Rhea Ripley's secret weapon, Fatal Influence's nightmare? - 4 directions for Zaria after losing at WWE NXT Deadline 2024
WWE's final premium live event of 2024 is now in the history books. Just one week after Survivor Series: WarGames, the NXT brand hosted the Deadline PLE last night and it streamed live on Peacock.
The show featured five matches, including an NXT Championship bout, an NXT Underground Match, and a contest with the NXT Tag Team Titles on the line. However, the most notable were the two Iron Survivor Challenge Matches.
The main event of the night was the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match, with Sol Ruca, Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Zaria, and Wren Sinclair battling it out. In the end, it was the Italian-Japanese Giulia who won the bout. Naturally, this means Zaria was unsuccessful.
The powerful Australian only recently made her way to World Wrestling Entertainment and she's likely not happy with such a big loss. This article will take a look at a handful of ways she could potentially rebound from the defeat, which includes working alongside someone who can act as a mentor and a feud with an underdog.
Below are four directions for Zaria after losing at WWE NXT Deadline 2024.
#4. She could feud with underdog Wren Sinclair
Wren Sinclair is one of WWE's more interesting stars. The plucky underdog doesn't have the best win-loss record in the company, but she has a certain charm that has even won over the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Sinclair had a tough night at NXT Deadline, however. She was being routinely pinned by the likes of Stephanie Vaquer, Giulia, and Zaria. It makes sense, though, as she's the least established of the five female stars in the exciting WWE bout.
Now that the show is over and both women have lost, Zaria could look to rebound by having a match against, and even a feud with, the comedic Wren. Sinclair could shockingly get a fluke pinfall over the dominant Aussie, which could lead to Zaria wanting a rematch and Wren constantly hiding and avoiding the bout.
#3. Zaria could turn heel on WWE NXT
Zaria was a big deal on the Australian independent scene. The powerful performer competed as DELTA and wrestled against both female stars and male wrestlers. She was dominant against everyone ahead of her move to WWE.
Thanks to her dominance, she had quite the reputation and fans were excited to see her arrive. As such, the WWE Universe cheered for her immediately and she became a babyface by default. Now; however, that could change.
Instead of being cheered, Zaria could turn heel and become more violent and aggressive. In fact, she could even attack someone such as Giulia to make a major statement and upset the audience. Losing this soon is unacceptable and she surely wants to make sure every fan knows not to expect it to happen regularly.
#2. She could feud with and dethrone Fallon Henley
Fatal Influence is one of the top stables on WWE NXT today. The group is made up of two NXT veterans Fallon Henley and Jacy Jayne, plus their friend and rookie Jazmyn Nyx. This union is despite the fact that Fallon and Jacy often talk down to other rookies. Jazmyn just happens to be an exception.
The faction has proven to be successful, as they currently have gold. More specifically, Fallon Henley is the WWE NXT Women's North American Champion. She won the belt by dethroning the first-ever holder of that title: Kelani Jordan. She has since successfully defended the gold against both Kelani and then Tatum Paxley.
Zaria could be the one to step up and challenge Fallon next. Given that Zaria made her official debut by attacking Fatal Influence, it only makes sense to see their issues continue, this time with a title on the line. Could Zaria win her first belt in the United States?
#1. Zaria could help Rhea Ripley against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
The story of Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan has been one with roots dating back to nearly three years. They have been friends and enemies in WWE, but now, they are heated rivals who are constantly looking to hurt each other.
Liv has backup against The Eradicator; however. Her tag team partner and bodyguard Raquel Rodriguez has hated Rhea Ripley for several years, despite them too previously being friends on and off screen in WWE.
It is clear that Rhea will need backup to even the odds and this is where Zaria can come in. The Nightmare has spoken highly of her fellow Australian before and can serve as a mentor of sorts to her in exchange for help against The Judgment Day. Zaria could be Ripley's secret weapon.
Rhea and Zaria could then challenge for tag team gold or even feud on the main roster. A call-up for the Australian powerhouse could happen sooner than fans expect.