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At NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Io Shirai faces possibly her toughest test in the form of Raquel Gonzalez. After defending the title against the likes of Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, and others, Shirai will attempt to push back the physical threat presented by Gonzalez.
The Genius of the Sky was the one who challenged Gonzalez for a match about a month ago. It seemed like Raquel would be getting a title shot anyways since she pinned Shirai at WarGames last November.
It took a few months and some detours, like Gonzalez and Kai winning the NXT Women's Tag Team titles. They lost the belts in their first defense, however, which was likely done so that Shirai and Gonzalez could meet for the title.
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As the main event of the first night of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, this match truly needs to deliver. Shirai has proven to be among the top stars in all of WWE with practically every one of her matches. This will be the biggest stage yet for Gonzalez, so a good amount of pressure lies on her shoulders.
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Can she make her mark at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver? She just might walk out of Night 1 as the new NXT Women's Champion. Here are five possible finishes for the title match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver between Shirai and Gonzalez.
#5 Dakota Kai helps Raquel Gonzalez win the title at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
When Raquel Gonzalez has a match, she is always accompanied to the ring by Dakota Kai. Kai has tried and failed herself to wrest the NXT Women's Championship from Shirai and others.
Throughout the build to this title match, Kai has assisted her friend at every turn. She's been the weaker link in the duo, however, as she was the one pinned when they lost the NXT Women's Tag titles. That has been done to make Gonzalez look strong for this Championship match.
Kai has had her friend's back, and she even briefly interfered in Gonzalez' recent match with Z Stark. For that reason, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Kai does the same in the main event of Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
If Kai does interfere and it leads to Gonzalez winning, it protects Shirai to a degree. It would also give the Genius of the Sky another reason for getting a fair rematch should she lose.
When there are people at ringside during matches, the possibility for interference is extremely high. That doubles when the person outside the ring is a heel like Kai. If Shirai loses the title at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, it could very well be due to outside interference from Dakota Kai.
#4 Io Shirai could win by submission at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
During the entire build of this feud for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Io Shirai has proven herself to be fearless. She's shown that during her entire NXT career, but with Raquel Gonzalez, she's walking right into the path of an extremely imposing woman.
Even during a backstage interview during the first hour of NXT, Shirai literally walked up and got into the face of Gonzalez. She isn't scared of anyone and is willing to go into the lion's den just to keep her title.
When WWE tries to protect larger stars, it has them submit or pass out in a submission rather than get pinned. It's what happened to Nia Jax when she lost to Asuka and Sasha Banks on different occasions.
Shirai doesn't use submissions that much, but she has won before with the Koji Clutch submission. It's very possible she breaks it out to beat Gonzalez at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
In one of her matches against Candice LeRae, Shirai used the Koji Clutch to pick up a win via submission. Gonzalez has taken some damage in matches but only needs one strike or move to even the playing field. Shirai has a lot of moves in her arsenal, and she might have to resort to submitting the challenger.
If WWE wants to protect Gonzalez by not having her pinned, then Shirai winning by submission at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver is the way to go. A moonsault is impressive and is the way the Genius of the Sky usually finishes off her opponents. But for stars who are bigger and further up the food chain they can kick out of such moves.
It wouldn't mean that Gonzalez would kick out at one. Instead, it just might not finish Gonzalez off the way a moonsault has usually ended matches for Shirai. The whole argument comes down to who is walking out of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver with the title.
If Shirai is slated to retain, she might do so by submitting the imposing Gonzalez. It seems like in order to beat her opponent, the Genius of the Sky might have to dig deep into her bag of tricks. Could we see her do just that at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver? Only time will tell.
#3 Raquel Gonzalez loses due to interference from Kai at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
Could Dakota Kai somehow cost her friend the title at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver? Kai's heel turn changed her character around but adding Gonzalez to her side really made her a bigger player in the NXT women's division.
The partnership started out with focus on Kai since she was more of an established star in NXT. It was also done to let Gonzalez learn on the job while helping further Kai's spot in the division.
As time went on, it appeared as if Gonzalez was truly being groomed as the star of the pairing. The pinnacle of that grooming could come into play at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
The same was done with Roman Reigns when he was a part of The Shield. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were standouts on the independent scene. Both went on to be WWE Champions, but neither was booked at the top as consistently as Reigns. Is that the direction that could be forthcoming for Big Mami?
Shirai has proven herself to be fearless, relentless, and resilient. There could come a point during their title match when Shirai keeps getting up from every strike thrown by Gonzalez. Kai may take it upon herself to get involved in some fashion, and she might try to distract or hit the Genius of the Sky.
Depending on how it comes off, it could either be intentional or unintentional interference. It all depends on how the story is supposed to unfold at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. If Gonzalez and Kai are to remain a duo, then it will look like a mistake. The two will reconcile and go back to the drawing board.
If Kai blatantly interferes and is caught, it could somehow lead to Shriai beating her challenger. If Gonzalez fails to win the title, the duo might be headed for a split after NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Kai is the X-factor heading into this match because where Gonzalez goes, Kai goes. Shirai will have to fend off attacks on two fronts at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. When she goes to the top for a moonsault, there's every chance that Kai could try to push her off of the top rope.
#2 Io Shirai wins clean at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
If WWE want to continue Shirai's run atop NXT Women's division, she could very well pick up a clean win at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Gonzalez will provide the toughest obstacle to date for the Genius of the Sky.
A change could be in order, and that's fine. But due to both the length and the quality of her title reign, Shirai could very well cleanly pin Gonzalez and retain her belt. The Genius of the Sky has proven to be one of the best NXT Women's Champions in history.
Her reign could keep going, especially with a certain lady with a cute dog coming to town on the April 13th edition of NXT. Debuts are constants after big PPVs, and few are bigger this year than NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Shirai has dispatched most of the women's roster in NXT, including Kai, Blackheart, LeRae, Mercedes Martinez, and Toni Storm. Most of those wins were definitive, but Gonzalez is a different monster.
WWE babyfaces usually have to slay monsters to keep their mystique. It's part of the reason why Braun Strowman has only had one major title run in WWE. He's booked primarily as more of an obstacle and threat to be overcome rather than a titleholder.
The relentless nature by which Shirai went after Gonzalez on the go-home episode prior to NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver highlights Shirai's drive. She isn't taking the challenge lightly, especially since she made the challenge to Gonzalez. How many other Champions who are much smaller than their competitors have consistently sought out their challengers to fight?
When she won the title in the first place, Shirai defeated both Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair. It was a triple threat to protect Flair, but at that time, she defeated two of the top women in all of WWE.
That isn't something done lightly. While it was done for another quick title swap to have Flair focus more on RAW, Shirai can still claim to have defeated The Queen. Heading into NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Shirai has had very few roadblocks during her title reign.
Because of that and the fact that she's cleaned out much of the division, Shriai's reign could very well continue past NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. She's long been considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, and this title run has proven that to be true.
#1 Raquel Gonzalez wins cleanly at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
With the way that Gonzalez has been booked since the middle of 2020, she could walk out of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver as the new Women's Champion. She's been protected in every one of her matches. When her team has lost, it has usually been Dakota Kai eating the pin.
The slow build for Gonzalez has been necessary because she didn't toil away on the independent scene for years, honing her craft. She is a second-generation wrestler but primarily played basketball in college instead of wrestling.
Gonzalez did compete in two Mae young Classics but lost early on in both tournaments. That was when she was just starting out in the business, so it's good that she didn't get rushed right into the title scene like Nia Jax did when she debuted.
At the last WarGames event, Gonzalez actually pinned Shirai to give her team the win. It foreshadowed that Gonzalez would be the next challenger for the Genius of the Sky, but it took almost five months for the match to materialize. That contest is now in focus at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
In the interim, Kai and Gonzalez won the Women's Dusty Classic, were named the NXT Women's Tag Team Champs, and lost those titles. Gonzalez had a featured win over the rising Zoey Stark on the go-home episode before NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
WWE even recently posted a graphic on social media featuring Gonzalez holding the NXT Women's belt. Beating a Champion the caliber of Shirai would be a huge mark on the resume for Gonzalez' NXT career. Someone special needs to dethrone the Genius of the Sky, and it might be Big Mami at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Gonzalez also qualifies as a home-grown talent since she primarily started in the pro wrestling industry in NXT. She might be the next big success story from the WWE PC, and her winning the title would open things up for new feuds in the NXT's women's division.
It's still unknown if Taya Valkyrie will be a heel or a face, but she'll be challenging for the title sooner rather than later. If Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon drop the titles to The Way, they'd be among the first challengers for new Champion Gonzalez. The NXT women's division could reset at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
