6 Ups And 2 Downs From WWE NXT (Nov 18)

2. I Haven't Got A Pun, This Match Was Just Brilliant

I really feel like I use the term "match of the year candidate" too often but... well, you know where this is going.

The last 12 months have been such a natural narrative for these two. Heading into WarGames 2019, Rhea Ripley was on the verge of the most dominating few days in WWE Women's History. She beat Charlotte on SmackDown, Shayna Baszler in the cage, then the entire main roster at Survivor Series. All this to build towards winning the Women's Championship and defending it at WrestleMania. Io, meanwhile, was contributing little more than news reports of an imminent exit.

Nobody would have predicted how these stories would unfold though. Ripley lost to Charlotte and fell back into the midcard; her most prominent feud being with Aliyah and Robert Stone. Shirai, after pinning Ripley to rescue the title from Charlottle, has probably made a case for being the belt's most entertaining champion with a string of eye-catching defences against a variety of opponents. Two incredible stories, all centered on the same prize, but so rarely overlapping.

It was a story deserving of a TakeOver main-event in front of a capacity crowd (my god imagine the video package) but if it has to close out a Wednesday night then so be it. The match the pair sculpted here, constantly targeting limbs, constantly wearing each other down, was grueling to watch without ever being a slog. A final Riptide counter into a DDT getting me off my seat in a way normally reserved for """"real"""" sports. Both women sold you on this throughout.

The busted open ear, the astonishing counters, Io's cat-like ability to constantly land on her feet, the powerbomb spot, if you're reading this article without watching the match then remedy that immediately. The finish, which I won't spoil, might be one of the best choreographed moments NXT has mustered since moving to the USA Network.

Best division in pro-wrestling, period.