On their latest episode of WWE NXT, Rhea Ripley defeated Shayna Bayzler for the NXT Women’s Championship.
It was a moment that makes professional wrestling so special. A hot fan favorite against the biggest villain in the company for the top prize in the company. In defeat, Shayna Baszler made Rhea Ripley a bigger star than she was the day before. That is what a great professional wrestler does in defeat.
The next part of this story is how Ripley will continue to ascend as champion. Now that she is champion, it will be her responsibility to carry the NXT women’s division on her shoulders. This article will look at five opponents for new NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.
Dakota Kai
Dakota Kai has been successful in her character transition and is now the top villain in NXT. Due to the polarizing nature of the NXT audience, that is not an easy task to accomplish. When Kai turned on her team at NXT WarGames, it was a predictable but exciting change in direction. NXT can tell the story that Rhea Ripley was the captain that team at WarGames, and Kai turned on a Ripley-led War Games team.
This match should not take place for a few months. Kai needs to gather steam as a villain in front of the NXT fanbase. There is no reason for Ripley to lose the title quickly to Kai. As Kai is becoming a stronger villain, feeding her to Ripley early in both characters’ development would be a poor story to tell.
Kai and Ripley are a part of the group of wrestlers that will carry the torch of NXT in 2020. Their story should be a well-developed feud. Both wrestlers need to gain equity with fans before they lock up in the middle of an NXT ring.
Toni Storm
Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley had one of the hottest feuds on NXT UK. The matches that they had helped put NXT UK on the map. Their matches were physical and intense, while being a masterclass in professional wrestling.
Storm had a tremendous run in NXT UK and won the 2018 Mae Young Classic. She has yet to be a prominent figure on NXT TV in the United States. A set of matches with Rhea Ripley would be an incredible introduction for Storm. It would be an excellent way to start off Ripley’s NXT Women’s Championship reign. Both can have matches on NXT TV that would add instant credibility to Ripley’s championship run, because they have the right chemistry together in the ring.
This feud should not be a one match feud. It can be developed over weeks, and then end at a NXT Takeover with Ripley winning. Storm should be one of the top wrestlers in NXT in 2020. A feud with Ripley that adds more fire to Storm as a fan favorite who never gives up.
The next set of matches that Ripley will be pivotal to keep her character strong. Storm is the right person to help enhance Ripley as a champion and establish Storm as a major player.
Bianca Belair
The EST of NXT continues to get better by leaps and bounds. She had a memorable showing at WarGames where she was in an incredibly physical match. The moments where she interacted with Ripley in at WarGames gave fans a taste of what will be a very entertaining matches.
Some wrestlers on NXT have holes in their game and could use more time to gain more experience. If Belair became a member of RAW or SmackDown tomorrow, the reception would be tremendous. Due to her talent, Belair has it all to be a star on any of the three WWE brands.
Belair has had good matches with the top wrestlers in NXT. A match or a short term rivalry with Rhea Ripley is a great opportunity to allow Belair to showcase her limitless potential. The two are talented enough to where they can be put in the main event spot and successfully attract viewers to NXT TV.
This set of matches are the right way for Belair to depart from NXT to either RAW or SmackDown. Belair could give back to NXT by establishing Ripley as a dominant champion for months and possibly years to come. The future is bright for both Ripley and Belair, and matches between them would do wonders for both careers.
Mia Yim
This should be the top rivalry in NXT for 2020. There is so much potential for great matches and impeccable storytelling between these two. Yim and Ripley can carry NXT into 2020 with matches that will raise the bar for NXT.
The story can come from the NXT WarGames match where, due to the effects of the Ladder Match with Io Shirai, Yim was unable to perform. Ripley can describe Yim as the weak link and Ripley’s team won because Yim was not there. This could pour gasoline on their rivalry because Yim will be determined to show that she was not the weak link of the team.
With Baslzer carrying the load for the NXT women’s division, as a champion should, for a year and a half now, the women’s division is wide open for wrestlers to take the top spots. Yim and Ripley should be able to, not only take those spots, but make the division stronger.
The climax to this story should be in a year when Yim defeats Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship. This has potential to redefine the NXT and the women’s division.
Tegan Nox
These two women have battled all across the globe. The next step in that rivalry would be a feud on NXT TV for the NXT Women’s Championship.
Nox and Ripley had a memorable match at the 2018 Mae Young Classic. It wasn’t a great in ring match, but it was memorable because it was where Nox suffered a devastating knee injury that kept her on the shelf for over a year.
The fallout from the match was enhanced via social media where Nox and Ripley continued to tease each other online. It was rare because when a wrestler gets injured in a match, the opponent rarely instigates the injury online. It was effective and made Ripley a stronger villain.
Right now, Ripley is one of the hottest fan favorite in NXT. A feud with Nox would require a character turn for Ripley. That turn has been done before, and was enhanced by a rivalry with Nox. If NXT decided to go that way, it would an excellent story for both wrestlers.
For as much as the NXT fans love Ripley now, she could break all of their hearts by turning on Nox in a tag team match. Ripley as a credible bully to the lovable Nox over many months and can add strength to Ripley’s championship run.
More than likely, Nox isn’t the right person to take the championship from Ripley, but she is the right person to add more layers to Ripley’s character.