7 Ups And 3 Downs For NXT TakeOver XXV
1. Pull The Trigger Already
What is the NXT braintrust waiting for with the NXT Women’s Championship?
Shayna Baszler is in the midst of her second run with the title, and multiple times now, it’s looked like time for her reign to end, only for it to continue. Although broken up by a 10-week reign by Kairi Sane, Baszler has held the title for nearly a full year, dating back to WrestleMania weekend last year.
At TakeOver XXV, it looked like Io Shirai was poised to live up to the hype that followed her into NXT from Japan, but as has happened numerous times at recent TakeOvers, she tapped out to the Kirifuda Clutch after Shayna’s talentless Horsewomen came down for a distraction. (Though this time, Shirai was foolishly more distracted by Candice LeRae taking out Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke than anything else.)
At this point, the question has to be what their plans are with Baszler and the women’s division. When Asuka held the title for 500+ days, the division was low on star power and she was the biggest star on the roster. Today, LeRae, Deonna Purrazzo and Mia Yim are all capable contenders.
Baszler is 38. Either WWE is gonna call her up to the main roster or they aren’t. She’s a solid wrestler and can contribute wherever she is, but this just doesn’t make sense at this point.