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NXT TakeOver 31: Io Shirai vs. Candice LaRae for the NXT Women's Championship
Io Shirai and Candice LaRae had arguably the best women's match in all of North America in 2019 back at TakeOver: Toronto. That was an amazing effort from the two ladies that gave Shirai a victory that propelled up the card and made her on the cusp of the NXT Women's Championship. Although Shirai has had solid to very good matches during her current reign as Women's Champion, this encounter against LaRae at NXT TakeOver 31 had to be her best title defense yet.
These two ladies' chemistry was well established from their previous contest, but the different dynamic added a bit to this one. Candice played an effective heel with hard-hitting offense, while Shirai was exhilarating on offense with her speed and high flying ability on NXT TakeOver 31. The selling skills of both women made for an engaging NXT Women's Championship match that honestly didn't need all the shenanigans that occurred.
Shirai and LaRae were on the verge of going to an even higher gear when the referee went down. This did result in Johnny Gargano getting involved with a referee shirt trying to secure his wife the victory, but the match would have probably been better off without all of this. Despite that, the two ladies delivered on high expectations here at NXT TakeOver 31.
