ORLANDO, Fla. — Candice LeRae entered the high-stakes battle intent on getting even with bitter foe Io Shirai, but she emerged with something even more precious, a guaranteed title opportunity against NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.
The historic and thrilling first bout of NXT’s USA Network live premiere moved at a furious pace. Each Superstar scored near falls during the free-for-all, but Shirai appeared to have the match in hand as she prepared to hit LeRae with the Moonsault. The sinister “joshi Judas” was denied takeoff, however, when the crafty Mia Yim swooped in and pushed Shirai to the floor. The now-recovered LeRae quickly capitalized, striking Yim with a poison hurricanrana and a quebrada to claim the deciding fall, dealing a tough blow to three other pillars of the Women’s division.
Afterward, the ruthless Queen of Spades entered the arena to get a closer look at her next challenger, and in stark contrast to so many Superstars who’ve come eye-to-eye with Baszler in the past, Tenacious C showed no fear.