#2 Kairi Sane
One half of the reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane was a constant Shayna Baszler's path during her run on the Black and Gold brand. The Pirate Princess defeated Baszler in the finals of the inaugural Mae Young Classic in 2017. The two would feud over the NXT Women's Championship throughout 2018.
Sane would defeat Baszler at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV to win the NXT Women's Championship. Baszler would defeat The Pirate Princess two months later at WWE Evolution to regain the championship. Sane would once again come up short as she would once again be defeated by Baszler in a two-out-of-three falls match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Baszler successfully defended her title in a Fatal-4 way match at NXT Takeover: New York against Sane, Io Shirai, and Bianca Belair.
Sane's final on NXT before moving up to the main roster following WrestleMania 35 was an NXT Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler. The match would end in a disqualification after Sane's best friend, Io Shirai would attack Baszler after she threatened to break the Pirate Princess' arm by stomping on it.