai viciously beat down LaRae when she snapped after she was unsuccessful to capture Shayna Baszler‘s NXT Women’s Championship for the second time in a fantastic cage match.
During Baszler and Shirai’s steel cage match for the title, Shayna’s running buddies, Shafir and Duke interfered, to cost Shirai the match. LaRae attempted to help Shirai during the interference but to no avail. Shirai snapped after the match and brutally attacked her supposed friend with a steel chair.
Steel chair in hand, LaRae would try to exact her revenge during a match between Shirai and Kacy Catanzaro on NXT but Io managed to escape. Candice would go to NXT GM William Regal to make the match official for the next PPV, NXT TakeOver: Toronto II.
The match was unprecedented in that NXT TakeOver events tended to only feature one women’s match, the NXT Women’s Championship match. So to have Io vs Candice on the card showed just how intense and exciting their feud was.
Due to the deep-set rivalry and talent, both performers possess this was a highly anticipated match that most definitely lived up to the hype.
