Io Shirai crowned new Women's Champion at NXT TakeOver: In Your House
At WrestleMania 36, Charlotte Flair captured her second NXT Women's Championship, knocking off the red-hot Rhea Ripley. Just a few months later, and her reign has been cut short. At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, history was indeed made.
Flair faced off against the former Champion Ripley along with the Genius of the Sky, Io Shirai. Right before WrestleMania, Shirai had won the match to determine the new #1 contender to whoever won the 'Mania bout, whether it be Flair or Ripley.
Her title match against Flair on an episode of NXT left a lot to be desired, as Flair quickly resorted to some underhanded tactics, ultimately opting for a DQ loss in order to save her crown. That was the moment that Rhea Ripley returned.
The NXT Women's Championship changes hands at NXT TakeOver: In Your House
Cut to NXT TakeOver, and there was quite a lot of bad blood between these three women. It started off with Flair avoiding the clash entirely, leaving Ripley and Shirai to square off one-on-one.
That didn't last long, as Flair ran in for a cheap shot while her opponents' backs were turned. That seemed to be the game plan for the Queen for the majority of the match. If she wasn't in control, wait until she could blindside someone.
It paid off beautifully with a double spear that nearly gave her the win. However, both Shirai and Ripley kicked out. Flair seemingly read the playbook for Ripley, as she was able to respond to everything the Nightmare threw at her with the perfect counter.
However, she had much more trouble with the high flying and aggressive Io Shirai, who toppled both Flair and Ripley with jaw-dropping dives. One, in particular, saw the Joshi Judas launch herself off the house of the TakeOver set, crashing onto her two opponents below.
Shirai, at this point, was always one move away from ending the bout, either by taking out Flair or Ripley, and she didn't care which. An avalanche Frankenstein was blocked by Ripley, which allowed Flair to boot her in the jaw and nearly eliminate her from the match.
When Flair brought in the kendo stick, it looked as if Shirai was out completely. However, as Flair locked Ripley in the Figure-8, the move that beat her at 'Mania months ago, her worst nightmare came true.
Io Shirai crashed down onto Ripley, keeping her down for the count while Flair's legs were trapped in her own hold, preventing her from breaking the pin.
With that, Io Shirai knocked off both Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair, two of the most dominant Superstars in NXT history and two former NXT Women's Champions, to capture her first piece of Championship gold. The new NXT Women's Champion was showered in confetti and streamers as she celebrated in the ring.
The era of the Joshi Judas is now.