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NXT 6/14 Results And Review: Asuka And Nikki Cross Just Showed ‘RAW’ How Women’s Matches Are Done

By Simon Alvarez
Published on: 16:28 PST, Jun 14, 2017

The recently concluded NXT 6/14/17 episode just showed the wrestling world how Women’s Championship matches are done, and fans are incredibly grateful. Repeating the insanity of their past matches, undefeated NXT Women’s Champion Asuka battled Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot in a Triple Threat Elimination title match. Needless to say, the three female superstars, especially Asuka and Cross, delivered in spades, holding a match that extended far beyond the arena and into the crowds.

The Triple Threat Elimination Women’s Championship battle, which was the main event of the night, kicked off with the crowd pretty much evenly split among the three female wrestlers. As stated in a Wrestling Inc. report, the match started with all three competitors immediately taking the fight on each other. After dozens of kicks, drop kicks, and strikes from all competitors, Asuka managed to get both of her opponents down. After boasting in the ring, however, Riot and Cross both took her out of the ring.

With Asuka outside the ring, Riot started gaining the upper hand against Cross. Asuka eventually managed to gain control before Riot threw her out the ring again. In a throwback to the three female wrestlers’ match back in NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Asuka attempted to pin both of her competitors at the same time, but her kick was intercepted by Riot. After a series of high-risk attempts, Cross came up on top by landing a spinning neckbreaker on her fellow challenger. With that, Ruby Riot was eliminated from the match.

According to a WrestleZone report, the match quickly escalated after Riot’s elimination. With the third competitor out of the equation, the NXT Women’s Champion and her challenger traded brutal strikes at each other. Asuka managed to take down Cross with a spinning head kick, following it up with a Deadlift German Suplex. Cross, however, kicked out. Eventually, Cross managed to take control, setting up Asuka for another spinning neckbreaker. The Champion, however, managed to counter the move.

Cross tumbled outside the ring, and Asuka followed up the assault with a flying hip attack off the apron. The two women battled up the ramp, with Asuka and Cross brawling into the stage, the barricade, and well into the backstage area. With no competitors in the ring, the referee ended the match, and the Triple Threat Women’s Championship match was declared a no-contest. The decision, however, did not matter to both Asuka and Nikki Cross.

Backstage, the two female competitors took it out on each other in a brawl reminiscent of the WWF’s Attitude Era. The Champion managed to smash her rival into a plastic fence, stepping on Cross’ chest. The challenger, however, managed to escape, slamming the champion into a gate. Asuka took back control, however, slamming Cross’ head into a gate multiple times. After getting dragged into a room, Cross managed to fight back, dunking Asuka’s head in a cooler. The two wrestlers continued their battle until they were ringside once more. Cross eventually gained the upper hand as she and Asuka took their brawl to the tech area. The fight finally ended as Cross dove at the champion and both competitors fell off a platform straight into a table.

The sheer intensity and the booking of the match have been received very warmly by viewers and avid WWE fans worldwide, with many comparing the Triple Threat Elimination match favorably against the recent Women’s Championship matches in the firm’s main brand, most notably in RAW. Interestingly, the Women’s division in RAW has been criticized by the WWE universe for its bookings and storylines lately. The Alexa Bliss/Bayley rivalry, for one, has been widely criticized for plain bad writing and the fact that the feud was not taking advantage of both superstar’s full wrestling capabilities.

If there’s anything that NXT proved in its 6/14 episode, it is the fact that the Women’s Division could be worthy of a main event that can easily put conventional PPV matches to shame. Overall, the WWE’s main brands, especially RAW, must take note. NXT just showed how a Women’s Title match should be done, and RAW would be wise to follow its example.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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