Nikki Cross appeared on WWE Raw last night, teaming up with Natalya and Bayley against the Riott Squad. And wow, was it a memorable night for the former NXT Superstar.
A fan favorite in NXT, Nikki Cross has one of the most interesting and engaging characters in WWE. Fans have seen her on the main roster before, as she took on Becky Lynch last year on a taped episode of SmackDown Live in Manchester, England, taking the fight to the then-SmackDown Women’s Champion in memorable fashion.
Her performance on Raw last night, however, may have been even better. Cross screamed, cross-bodied, and fought her way to victory, giving Natalya and Bayley a massive boost in their six-woman tag team win over the sinister Riott Squad.
Without Cross, the Riott Squad probably would have won, as the true leader of Sanity simply took over. At one point, she tried to take on the entire Riott Squad on her own, screaming “LET NIKKI FIGHT” at her teammates, who understandably took a step back and heeded Cross’s command.
Michael Cole made it a point on commentary to say that all superstars set to be called up from NXT will appear on Raw and SmackDown before ultimately settling on one brand. So Cross could still remain with Sanity and end up on SmackDown Live, despite showing up on Raw first.
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While most fans would prefer Cross to be on the Blue Brand and help lead Sanity to victory, it wouldn’t be a negative for her to end up on WWE Raw either. She’d be able to focus on her singles career and an eventual run at the Raw Women’s Championship, because some fans would probably worry that WWE would put the focus away from her singles career if she’s helping out Sanity on SmackDown. Though I don’t think that would be the case, worst-case scenarios do sometimes happen when characters are booked on shows stocked with talent.
Either way, the questions about Cross’s future booking can remain in the background for a bit, because her “introduction” to the main roster was fantastic. Fans got to see every bit of what made Cross’s character so magical in the ring. She has no fear, she can beat anyone across from her, and she has a knack for getting the crowd hyped up just by being her crazy self.
Cross always goes a thousand miles per hour in the ring, and even though the Riott Squad have seen her work first-hand in NXT, even they had no answers for the pace she brought to the table. Her rapport with Bayley and Natalya was also noticeable, even though this was just her first match on Raw.
Big things are ahead for Cross, and it was great to see WWE give her character a proper introduction and her in-ring work a proper showcase. That doesn’t happen for many NXT call-ups upon their debut, so maybe this is a sign that the promotion sees something special in Cross, who has been a fan favorite for quite some time.