WWE: 5 perfect challengers for new NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
The best wrestling match of WrestleMania 36 saw Charlotte Flair capture the NXT Women’s Championship, but who will be up next co challenge her in WWE NXT?
WWE WrestleMania 36 had plenty of top-notch efforts and unforgettable matches, but easily the best wrestling match of the weekend was Charlotte Flair challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship. While Ripley delivered her most gutsy performance yet, it was Flair who walked out as the NXT Women’s Champion.
This makes Charlotte Flair only the second ever 2-time NXT Women’s Champion, the first being Shayna Baszler. On top of that, it’s been over five years since Flair ended her first title reign against Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Rival.
With Charlotte Flair back at the top of the NXT Women’s Division, this opens up several possibilities about just who will be challenging her for the title. One important factor in just who might take her on is that Charlotte Flair is now undeniably the top heel in NXT.
There will always be fans of The Queen, and those who surely and appropriately respect her, but right now she’s not going to be well-liked. That’s by design, as she not only brings even more legitimacy to the NXT brand but fills the void left by Shayna Baszler’s move to WWE Raw.
While Charlotte Flair surely has plenty of dream match caliber options in NXT, it looks like that’s not the only place she’ll be defending the NXT Women’s Championship.
I just spoke to @MsCharlotteWWE.
— Alex McCarthy (@AlexMcCarthy88) April 6, 2020
The new NXT Women's Champion says she plans to defend the title across all three brands and is excited at the prospect of facing the talented women in NXT.
Also says she's 'only scratched the surface' with @RheaRipley_WWE.
It’s worth noting that, because of her role as the top heel in NXT now, several options just wouldn’t work against Charlotte. Some heels can lean back into fan favorite territory, but others like Dakota Kai or Shayna Baszler aren’t suited for this kind of rivalry. Here, let’s look at five of the best choices to challenge Flair for the NXT Women’s Championship.
Rhea Ripley
The first option, and surely the most obvious, is “The Nightmare” Rhea Ripley. While she wasn’t able to defeat “The Queen” at WrestleMania 36, that doesn’t mean Ripley wouldn’t be capable of doing so in a rematch.
As Charlotte Flair said herself, they’ve only ‘scratched the surface’ with what this rivalry could be. And while Flair was the victor at WrestleMania 36, it wasn’t exactly a dominant victory.
Ripley got plenty of offense in, including an early Riptide that got close to ending things. She fought valiantly, but eventually the damage to her knees was too much. WWE would be smart to capitalize on the chemistry they showed and keep this rivalry rolling.