WWE NXT to USA: Five stars that benefit the most

Candice LeRae

Candice LeRae is the type of wrestler that a show can be built around. When she made the jump to NXT back in 2017, the creative team made the mistake of simply booking her as Johnny Gargano’s wife. She has much more to offer than that low-handing fruit of an angle. LeRae is an experienced wrestler whose resume of performances rival anyone else on the NXT roster. She’s the type of talent that the NXT women’s division can be built around and she can hold up that group for an extended period; putting together storylines and matches that rival the Horsewomen that blazed a path through NXT years ago.

LeRae and Io Shirai stole the show at NXT TakeOver: Toronto. Their match was one of the best matches of the weekend and perhaps the top women’s match of the year; if not a candidate for one of the best WWE matches of the year. Even though they didn’t have an extended period to build the story around the angle, the story they delivered in the match was more than enough for fans and translated into a desire to see more between the two women.

There isn’t a clear direction in where this angle will go and if it will result in LeRae being the top draw for the women in NXT.  But it is already clear that she can and will carry that mantle when it’s time. LeRae is a veteran voice on the NXT roster that this group; especially many of the inexperienced women in the division need. With 17 years of experience under her belt, she is poised to be a force in the NXT division and the type of woman this show can be built around as it gains more exposure on USA.