NXT TakeOver: Chicago: NXT Women's Championship Triple Threat Match

[Jack-Hammer]

Last night's episode of NXT saw a battle royal featuring just about every woman on the NXT roster to determine who would face Asuka in Chicago for the NXT Women's Championship. It eventually got down to three women consisting of Ember Moon, Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross but before any of them could be eliminated, Asuka enters the ring and ultimately lays all of them out. During the attack, Ember Moon was tossed out of the ring and was seen clutching her arm on the floor, I don't know if it's a legit injury or but it appears so as reports were that she was helped backstage, was crying and seemed to be legitimately in a lot of pain. The attack prompted the referee to call for the bell, making this the first battle royal I've ever seen end in a no contest and NXT GM William Regal soon comes out to the stage and announces that Asuka will face Ember, Ruby and Nikki in a Fatal Fourway.

First, a brief bit about how the battle royal ended. I was surprised that it ended in a no contest, but I also enjoyed it because it changes things up in the sense that we've seen so many people do something to interfere in battle royals to eliminate a potential rival so that they don't have to face that rival in an upcoming match at a big event. We've seen it go down several times during the Royal Rumble and while it can be a way of putting heat on the heel champion, I like the way NXT went about this in that they still put heat on Asuka by still making her look like a badass who took out her three biggest threats at one time.

As for the match itself at TakeOver, it should be a lot of fun, Chicago is one of the hottest wrestling crowds out there and I've little doubt they'll embrace the NXT product. I still don't see Asuka dropping the NXT Women's Championship before NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III during SummerSlam weekend. By the time TakeOver: Chicago happens, Asuka will have been Women's Champion for over 400 days and she's yet to be defeated in any sense; as a result, I don't see such a dominant run coming to an end outside of a 1 on 1 match. Ember Moon is coming along just fine, she has the fans behind her and she seems like the best choice to dethrone Asuka thereby setting up a rematch possibly during the last TakeOver of the year, which will be held in Houston during Survivor Series weekend.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think this match is to protect Asuka's undefeated streak. Ember Moon will pin either Nikki Cross or Ruby Riot to win the belt, however Asuka technically remains undefeated as she will have never been pinned to lose the title and never lost a 1 on 1 match. This will set the stage for Asuka to come to Smackdown.

 

[The Perfect Max]

Yeah the match is going to be hella fun, but I think we all know how it's going to go. Well, how it should go. After all of this, it truly would be a waste to have Asuka lose the title here. Even if she is involved in the fall, I don't care. Unless it was made an elimination match and she was the last one to be pinned after a good 20 minutes or so, to me, it should be a one on one contest. The boost in credibility to whoever beats Asuka will be immense.

I like the combination though. Four talented yet very different women going at it together should be good. They'll be some big spots and near misses, but Asuka will surely get that pin. It'll be interesting to see who takes the fall though. I doubt it'll be Ember Moon. I see her as the only viable candidate to beat Asuka at this point. And that's okay because there are more women growing around them.

Your timing seems right too. Loses the belt at Brooklyn, have the rematch at Houston, and then have Asuka perhaps come to the main roster in the run-up to WrestleMania.

 

[ShinChan]

This will be a lot better than the previous fatal four way.

I agree that Asuka should lose in a one-on-one match but I think that WWE wants Asuka's undefeated streak to continue on the main roster which won't be possible if someone on NXT defeated her. So, considering that aspect, this match could easily give us a new champion while also keeping Asuka undefeated. I think that if Ember Moon gets healthy enough then she could be the new champion instead of Ruby Riot & Nikki Cross.

Still, I would prefer an Asuka loss in NXT.

 

[stingray11214]

Asuka is too damn good to lose to the motley crew that is the NXT Women. Ember Moon is not on Asuka's level, yet. So, in reality, if they want Asuka up on SD, they need decent bodies in NXT. Hence, the Women's Tournament.

 

[ShinChan]

As noted, at the last set of WWE NXT TV Tapings, during the Number One Contenders Battle Royal Match, Ember Moon was sent out of the ring to the floor, and she reportedly suffered some type of shoulder injury when she hit the guardrail.

According to F4WOnline.com, Moon is no longer being advertised for the upcoming NXT Women’s Championship Fatal 4-Way Match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, and the bout is likely to be a Triple Threat with Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riot.

Damn.

It pretty much confirms that Asuka will retain. Ruby Riot is too new for the title and Nikki Cross is more credible than her but nowhere near Asuka.

The Women's Tournament in July/August will help a lot. Hoping that Ember Moon gets healthy soon.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It was confirmed just a while ago that Ember Moon won't be in the title match in Chicago. While an injury to her left arm was confirmed, there hasn't been any specific mention as to what the injury actually is. As a it's now down to a triple threat between Asuka, Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross.

Aside from having another entertaining woman in the match, I don't believe it'll have any effect on the outcome. It's obvious that Ember Moon is the one who'd dethrone Asuka but I never believed that it'd happen in some sort of triple threat or fatal fourway bout. Triple H makes the final creative calls in NXT and I never envisioned him deciding to end the most dominant title run in NXT's history, and one of the most dominant of any WWE affiliated championship in decades frankly, outside of a 1 on 1 match. Beating Asuka should feel like a bigger deal, that's why I figure they'll wait until the third TakeOver event in Brooklyn during SummerSlam weekend. Ruby or Nikki would've been the one to take the pinfall or submission loss in Chicago as I just don't see them having Ember lose twice to Asuka.

Ember Moon's legit injury, depending upon how long she's out, can only enhanced the storyline of her journey towards the title. Ember makes a big comeback, challenges Asuka in August, wins the title & making their rival 1-1 with a rubber match that Asuka loses before probably making her main roster debut not too long afterward.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I really like Asuka and I like Nikki and Ruby Riot too but the title run of Asuka's and the division as a whole is getting kinda stale to me. I think Ember Moon was supposed to win the belt in chicago before she got hurt. I still think she will be the one to finally beat Asuka. I like what they're doing with Peyton and Billie but if neither one is getting a title run, where are they going with it, short of them feuding with each other? Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot is a good feud but what do they do with both afterwards?

Again, I like Asuka, but in my mind, she's held the title too long and it's made the rest of the division seem completely irrelevant.