NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler and former NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley both appeared on the WWE YouTube series The Bump on Wednesday morning to reveal their teams for the upcoming WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Ripley started things off by picking Teagan Nox and Candice LeRae, but stopped short of announcing the fourth member. Kayla Braxton then asked if Ripley would consider taking Nox’s tag partner Dakota Kai, but Ripley stopped short of bringing in the New Zealand native. Baszler, who has relished in bullying Kai in the past, tried to goad Ripley into picking Kai but to no avail.
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“I have thought about Dakota, she’s a great competitor. But when I step into that cage with Shayna’s team, I need the best fighters that I can find to put on my team. I need people that will not give up at all. And like I said, Dakota is a decent competitor, she just hasn’t shown me that she’s a good fighter.”
Baszler then joked that Kai would be a waste of a fourth pick, which caused Kai to hop on social media and challenge Baszler to a match in order to prove herself. NXT general manager William Regal obliged, setting up the match for this week’s NXT episode.
Oh @QoSBaszler, I’m a wasted pick? I’ll prove to you… AND I will prove to @RheaRipley_WWE that I should be on her team. @QoSBaszler maybe there was a time I was afraid of you, but NOT ANYMORE! I’ll prove it tonight.
— captain kota (@DakotaKai_WWE) November 6, 2019
The champ announced her first two teammates would be Bianca Belair and Io Shirai, two women that she’s successfully defended the title against. She was then asked why not bring in the Four Horsewomen Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke. Baszler responded by heavily implying the two would be at ringside for the match even though they’re not official competitors.
If @DakotaKai_WWE wants to prove herself to @RheaRipley_WWE, I will give her that opportunity tonight on #WWENXT against @QoSBaszler!
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) November 6, 2019
Kai and Nox both recently returned from injuries and challenged for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships as Team Kick. However the two fell short of beating Asuka and Kairi Sane for the tag titles.
This year’s NXT TakeOver: WarGames will feature two of the titular cage matches. The second bout has not been officially announced, though the four members of Undisputed Era and Tommaso Ciampa will all be involved.
