A number of Championship opportunities were in the mix at WWE NXT Roadblock, including an anticipated match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. SmackDown’s Asuka and Kairi Sane put their Tag Titles on the line against the new team of Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley. They would have to step up their game to match the Kabuki Warriors, but despite being a relatively new team they did just that. Paxley and Valkyria worked well as a team throughout the match and avoided any serious miscommunications. Unfortunately Sane dodged a kick and it hit Paxley instead, and that would set the stage for the Kabuki Warriors to get the pin and the win. That wasn’t the whole story though, as Roxanne Perez would brutally attack Valkyria, causing her to be stretchered off and taken to a medical facility.
Valkyria and Asuka started off the match in a test of strength, and soon Paxley and Sane were in the ring, with Sane doing a bit of taunting. Paxley wasn’t phased, shoving Sane and trading strikes with her before landing on the outside. As the official was distracted, Asuka got in a cheap shot on Paxley, kicking her in the back.
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Asuka was aggressive, attacking Paxley with a host of kicks and knee strikes, which led to Sane jumping into the ring and knocking Paxley to the mat. Paxley tagged in Valkyria, who calmed down her partner a bit to keep them from being disqualified. The pace slowed a bit, and the new team combined to knock back Sane, but they also kept Asuka at bay and knocked the Kabuki Warriors to the floor after delivering the same move.
Kairi got back into the swing of things a bit later in the match, though her taunting of Paxley almost resulted in a pin. Sane managed to keep Paxley from tagging in her partner, and Asuka took over to keep the team’s momentum. Sane raced across the ring at one point to keep Paxley from tagging in Valkyria, Paxley kept trying though, and she was finally able to tag in Valkyria, who dove off the ropes to knock both Asuka and Sane to the mat.
Valkyria went after Asuka next, and though Sane got to her feet, Valkyria was able to push her away and slam Asuka down. Paxley then slammed Asuka down and Valkyria slammed down Sane before hitting a Northern Lights Suplex into a cover, but Sane kicked out. Valkyria picked up Sane again but she was able to counter and get Asuka tagged in.
Asuka hit a codebreaker and Sane soared back in for the double kick, only for Paxley to break up the pin. Sane and Paxley ended up on the floor, and Valkyria fought off Asuka. They exchanged kicks and counters and Valkyria connected with a big kick to the head. Paxley held Asuka and Valkyria connected with a leg drop only for Sane to break up the pin at the last minute. Unfortunately, a combo from Valkyria led to a kick accidentally sailing over Sane’s head and hitting Paxley. Then Sane and Asuka hit the Insane Elbow and pinned Paxley to retain their Titles.
Then Roxanne Perez jumped into the ring and attacked Valkyria, but she didn’t stop there. Perez dragged Valkyria over to the corner turnbuckle and then removed the padding from the bottom one. Perez then bent Valkyria’s arm over top of the metal and jumped off the ropes to brutally stomp on the arm, and Valkyria was in serious pain as the medical personnel came out to check on her. Valkyria was then taken to a local medical facility in an ambulance after the match.
What did you think of the match and Perez’s attack on Valkyria? Let us know in the comments and you can also talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
