Support Us
Sign Up
As far back as the days of Sasha Banks and Bayley’s iconic NXT: Takeover Brooklyn match in 2015, there’s been debate among wrestling fans as to whether or not NXT eclipses the main roster when it comes to the booking of its women’s division. When WWE was facing cries of “#GiveDivasAChance”, it was the trio of NXT rising stars Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch who were called upon to help elevate the women’s division — and now, it looks like history may be repeating itself.
In last week’s two-hour episode of NXT, there were a whopping 25 women featured, with women making up three of the four advertised matches on the card and closing out the show — a stark contrast to the single women’s matches featured that week on Smackdown (Naomi vs Candice LeRae) and Raw, the latter of which featured NXT’s own Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson.
Follow us on MSN for more of the content like this.
Credit where credit is due — Smackdown teased some interesting storylines about Candice LeRae’s future with Nia Jax and where Tiffany Stratton stands in the middle of it all, and Naomi and Bayley are always a joy to watch together. But the women of Smackdown seem to shine in spite of their booking, not because of it, while Shawn Michaels and the NXT writers go out of their way to give platforms for their female talent to shine.
Beginning with Damage CTRL opening the show against Meta-Four (only to be interrupted by Chelsea Green and Piper Niven) the October 22nd episode of NXT is a masterclass in booking not just women’s matches, but women’s storylines. Certainly, there were great bouts on the card — Giulia and Stephanie Vacquer got a chance to show off their tag team prowess ahead of their Halloween Havoc clash with Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez, while Sol Ruca hit a particularly brutal Sol Snatcher on Karmen Petrovich in a singles match.
But beyond just giving female talent time in the ring, what NXT excels at is constantly finding ways to use its roster in pre-tapes, promos, and other backstage segments. Whether it’s Sol and Karmen butting heads in a misunderstanding, Wendy Choo stirring up trouble for Tautm Paxley at the end of her match, or crumbs of an Adriana Rizzo and Nikkita Lyons feud, NXT doesn’t let a second of screentime go to waste.
Are these slow-burn, story-heavy feuds full of build-up and anticipation before a pair of superstars get in the ring together? Maybe not, but not every feud has to be, and Shawn Micahels’ eagerness to highlight female talent whenever and wherever possible has delivered an NXT women’s division worthy of challenging the main roster.
Follow us on MSN for more of the content like this.
