10 Biggest Unsung Heroes Of WWE's Current Era
2. Io Shirai
We can all agree that NXT hasn’t been the same since the pandemic broke out. The pivot to the USA Network amplified a lot of the issues of the brand while limiting many of its previous strengths. While there have been amazing moments, NXT doesn’t quite feel the same as it did before the two major shifts of the last year. There’s less focus on long term narratives/character development and oversaturation has damaged some of the appeal.
However, alongside North American Champion Damian Priest, the main person making NXT worth watching every week is the NXT Women’s Champion herself, Io Shirai, who has made it her mission to boost every woman on the roster with regularly sensational performances against women like Dakota Kai and Shotzi Blackheart.
While NXT’s current approach has limited her immaculate character work from 2019 and she hasn’t been given major long term feuds, she’s made up for that by having the best match of any show she’s been on, particularly against Sasha Banks at the Great American Bash special.
She’s absolutely carried Wednesday nights for WWE since NXT lost its physical audience, and she deserves more credit for just how good she’s been.