I've always been a bigger fan of NXT than Raw or Smackdown, especially when it comes to their Women's Divisions. Both the matches and the booking of champions have always typically been better. And it especially holds true today. The NXT Women's Division is stacked with a plethora of talent. One wrestler in particular that has recently caught my attention is Shayna Baszler. A newcomer to NXT, having competed in the Mae Young Classic and just recently signed to WWE, Baszler has made a big splash as of late, having recently challenged NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon to the title at the last Takeover.
I firmly believe Baszler will not only be a big deal in the Women's Division, but could also be the top heel in the division. Outside of her great in-ring work, she's got loads of charisma and has decent mic work. Her promos are definitely not amazing, but there is definitely an air of confidence and swagger that she exudes. In due time, I have no doubt she will be cemented as the badass monster of NXT's Women's Division. Something they should've had with Nia Jax, but ultimately ruined. (And here's where I explain myself.)
When Nia Jax first debuted in NXT, she was billed to be the monster heel of the Women's Division, which she accomplished for a while. Then she challenged for Bayley's NXT Women's Title at Takeover: London and lost. Then she challenged for Asuka's NXT Women's Title at Takeover: The End and lost. Then Bayley defeated her once again in an exhibition match. Then she challenged once more for Asuka's title and lost (again). And while her run on the main roster was initially well done, it has since been marred by a string of losses (most notably Bayley and Asuka, again). And this current feud with Alexa Bliss (insert image of flaming garbage here) is doing her no favors, either.
So how does this connect with Shayna? Well, to an extent, their pushes have been similar. Both of them are portrayed as dominant performers; while it's a constrast of styles (Nia's moveset based on her physical strength, while Shayna's is based on her extensive MMA background), they're nevertheless portrayed as powerhouses. But where I think Shayna succeeds where Nia fails is that she's the superior in-ring performer and mic worker. Baszler's in-ring work looks cleaner and is more polished, and her mic work is more believably badass than Jax's. All in all, she's a better performer than Jax and could be the monster heel the Women's Division desperately needs. While she isn't as physically imposing as Nia, her punishing, relelentless ring work more than makes up for it.
Now you might be asking: Andrew, how could they not fuck this up? They did it with Nia, what would they do to make sure this doesn't happen again? Well, it's simple, really: she can't lose clean. What I mean by that is shouldn't take a one-and-done finisher to put her away, nor should she tap out at any point. I'm well aware she lost at Takeover: Philadelphia, but that was via a last-ditch roll-up from Ember Moon. She has to remain dominant in every sense of the word. If she loses, it should be via disqualification or a cheap countout. She can't be pinned again (especially not submitted) for quite some time if she is to maintain dominance.
Does she necessarily need to win the title at Takeover: New Orleans? It would certainly help, and I definitely want her to. Is it too soon, given that she's so fresh to NXT? Maybe, but then again, that might be a positive. Having the title could boost her heel ego and make her even more vicious in her matches, just to prove that she's the only woman who deserves to hold the title.
But I could be getting ahead of myself in thinking this. Nevertheless, I'm confident the NXT Creative Team will book her intelligently so that she will be the dominating force in the Women's Division she deserves to be.
And don't worry. I've already got a table set out in the event I have to eat my words.
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