It was cool to see the women’s tag titles on the black and gold brand, but there were mixed feelings about the Kabuki Warriors NXT appearance.
More specifically, it was not so much that Kairi Sane and Asuka appeared for the Shawn Michaels-led show.
It was that, before the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions had even appeared last Tuesday…they already were hyped for another defense on March 11.
Fightful gave us the details.
NXT officials were happy to have two former NXT Champions back in the Performance Center.
Then Io Shirai, she and Asuka were two dominant champions. Asuka ended her NXT reign by relinquishing the title; she was undefeated in the developmental realm.
Getting talent on the Tuesday show, whether from RAW or SmackDown, generates excitement.
But, there were some in the back unhappy with how RAW went down relative to the Kabuki Warriors’ future defense.
Mixed Feelings About Kabuki Warriors NXT Appearance
Specifically, the feeling was that a future tag title defense for the March 11th RAW undermined the title defense on NXT.
Asuka and Sane defend against fellow NXT alums Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark on Monday night. So, no title change.
It’s fine that WWE had other future title defenses lined up for the two Superstars.
In the grand scheme, announcing a match does not always mean that the champions are predetermined to win and retain. They did this time, of course.
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But some in NXT felt the announced future defense took something away from their NXT visit.
Given how social media is used more and more lately, it’s somewhat surprising WWE did not hold the announcement until after NXT.
Or, that they didn’t run an angle during the show that involved Baszler and Stark also coming “home” and getting their title shot.
In the end, fans were happy and it was a seemingly cool experience (and a good match). Perhaps next time, things will be booked a bit nicer.
