Io Shirai is still the NXT Women’s Champion after her successful win at TakeOver: XXX. What can be said though is her win certainly wasn’t easy. Dakota Kai took the Joshi Judas to her limits and even with the help of Raquel Gonzalez it wasn’t enough.
In a match that lasted over 17-minutes, saying that Kai pulled out everything in her arsenal is an understatement. There were many moments throughout that the challenger almost won her first title in WWE. She pulled out her kicks, the Kairopractor, and even had an armbar locked in so tight that it was shocking that Shirai was able to force a break and not tap out.
Towards the end of the match, the referee was knocked out. This allowed the equalizer of Gonzalez to enter the ring and layout Shirai. She pulled Kai on top of her and pulled the referee up to make the count. Somehow, Shirai was able to kick out. She eventually was able to hit her moonsault and get the three-count to retain her title.
After the match, Gonzalez re-entered the ring and went on the attack. Rhea Ripley’s music would then hit and The Nightmare made her way to ring. In an interesting turn of events, instead of Ripley going after her old foe Shirai, she instead would lock her eyes on Gonzalez. The two stared at each other face-to-face before Gonzalez left the ring with Kai.
As Shirai then celebrated her win, Ripley was seen watching her from the ramp.
What did you think of the title match? What did you think of the aftermath between Ripley and Gonzalez? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!!