Shortly after General Manager William Regal changed the game, the Mar. 10 NXT went right into the first of three championship matches on the show.
Toni Storm looked to continue her one-on-one win streak against Io Shirai, and in the process take the NXT Women’s title from the Genius of the Sky. Shirai wasn’t daunted by Storm’s early attempts to disrespect her, but when Io went to fly to the outside, Toni pulled her down and went to work.
Will it be @shirai_io or #ToniStorm that leaves with the #WWENXT #WomensTitle? pic.twitter.com/vCsnsO7HdP
— WWE (@WWE) March 11, 2021
The champion was able to withstand a bunch of big moves - a superplex, a sitout powerbomb and even the challenger’s finisher, Storm Zero.
The STRENGTH of STORM! #WomensTitle #WWENXT @shirai_io pic.twitter.com/zhzpBHauG6
— WWE (@WWE) March 11, 2021
She wasn’t able to secure a pinfall after any of them, however, and when she went for a diving headbutt, Io rolled out of the way and locked in a crossface submission. Toni struggled, but couldn’t get free. Stuck in the middle of the ring, she was forced to tap.
Shirai has vanquished another foe, and takes her long reign into next month.
Keep up with everything happening on tonight’s NXT in our live blog.