NXT features many women appearances this week. The much-awaited match between Charlotte Flair and Io Shirai for the NXT Women’s Championship took place. We will get to that in a moment.
The first woman we saw was Candice LeRae as she would come down to ringside during Johnny Gargano’s match against Dominik Dijakovic. She did just enough to help distract the referee for Gargano to remove the top cover of the turnbuckle. Eventually the official would see what he was doing, however, eventually he was able to expose the turnbuckle medal and use that to gain a win with an assist from his wife.
Xia Li faced Chelsea Green for the first women’s match. Green announced earlier in the day that she was going to be in action but we weren’t sure who her opponent would be. Li has picked up many wins lately so Green definitely had her work cut out for her.
The match started off very high paced as Green attacked first. Both women countered each other nicely to start. There wouldn’t be too much time going by until Li’s recent foe, Aliyah, made her way down to the ring. She first would grab at the leg of Li in order to distract her from her match. Green attempted to take advantage but Li still stayed with it, that is until the second attempt.
Aliyah distracted her rival once again where Li, in turn, kicked her off the ring apron. This time it was enough for Green to hit the Unprettyher for the pin and the win.
After the bell rings, Robert Stone offers his hand to help Aliyah get up off the ringside floor. Could this mean that the RS Brand is finally going to expand with that of Aliyah?
Next we have a long awaited debut of Scarlett. She accompanied Karrion Kross to the ring for his in-ring debut and I must say the music, entrance, and smoke was perfect. WWE seems to be very high on both Kross and Scarlett and I personally can’t wait to see what Scarlett can do once she starts getting in the ring herself. Kross’ match was the definition of a squash as he defeated Leon Ruff in mere seconds.
After the smoke clears on Scarlett’s debut, we have the much anticipated match between NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair and Io Shirai. The match starts with Flair locking in a headlock, however, Shirai was able to punch her way out of it. Shirai showed off her athleticism early on by flipping around the ring to show that Flair has her work cut out for her.
Flair would seem to stay on offense through most the match. Shirai can’t be counted out though as she was quick to counter a lot of what The Queen threw at her including a moonsault which did not connect. She tries to capitalize on this with double knees in the corner on the champ but isn’t able to get more than a two count. Shirai then tries with a moonsault on her own and is unable to connect as well.
Flair starts to get frustrated that she can’t put the Joshi Goddess away. This leads Flair to disqualify herself with a kendo stick as it is clear she just wants to hurt her opponent. The bell rings declaring Shirai the winner but obvious she does not win the title.
As Flair decides to start attacking Shirai more, a returning Rhea Ripley shows up. We have not see Ripley since she lost the title to Flair at WrestleMania. Shirai doesn’t seem too happy with this as she starts yelling at Ripley. The two make their way up the ramp with Ripley telling her to shut up.
Could we see a Triple Threat in our future?
After the break we see Ripley being interviewed outside. She clearly wants another go at Flair. Shirai finds Ripley and the two start brawling. Many officials have to pull the two off each other as tensions are taken to a higher level.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers of the week:
WINNER: Scarlett
Scarlett’s entrance with Kross was very well put together. There are many avenues they could go with her and I hope that they take every single one. She shows great promise as she has a great presence about her. Very much looking forward to her getting into the ring and battling with some of the best women in wrestling.
WINNER: Aliyah
Aliyah may have received a knock off the apron, but she was able to get some retribution against Xia Li. There is a glimpse of them possibly using her with the Robert Stone brand which, to be honest, could go either way. Personally I am not feeling the RS brand as nothing seems to be getting pushed with it. Adding more talent to it could help though. Using Aliyah for this could work well if she and Chelsea could form a decent tag team.
WINNER: Rhea Ripley
Ripley returns and with a vengeance. She has picked the opportune time to show herself since her loss at WrestleMania. It is good to see that they are still pushing her in the title picture because that is where she belongs. She really has been over since the end of last year and she still needs to stay towards the top. I still do not see Flair losing the title anytime soon, however, I could be wrong as we know a lot of reigns by her don’t last too long.
LOSER: Xia Li
Although this loss isn’t going to drastically matter, she has been the victim of some outside interference in the losses she has had. I get why they are still holding onto her feud with Aliyah, but unless Aliyah starts to pick up a win it has seemed very one-sided.
What did you think of this week’s NXT? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
