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#1 Io Shirai
After Shayna Baszler defeated Io Shirai's best friend, Kairi Sane, to win and then defend the NXT Women's Championship, she immediately became the favorite to dethrone the dominant Baszler.
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The Genius of the Sky is one of the most innovative, hard-hitting wrestlers the world has seen, regardless of gender, and WWE is clearly building her up to be a force.
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After Asuka's dominant reign at the top of NXT, the WWE can't push Shirai in the same way, but she's every bit as good as The Empress of Tomorrow, and that's exactly what's needed to dethrone Shayna.
NXT Takeover over WrestleMania weekend is NXT's biggest show of the year, and if WWE wants to bring Shayna to the main roster, it makes sense for Shirai to challenge for the belt, but they can build her up even more.
Io is yet to have the barnburner singles match in NXT, but she's capable of putting on 5-star classics, and if the company builds Baszler vs Shirai correctly, it could be a Match of The Year contender.
