WWE: Nikki Cross is already one of 2019’s biggest breakout stars

There may not be a more difficult feat in modern day professional wrestling than standing out on the WWE main roster as a recent NXT call-up, but Nikki Cross has, in a matter of months, established herself as one of the most important members of the roster.

Anyone who followed Nikki Cross’s career in NXT could tell that she was destined for something special in professional wrestling. Mostly known by WWE fans for her impeccable character work as a deranged brawler who may have been the real one pulling all the strings for the now defunct – but then-popular – stable Sanity, Cross has portrayed a significantly different character over the past few months as Alexa Bliss’s close friend.

On Sunday, Cross will team up with Bliss to take on SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a handicap match, escalating a storyline that has become arguably WWE’s most intriguing. Could Bliss and Cross become co-champions? How long can Bliss carry a meaningful friendship with Cross? And which of the two would win if they were in a head-to-head title feud?

All of these questions have been hinted at by the subtle acting provided by both performers. For years, we’ve seen Bliss entrench herself as one of wrestling’s best, particularly at acting. Yet Cross, despite playing a more layered and less psychotic version of herself, hasn’t had any trouble matching Bliss in this respect.

The result has been an engaging storyline that has boosted Cross’s stock to the point where she fits in perfectly alongside two of WWE’s biggest stars in Bayley and Bliss.

These are women who have held multiple main roster titles and have shined at WrestleMania, while Cross was never booked to win a title in NXT. She was a key part of the brand and had an instant classic Last Woman Standing match with Asuka, but when she was called up to the main roster, few could have expected this type of immediate success for Cross.

More fans were probably worried that Cross would join the list of former NXT stars, such as former NXT Champion Bobby Roode, who ended up being lost in the shuffle.

Far from it. From the moment Cross received raucous cheers at the Royal Rumble to her latest work with Bliss, Cross has flourished. She is one of the better wrestlers in a loaded women’s division, is making waves on both Raw and SmackDown and is on the precipice of potentially winning a major title in WWE.

Now, it’s unlikely Bayley is dethroned this quickly or as the babyface in a handicap match, but it isn’t impossible for Cross and Bliss to win to further their own story either. Cross has become a central figure in WWE by virtue of this storyline, and when it comes to character work, nobody has been a bigger breakout star on the main roster in 2019. No, not even fellow former NXT Women’s Division standout Lacey Evans.

With Ricochet leading The Barber’s Chair Network’s Chris Novak’s list of WWE’s top in-ring performers in overall points so far this year and Cross having similarly strong success with her exploits on WWE TV outside the ring, it’s safe to say that WWE has immediately identified two rising stars for the main roster product. Just as Ricochet has been a breakout star in the ring in the men’s division, Cross has been the breakout star of 2019 in the Women’s Division – and the year is far from over.

It will be thrilling to see which opportunities arise for Nikki Cross as 2019 continues, because she has arguably found even more success on Raw and SmackDown than she did in NXT. Cross’s versatility, in-ring talent, mind for the business, and elite promo skills have shone through brightly, and all that’s left is seeing just how quickly she can secure her first championship.

But, of course, Cross has shown time after time that she can be an integral part of a show without being champion, so, regardless of which silverware is forthcoming, it’d be wise to continue to bet on Cross being a standout performer in WWE.