This news came to us in a somewhat roundabout way, with NXT boss Shawn Michaels revealing it on Boston radio station 98.5 The Sport Hub before WWE confirmed it. But we now know a whole lot more about the tournament to crown a new Women’s champion on the developmental brand.
Eight wrestlers will compete in the single elimination tourney, which will culminate at the Battleground premium live event in Lowell, Massachusetts (in the greater Boston area, thus the announcement on a Beantown sports talk show):
• Gigi Dolin
• Fallon Henley
• Cora Jade
• Kiana James
• Jacy Jayne
• Roxanne Perez
• Tiffany Stratton
• Lyra Valkyria
And here’s where they’ve been slotted on the bracket:
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A lot of storylines in play, with former tag partners and bitter rivals all over both sides of the bracket. That should give Michaels & team plenty of booking options, and make outcomes harder to predict. A Toxic Attraction semi-final between Dolin & Jayne is tempting, but Perez lost the same belt Indi Hartwell just vacated without being pinned or submitted. Would they take the young prodigy and someone they’re clearly high on in Stratton, as evidenced by the fact she & Perez continued to chase the belt into the Spring Breakin’ Triple Threat where Hartwell was injured, to get to that match? If so, how?
Likewise, my first instinct was to pencil Jade in to the finals to resume her beef with Perez. But maybe NXT wants to continue Henley & James’ issues in the tournament? Probably not at the expense of Cora’s push, but who knows?
Give us you thoughts and picks, Cagesiders. They haven’t told us which matches we’re getting, but they have told us the tournament starts tonight... so join us in our live blog and we’ll see what surprises HBK has in store for us.
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