7 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia
1. Not Quite Ready For Primetime
MMA fighters making the transition over to professional wrestling are not necessarily guaranteed success. Far from it. While there are success stories, there are others who didn’t pan out.
Shayna Baszler is still a relative newcomer to the squared circle in many ways, with a little more than two years under her belt. So this isn’t an indictment of her. However, putting her in a lengthy title match on PPV like this was a mistake.
Baszler has legitimacy as an MMA fighter, and she showed during the Mae Young Classic that she has an aptitude for wrestling. But her match against Ember Moon showed that a bout of any length where she has to step outside her comfort area is still sketchy. Baszler landed a gruesome elbow stomp early in the match and followed with… a standing armbar? She didn’t have much beyond a few basic wrestling and submission moves, and it showed.
If WWE was planning on cashing in on her as a member of the MMA Four Horsewomen, then they should have booked a squash against the Iconic Duo or something like that rather than an NXT Women’s Championship match that led fans to chant, “Bulls***.”
And if they are considering making her the female Brock Lesnar and run through the women's division, then play to her strengths. Long matches aren't among them (yet).