Tonight’s NXT will feature an action-packed Battle Royal, with 11 stars battling it out for the chance to become the new No. 1 Contender for Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship. The match is packed with talent, including Shotzi Blackheart, who gained a lot of attention after her phenomenal match against Shirai on last week’s NXT. ComicBook.com had the chance to talk to Blackheart all about her epic match against Shirai as well as the Battle Royal, running over Robert Stone at WrestleMania, that Hurt Me staple gun promo, and more.
First though we had to talk about her match against Shirai last week. Blackheart and Shirai delivered a classic match, so much so that Shirai shook Blackheart’s hand after the match, and it also showcased Blackheart’s skills in the ring for an audience that perhaps has slept on her skills a bit.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Yeah. I think it’s been really intimidating coming into NXT, and this match, I finally feel comfortable and confident and like I’m coming in and doing what I’ve been doing on the indies for the past few years,” Blackheart said.
“I think that out of the gate, just looking at me, you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s crazy. Tattooed, green hair, comes out on tank, wears this wild helmet, comes out howling. Has silly one-liners.’ And I think that people forget how technical I am,” Blackheart said. “So it was really nice to have this match with Io and be like, ‘Yo, I’m not just some silly cartoon character in a mini-tank. I can actually hang with the big players here at NXT.’”
The match got a warm reception on social media, including some praise from Triple H, and while unexpected Blackheart has been delighted by all the kind words. “Oh yeah. Definitely. I didn’t expect all of that.” Blackheart said. “I did leave the ring feeling like I did everything that I could in there, and it felt good. Me and Io really connected with our chemistry, and we’d never faced off, so that was really exciting. Yeah, I’m glad that everyone kind of felt what I was feeling too.”
Tonight’s match will feature several stars that are itching for another chance at Shirai, and Blackheart has either teamed up with or faced off against many of them.
“I mean, there’s so many, like Tegan. Tegan and Rhea I’ve tagged with, I know their stuff,” Blackheart said. They’re tough, and they put on a show. So even though I’ve tagged with them, I’m still like, ‘Hey, I’m going to watch out for y’all.’
Now, of course, Blackheart wants another shot at Shirai, but there is someone else in the match who she would love to see Shirai face off with at some point.
“You know, as much as she pisses me off, Raquel,” Blackheart said. “I don’t think that a lot of people have seen everything that she can do, and she’s really impressive, and she’s so strong and she’s so feared, and I, as a fan, want to see Raquel versus Io.”
Speaking of Shirai, Blackheart’s promo before the match certainly turned heads, as she took a staple gun to her chest to make her point, and it was all sort of spur of the moment.
“It was kind of something that I just thought of doing that day, and then I filmed it that night and put it up like five minutes after I filmed it,” Blackheart said. “I just wanted to prove a point, just to Io, that she doesn’t want to hurt me, but I’m okay if she does. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
That Hurt Me promo also drew the attention of SmackDown’s Lacey Evans, who decided to take some shots at Blackheart. If the two were to face off at some point, Blackheart is game for something like a Street Fight, though we did suggest a Tank vs Tank match, because that would be surreal.
“Oh man. Yes. Give me weapons. Because I want to see what this classy little lady looks like with a weapon in her hand. Come into my world,” Blackheart challenged.
If Blackheart gets that second shot at Shirai, what does a Blackheart championship reign look like? “Oh, wild. Just me just doing Evel Knievel daredevil things,” Blackheart said. “I like to take big risks, so if you put me in these championship matches, that means I’m just going to go harder. I’m going to get stupider, get louder, get wilder, get crazier.”
If she does take the NXT Gold, we had to ask if the tank gets a Championship belt too. “Yes. You know, I didn’t think about that, but yeah. I was thinking if I ever became Champion, which should come at some point, that I wanted to paint her up, give her a new coat, maybe bring her out, paint her all metallic gold,” Blackheart said.
You can’t talk about tanks without also bringing up Robert Stone, who has been run over by Blackheart’s tank several times now. The possibility even came up of having a WrestleMania throwdown between the two, and now that the idea is out there Blackheart wants it to happen.
“Yes, how ridiculous would that be if we were in some street fight or a steel cage match? I feel like it has to come at some point, right? Running him over is probably my favorite,” Blackheart said. “I tweeted this kind of joking, but now I wish it would come true. I’m waiting for that WrestleMania main event with Robert Stone, and then maybe I’ll stop running him over.”
Hopefully though it isn’t until WrestleMania, because no one wants to stop seeing the Tank ger the better of Robert Stone anytime soon.
“Exactly. I don’t want to take it away from y’all too quick, because I’m having too much fun running him over,” Blackheart said.
You can watch Blackheart I’m the NXT Battle Royal tonight when NXT airs on USA Network at 8 PM EST, and for live coverage of the event, you can follow me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
