At “WWE NXT” Vengeance Day, Stephanie Vaquer defeated Fallon Henley to claim the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Three days later, she now has her first challenger in sight.
Jaida Parker, Karmen Petrovic, and Kelani Jordan battled in tonight’s “NXT” opening match, with a future Women’s North American Championship title shot on the line. At one point, Parker appeared to be closing in on victory by nailing Jordan with a corner springboard seated senton. When she turned away to gloat, however, Ashante “Thee” Adonis rolled Petrovic back into the ring, allowing her to gain the pinfall on Jordan. The action didn’t stop there, though.
Following Petrovic’s win, the personal animosity between Jordan and Parker continued with a ringside brawl. Meanwhile, the trio of Fallon Henley, Jazmyn Nyx, and Jacy Jayne launched a post-match attack on Petrovic and Adonis, with Jayne slamming a chair into the spine of the latter. When Fatal Influence then mocked Petrovic, Vaquer and NXT Women’s Champion Giulia made their way down to the ring, only to suffer the same fate. Seeing this, WWE’s newest female signee Jordynne Grace charged down to help Giulia and Vaquer fend off the trio, after which she issued a challenge for a three-on-three fight.
As of now, there is no word on when Petrovic will challenge Vaquer for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Nevertheless, it will mark her first televised “NXT” title match. Last year, she fell to Jordynne Grace in a match for the TNA Knockouts Championship on “TNA iMPACT.”
From the early 2010s to late 2021, there were fewer brands in professional wrestling more forward thinking than NXT. Originally helmed by Triple H and the late Dusty Rhodes, the former FCW would be retooled into a new brand with a simple mission: prepare the next generation of WWE main eventers for the likes of “Raw” and “SmackDown.” As the brand kept building steam, hardcore internet fans would soon swarm like flies to the WWE Network’s then-best kept secret. Soon enough the phrase “We Are NXT” became a battle cry for an ever growing section of the wrestling fandom.
For much of the 2010s, when a new face arrived on the main roster, it was directly from the black and yellow brand. Sadly, not every experiment from NXT resulted in a new megastar — and sometimes it was exactly the opposite. Whether it was their behavior or WWE’s main roster creative hindering them, not every wrestler successfully transitioned to prime time. These are six of the best and six worst call ups from the original NXT brand.
Best: Charlotte Flair
WWE
If ever a name brought both prestige and controversy in equal measure, it’s Flair. Charlotte — the daughter of Hall of Famer Ric Flair — first debuted for the WWE back in 2012. She quickly established a name for herself as part of the steadily building NXT brand. Over the next few years, Charlotte would slowly rise to dominance on the black and yellow brand, forging her own path in the ring. The self proclaimed queen of the ring would serve as one the key pillars in the late 2010s women’s revolution.
After a very successful tenure in NXT, the now former NXT Women’s Champion would officially join the main roster partway through 2015. After some moderately unstable booking at the start of her prime time tenure, the second generation superstar broke out big time. It wasn’t too long before she had claimed the (now defunct) Diva’s Championship and, later on, the Women’s Championship. It would be fair to say that the reaction towards Charlotte has become divisive in recent years, but her work rate has never been in doubt. In terms of overall accomplishments and presentation, very few wrestlers have made the progress and strides that Charlotte Flair has.
Worst: Nia Jax
WWE
Few talent arrived with so much momentum and squandered it as quickly as Nia Jax. Making her debut on NXT only a short while after being signed, Jax dominated the women’s division. She would feud with the likes of Bayley and Asuka, challenging both for the Women’s Title during their respective reigns. Her tenure in NXT would end as quickly as it began, with Jax being bumped up to “Raw” in 2016. Despite a few solid matchups and a Raw Women’s Title reign, this is where problems would begin to rear their ugly head for Jax.
From injuring Bayley’s shoulder to busting Becky Lynch’s nose open to injuring Kairi Sane’s head, Jax developed a reputation for being an unsafe worker. With almost no sign of improvement in terms of protecting her opponents, the audience’s goodwill for Jax ran out very quickly. Following a Women’s Tag Title run and few assorted storylines, she would get released from the company in November 2021.
Best: Sasha Banks
WWE/YouTube
The WWE’s self-proclaimed Boss has been turning heads in and out of the ring since her arrival in the early 2010s. As one of the NXT women’s division’s formative talents, Sasha Banks would quickly establish a rep for herself on the black and yellow brand. From her unapologetically blunt heel persona to her impeccable in-ring abilities, Banks would quickly become a fan favorite. Her match with Bayley at the first “NXT Takeover: Brooklyn” would be a match of the year contender for many.
Following her arrival on the main roster in 2015, Banks would be a part of Team B.A.D. alongside Tamina and Naomi. Soon enough, Banks would claim the Raw Women’s Championship for the first of what would be many times. She has bounced back and forth between heel and face, excelling at both in equal measure, garnering a legion of fans. Her popularity has reached such a mainstream level that she even appeared in the second season of “The Mandalorian.” Following one final run as Smackdown Women’s Champion, Banks would soon move to the tag team division. She won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships for the second time in her career with her old Team B.A.D. teammate Naomi at WrestleMania 38.
Worst: The Ascension
WWE
For a prime example of “how exactly did you mess this up,” we have Viktor and Connor, the Ascension. Beginning life in FCW, the Ascension started life with several members, including Conor O’Brian, Kenneth Cameron, Ricardo Rodriguez, Tito Colon, and Raquel Diaz. Eventually this unit would be whittled down to just Conor O’Brian and Rick Victor, who would be rebranded as Konnor and Viktor. The duo would soon become NXT’s resident powerhouse tag team, destroying lower level talent and local jobbers. This resulted in a lofty 362 day reign as NXT Tag Team Champions before losing to the Lucha Dragons in 2014.
The Ascension would be moved up to the main roster later that year, souped up with a brand new look. However, this Legion of Doom-influenced design would serve as an omen of what was to come for the once dominant tag team, with commentator JBL verbally burying them every week. Soon enough, the team that dominated NXT for years was being jobbed out to the New Age Outlaws and the APA. At the tail end of 2019, both Konnor and Viktor would see their time in WWE conclude via simultaneous releases.
Read More: https://www.wrestlinginc.com/902197/the-best-and-worst-nxt-call-ups/
