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When Roxanne Perez was stabbed – or should I say skateboarded – in the back by her NXT Tag Team Championship-winning partner Cora Jade, it sent the WWE Universe into a bit of a tizzy. The team just won the belts the week before, had been buddies for months, and felt like they could have a long and fruitful career as the fresh babyfaces on the block in a WWE Women's Division dominated by heels like Mandy Rose and Toxic Attraction.
So what happens when a pair of current champions fall out in such a major way? Do they vacate the belts on the spot and usher in a tournament for the titles, or is this all part of Rose's plan, with Perez forced to defend the titles on her own while Jade refuses to defend tag in Jonathan Gresham-style?
Either way, with an opening for a shot at the title, and a 20-Woman Battle Royal booked to decide on Mandy Rose's next opponent, it looks like none other than Nikkita Lyons is ready to answer the call and return to the ring following a partial MCL tear and an MCL sprain back in May.
If @nikkita_wwe has a problem with you, she's going to say it to your face. #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/QPIFrKOSRO
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 14, 2022
WWE reportedly has big plans for Nikkita Lyons' return to NXT.
According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer – as aggregated by Wrestling Headlines – NXT has big plans for Nikkita Lyons, with a championship run very much a possibility in her not-too-distant future.
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I know, shocker, right? I mean, since debuting in NXT at the beginning of the year, Lyons has been booked like an absolute powerhouse with an undefeated record in solo competition and a win via DQ over Mandy Rose on her resume. While Lyons did suffer a loss to Toxic Attraction in a trios match at a house show in Jacksonville as part of a very unusual team also featuring Indi Hartwell and Wendy Choo, that wasn't on NXT television and thus, probably doesn't count in the greater WWE canon.
At worst, Lyons and Rose are 1-1 and will need a rubber match to decide on who is the best Women's wrestler in NXT, with the title going to the top performer.
If the woman formerly known as Rok-C is out of the title picture, either due to a Kayfabe injury or a new feud with Cora Jade, why not have Lyons run the gauntlet in the 20-woman battle royal like she's Brock freakin' Lesnar and have her ride that momentum heading into Don’t call it Takeover, which is reportedly their next Premium Live Event and will take place at the end of August? That would give Lyons time to run through the likes of Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne before her big match and build herself up as an even bigger challenger for Rose's belt.
After 250-plus days with the strap, the fifth-longest run with the belt of any performer in the promotion, the timing may be right for Rose to say goodbye to the belt and pass the guard to a 22-year-old performer who is very popular online.
Eventually, someone is going to dethrone Mandy Rose for the NXT Woman's Championship; the whole point of NXT 2.0 is to elevate younger talents, and keeping the belt on a 30-year-old champion isn't helping anyone but the current champion. If Nikkita Lyons is healthy, she has to be the favorite to earn that honor, especially now that Roxanne Perez is out of the way.
