Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax dominated the WWE women’s tag team division for almost a year.
After first winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at Payback last August, the duo defended the gold across RAW, SmackDown, and NXT. They also became only the third team to win the titles more than once. Their combined reigns totaled 215 days, the most by any team in history.
However, their most recent reign came to an end several weeks ago. After chasing the titles for months, Tamina and Natalya finally dethroned the champions on the May 14 episode of SmackDown. Baszler and Jax got their rematch several days later on RAW but couldn’t regain the titles.
The two had another unsuccessful rematch this past week on RAW, but what happened after got people talking.
Tired of Reginald’s repeated interference, Baszler made him stay backstage during the match. He listened for all of two seconds before eventually making his way to ringside. Natalya tried to lock Baszler into the Sharpshooter, but Reginald distracted the referee. However, this caused the referee to miss Baszler rolling Natalya up for what should have been the win.
The Queen of Spades was understandably upset and demanded that Reggie go backstage. He walked up the ramp, only to be met by a wall of fire (presumably from Alexa Bliss and Lilly). This distraction allowed Natalya to roll Baszler up to again retain the titles.
A visibly upset Baszler then challenged Reginald to a match next week. She went on to say that if he has the balls to show up, she was going to make him wish he was in the fiery blaze.
THIS is the Shayna Baszler we want to see. I’m not talking about the Shayna Baszler that has played second fiddle to Jax and Reginald for months now. I’m talking about the Shayna Baszler that struck fear into anyone who dared cross her. The one who dominated NXT for the better part of three years.
Just look at everything she accomplished on the black-and-yellow brand. She was the first two-time NXT Women’s Champion and holds the record for most combined days as champion with 549. Nobody could hold a candle to her from 2017 to 2019; when you consider all of her matches in NXT (TV, pay-per-views, and house shows), she was an astounding 127-59.
Even the start of her run on RAW was great, going straight after then-RAW Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. She became the only superstar in WWE history to eliminate the entire field in the 2020 women’s Elimination Chamber match. This set up a showdown between her and Lynch for the title at WrestleMania 36.
Baszler lost, and then things started to go downhill. She earned a spot in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match but failed to win that as well. Then, she disappeared for over two months. Shortly after returning, she began feuding with Jax until they were thrown together as a team.
But while their title reigns were mostly successful, Baszler’s mystique died in the process. The seemingly unbeatable killer from NXT became someone who regularly ate pins. So far in 2021, she has had 12 singles matches. Her record? Two wins, eight losses, and two draws.
Two. Whole. Wins.
This is the same woman who in 2019 had a record of 49 wins and five losses in 54 singles matches. Granted, her tag team record this year is better (15 wins and seven losses in 22 matches) but she usually took the loss for her team.
Right now, the RAW women’s division is in desperate need of something new. Her and RAW Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, have plenty of history from NXT. Why not let those two reignite that rivalry?
Maybe she could go after Asuka. Those two were the most dominant champions in NXT’s history, but their paths never crossed back then. They could go to war with each other to prove just who is the most dominant woman on the roster.
If anything, she could feud with Jax and break their team up for good. Taking Jax out could send an immediate message that she is still a legitimate threat. She could claim that being a part of the team was just a distraction, and with that gone, no woman is safe.
Regardless of what direction they go in, it is time to unleash Shayna Baszler once again. The RAW women’s division needs another hard dose of reality, the kind that only Baszler can provide.
Hopefully sooner rather than later, The Queen of Spades will reign once again, and it can all start on Monday night at Reginald’s expense.