Kairi Sane Might Be Done Chasing the NXT Women's Championship (For Now)
Last night, Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler went to war in what seemed to be their last encounter for a while. This rivalry spans all the way back to the first Mae Young Classic in 2017. They both have wins over one another, with Baszler taking the lead last night in their 2 out of 3 falls match.
While not exactly putting on 5-star matches, from a storytelling point of view, this rivalry is one to watch. That's not to say that these two don't have good matches, because they do. Out of all of their encounters, their match last night takes the cake. They didn't have a lot of time, but the drama did more than makeup for it.
Some might argue that the constant interference actually took away from the match. You wouldn't be wrong in thinking that. On the other hand, it gave fans more of a reason to cheer for Kairi, as opposed to this being just another Baszler/Sane match. Playing off the fact that they were tied at 2 wins each before the match really helped fans get behind Sane as well.
From the shenanigans at Evolution, most fans knew that Baszler would be up to some type of foul play here at WarGames. Sane lost the NXT Women's Championship at Evolution. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke played a part in that as well as this.
They helped Baszler get the first pinfall. She would try to wear down Sane, attempting to lock in her finisher on several occasions. But Sane fought through, hitting an Insane elbow to tie them at 1-1. The numbers game played a huge part in this match, but it wouldn't prevail for long, as Dakota Kai and Io Shirai came down to even the odds.
Shirai hitting a moonsault off the top rope to the outside was truly a thing of beauty. This was followed by another Insane Elbow to Baszler, but she caught Sane in a role up to secure the second and final pinfall. Your winner, and still NXT Women's Champion, Shayna Baszler.
With this being the product of Sane's rematch clause, it's safe to say that she might be done chasing the NXT Women's Championship for now. Personally, I think she might have another title run in her somewhere down the line, as she still has some time to prove herself even more on the black and yellow brand.
Also, her title run is cemented as the shortest NXT Women's Championship title run in history. So, you know she'll be looking to prove that it wasn't a fluke.