Shayna Baszler Has Become More Dangerous After Loss To Kairi Sane

Kairi Sane did not win at TakeOver: Brooklyn. Shayna Baszler lost. The former NXT Women’s champion’s post-match comments were confusing to some and seemed delusional to others, but dig a little deeper and they reveal the South Dakotan’s deadliest weapon.

In a backstage interview with Cathy Kelley, an Irate Shayna Baszler – with fellow MMA Horsewomen Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke in tow – was adamant that regardless of the result of her match with Kairi Sane moments earlier, she was still her superior.

"“Kairi did not beat me tonight, I lost. Kairi’s skill did not win tonight – let me make that clear – I lost. I’m the better fighter”  – Shayna Baszler"

What could easily be dismissed as the rantings of a sore loser has caused many WWE fans in the days since to look for no deeper meaning. Instead many a comment section and reply on social media is full of scorn and ridicule for the scourge of the NXT Women’s division.

But for some of those fans who have also followed combat sports for any decent length of time, particularly within the realm of Mixed Martial Arts that Shayna Baszler was a pioneer in, her words have a familiar ring to them.

Professional athletes in competitive sports with any kind of longevity at the top usually have one thing in common – a compulsive drive to be the best. If they stumble along the way, it ultimately comes down to them to get back on track in order to pursue greatness and legacy.

When the best lose a match, to them it is not a matter of what their opponent did right, it is what they themselves did wrong. The focus does not rest on the opponent and any notion that they might be better, instead the focus is to analyse flaws in their own game, to correct them and avoid making the same mistakes again in the future.

It is this obsessive mindset, this fighting champion’s mentality that Shayna Baszler operates under. “Kairi did not beat me… I lost”. Shayna Baszler will not entertain the idea that Kairi Sane has her number, especially as Baszler has a clean victory over Sane between the matches of TakeOver: Brooklyn and the Mae Young Classic finals last year.

When Ember Moon pinned Shayna Baszler at TakeOver: Philadelphia, it was due to a miscalculation made when Baszler attempted to submit Moon with an armbar. Since that match Baszler went on a tear and ran roughshod through the division, defeating Moon at TakeOver: Chicago and trampling all challengers to her title since, while terrorizing many of them in the process.

At TakeOver: Brooklyn, Baszler miscalculated in setting up her signature Kirifuda Clutch finisher. Showing visible signs of damage and fatigue from Sane’s elbows and other attacks to her torso, the opportunistic pin was that much more potent for the Pirate Princess.

If Shayna Baszler was driven by the undesirable result of her first match for the title with Ember Moon, just imagine the bad intentions she has in the wake of losing her championship to Kairi Sane. The rest of the women’s division should prepare themselves for the coming storm.