5 NXT Superstars who can take Rhea Ripley's place if she gets sent home

#1 Io Shirai

Io Shirai sacrificed her friends to rise to the top

Io Shirai has been one of the most popular Superstars on NXT since her debut at the Mae Young Classic. Coming in second at the tournament, the Genius of the Sky quickly gained favor with the fans thanks to her incredible high flying ability and absolutely gorgeous moonsault.

Cut to eleven months later, and Shirai turns her back on Candice LeRae. After losing to Shayna Baszler in a steel cage match, Shirai snapped, battering LeRae with steel chairs and being dubbed by Mauro Ranallo as the "Joshi Judas". With a new entrance came a new, psychotic attitude, mesmerizing the NXT Universe.

Since then, she's been a part of several top-tier rivalries, and even joined Shayna Baszler in the WarGames match back in 2019. Recently, Shirai returned to NXT where she knocked off Aliyah to enter the NXT Women's #1 Contenders Ladder Match. Could the Genius of the Sky find herself back in title contention so soon?

If we're looking for someone that emanates that rage and intensity of Rhea Ripley while also sporting a unique look and, let's be honest, fire entrance theme, Io Shirai has to be at the top of the list.

About the author

Greg is a pro wrestling writer at Sportskeeda. He has been an avid wrestling fan since he was able to do elbow drops off bunkbeds at the age of three. He's gone through the highs and lows of the Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression, and PG eras and lived to tell the tale, with his favorite wrestler of all time being Diamond Dallas Page. His other favorite star is the late great Bray Wyatt.

Greg has contributed to sites like Bleacher Report before joining Sportskeeda in 2017 as a content writer and editor. If you've ever checked out the various wrestling shows through our live coverage, chances are you've read Greg's work. Apart from the world within the squared circle, he also keeps track of other sports such as American football, baseball, golf, boxing, and MMA.

His goal with his writing is to be able to mentally take readers right into the action through his words. Greg strives to ensure his readers get nothing but the best and most accurate information by always checking and using only the best and most reliable sources.

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Edited by Pratyay Ghosh