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#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.
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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.
A top AEW star just called one of his colleagues 'spoiled' and 'narcissistic' HERE.
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.
