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On the December 18 episode of WWE NXT, we watched two huge NXT title matches take place. While Finn Balor was unsuccessful at defeating Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, Rhea Ripley fought through pain and interruptions to defeat Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship.
By doing so, Ripley became the first and only woman to have won both the NXT United Kingdom Women’s Championship and the Women’s Championship.
While we hope that Ripley’s Nightmare run with the title is a long and prosperous one, we can’t help but think of all the women who’d be waiting to get their hands on the new Champion.
In this article, we'll look at the 5 women who could become the next challengers to Ripley’s new title.
#5 Killer Kelly
Killer Kelly joined the company in 2018 and has had a few televised matches since making her debut.
She first appeared in the 2018 United Kingdom Championship tournament where she competed in the Triple Threat #1 Contenders Match for the NXT Women’s Championship. Since then, we've watched her battle Dakota Kai on NXT UK, and the former NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm in Progress Wrestling.
Even though Kelly is still very new to the company and is looking for a way up the roster, it would be interesting if the company gives her some spotlight by giving her a match against the NXT Women’s Champion.
While we’ve watched Kelly unsuccessful in most of her matches for the company, a match against Rhea Ripley will help her get up on her feet for some recognition. She is a hard-hitting athlete who is very smooth in the ring and could work well with someone like The Nightmare who does well to hold up her opponents.
If Ripley plans to issue an Open Challenge for her title, then it’ll be interesting to watch her kick off her reign with a match against the lesser-known Kelly who could become a big star for the company in the future.
#4 Bianca Belair
With the way Bianca Belair has grown in WWE, it’s unbelievable to say that the company is the first promotion she joined to become a wrestler.
Belair has been in NXT for over three years now, making her first appearance in June 2016. Since then we’ve watched her play several heel and face characters and get over with the crowd in the process.
Belair has gotten many moments when fans have believed that she’d become the top woman in NXT and defeat the NXT Women’s Champion, but she’s come up short each time and returned to the mid-card after several good performances.
Her strength and physique have earned her a lot of plaudits, and it could be time the company invests in her a little more before moving her to RAW or SmackDown.
In early 2019, Belair was part of an NXT Women’s Championship feud against Shayna Baszler but was unable to win the title from the dominant Champion. Now that she's back to being a heel, and has a babyface Champion to target on NXT, it won’t be long before she gets into a rivalry with Rhea Ripley to try and win her first major title in WWE.
#3 Dakota Kai
Dakota Kai was the sweetheart of NXT not too long ago. Playing an innocent babyface character, Kai got a few chances against Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship, but she could never come out on top. Her last challenge saw her give a better fight to Baszler before tapping out to her.
At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Kai was part of Rhea Ripley’s team which took on Shayna Baszler’s team. However, Kai turned heel during the match and attacked her longtime friend Tegan Nox before leaving Team Ripley short of two competitors. It was revealed that she’d attacked Mia Yim before the match too.
Since that day, we’ve seen tensions rise between Ripley and Kai after she betrayed her. Kai has shown a new attitude and an excellent heel character that will help her progress in WWE.
Keeping all that in mind, Kai could prove to be one of Ripley’s toughest competitors and a worthy opponent for the new NXT Women’s Champion.
With WWE looking to build new stars on NXT, it’ll be great to watch The Captain of Team Kick go head to head with the top Champion of the brand to prove her worth to the entire women’s division.
#2 Io Shirai
Io Shirai is arguably one of the most refined performers in NXT today. With over a decade of wrestling experience under her belt, she's someone who can do wonders for the NXT brand in the years to come.
Shirai, who has partnered with several babyfaces in the past, is playing a heel character on NXT at the moment. She was also part of Shayna Baszler’s team at NXT TakeOver: WarGames which competed against Rhea Ripley’s team. The next night, she represented Team NXT at Survivor Series.
With that in mind, there is no questioning her talent and value to the company, and she can be termed one of NXT’s toughest competitors.
Since Ripley is no stranger to Shirai, we could watch the two enter a bitter feud which could lead to some great matches between them.
Shirai is someone who can become a top Champion for the company with ease, and could be termed the favorite on the current NXT roster to end Ripley’s reign early and begin a new reign of her own.
#1 Toni Storm
Toni Storm entered the company as a participant in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. After winning a #1 contender match for the NXT Women's Championship at the 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament, she came face to face with then NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler.
However, Storm was unable to defeat the unforgiving Baszler, something only Kairi Sane and Rhea Ripley have managed to do since then. In January last year, at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, Storm defeated Ripley to capture the NXT UK Women's Championship and held the title for 231 days.
Keeping that in mind, Storm is one of the favorites to defeat Ripley for her current NXT Women’s Championship.
Storm has been a regular on NXT UK, but she's been missing in action for some time even though she was part of Team NXT at Survivor Series.
It’d be interesting to watch her return on NXT instead to chase Ripley’s title, turning heel in the process and giving fans an epic rivalry to look out for, consisting of two women who’ve already had great matches on NXT UK.
