Shayna Baszler on being the face of the NXT Women's division.
Since October 28, 2018, Shayna Baszler has ruled over the NXT Women's Division. During her nearly year-long title reign, Baszler has defeated the likes of Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, and more. With NXT now on the USA Network, Baszler is undoubtedly the face of the division.
"When asked if she feels extra pressure, Baszler told Newsweek, "There is a pressure just because. Not so much put on me because I'm 'the face' and I have to act a certain way, but because of the history of what the women's championship means to this division. NXT has always placed a high value on the women's division and the women's title, so to just be a part of that legacy there's pressure regardless. We have the best coaches in the world, and I'm pretty lucky since the beginning, even before I was signed, to have the best coaches in the world. I've gotten lucky."
Baszler continued, praising the women who came before her, "The girls that came through here from the beginning have all set the tone for how great this division has been. And if people are ever interested in watching that they can, and they'll see that it's been this great. The thing I keep saying is we aren't holding back. It's not like all of a sudden the reins are off. We've been doing this. Now everyone gets to see it on a bigger stage. It's not a case of 'when we get on TV now we're really going to have good matches.' It's not any different from us. The groundwork was laid out for us, and we are just continuing what we came into."
Baszler proved why she has been such a dominant champion when she defeated Candice LeRae to retain the NXT Women's Championship on the Oct. 2 edition of NXT.
