WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler recently spoke with Muscle & Fitness and said the NXT USA Network premiere on September 18 will be the most important day in the history of the brand. She was asked what changes she has noticed since first walking through the NXT doors in 2017.
“There’s a lot of things,” Baszler responded. “I think I got into NXT at a very historic time. And I don’t mean just the USA [Network] stuff. NXT on USA is probably the most important day in our history. We’ll look back on it as the key day, but even going back to the first ever Mae Young Classic, I’ve been such a huge part of these historic moments with NXT and WWE that I’m so excited to see what’s next.
“I was sitting [backstage] at the Mae Young Classic and was thinking to myself wow, this is a pretty historic moment, and not thinking ahead to the next historic moment. But then you know, here we are with NXT on USA and I can’t wait to see what’s next!”
Baszler also talked about previously living with fellow MMA Horsewoman Ronda Rousey, and how they helped each other out. Baszler was asked if they provided each other with support or advice when they were both active in WWE at the same time.
“Yeah, a little bit,” she responded. “Rather than giving advice, it was just nice to have someone to talk about it [being in WWE] with. So, it was like sharing in the uniqueness of what we were both going through. Then, of course, Ronda getting to the position where she was in WWE, mirrored what I was going through in NXT, where we were both kind of at the top of the division. We would get together and train, of course, and we always did that in MMA too, so it was more like getting together and just sharing in the process of it, rather than tips and tricks.”
Baszler made her WWE debut in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, losing to Kairi Sane in the finals that September. Her official NXT debut came in August, before the finals, but on October 3 it was officially announced that she had signed and reported to the WWE Performance Center. Baszler would get her first taste of gold just 6 months later by defeating Ember Moon for the NXT Women’s Title at NXT “Takeover: New Orleans” during WrestleMania 34 weekend. She held the title for 132 days and then lost it to Sane at “Takeover: Brooklyn IV” in August of last year. The Queen of Spades would go on to make history by becoming the first-ever two-time NXT Women’s Champion by regaining the title from Sane at WWE Evolution in October 2018. She has held the title ever since, for 315+ days and counting. Baszler was asked how proud she is to be the first Superstar to hold the NXT Women’s Title on two occasions.
“In my opinion, the NXT Women’s title is a very prestigious title to have,” Baszler said. “So, the fact that I’m the only person to have ever held it twice is a huge thing that I definitely add to my list of accomplishments and I am very, very proud of it.”
