As we move towards the final stretch on the Road to WrestleMania, the 36th edition of the Show of Shows is shaping up to be quite an amazing card. While it's not new to watch the main roster champions defend their titles on the PPV, this year there's a special new addition to that list. Yes, we are talking about the NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley defending her title against Charlotte Flair.
The Queen won the 2020 Royal Rumble but instead of doing it the traditional way, she surprised us all by using her victory to claim a championship match for the NXT Women's title at WrestleMania 36. This will mark the first instance of a Royal Rumble winner challenging for an NXT title as well as the first instance of an NXT title being defended on the Grandest Stage of them All.
But now the question is, how would WWE's landscape look if Charlotte defeats Rhea Ripley and becomes the new NXT Women's Champion? Well, that's what we are here to analyze as we look at the five things that could happen in the above scenario. Be sure to comment down and let us know your opinions and thoughts on the same.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#5 The Queen will move to NXT
One of the straightforward outcome of Charlotte winning the NXT Women's title at WrestleMania 36 would be her moving to the Black and Yellow brand. While that might sound a little odd initially, WWE has recently sent back Finn Balor to NXT as well, and that has resulted in some amazing storylines there.
Before joining the main roster in 2015, The Queen was an integral part of NXT Women's division and played a vital role in bringing the Women's Revolution to WWE. The NXT Universe loves her and would love to have their Queen back to rule the show.
#4 NXT Championships could also be counted as World titles
One of the biggest discussions over the last few years in the world of pro wrestling has been the enormous number of title reigns that Charlotte Flair has had in her relatively smaller career. Having made her debut a little over four years ago, she already is a 10-time Women's Champion in the company's history, more than any other female Superstar.
If the rumors are to be believed, it is her and not John Cena, who WWE is planning to break Ric Flair's record of 16 World title reigns. Having entered the business with the huge burden of living up to her father's legacy, Charlotte has done a great job in not only maintaining that but creating a legacy for her own.
Now the point to note here is, if WWE plans to have her break that record, why would they not use her Royal Rumble victory for yet another run as the Raw or SmackDown Women's Champion? Maybe, just maybe, the plan is to use this as a setup to start counting the NXT titles as World Championships as well. NXT is no longer the developmental brand that it used to be, so why not count the main titles on the brand as World titles as well? Which leads to the next point...
#3 NXT will be established as a proper third brand and might be involved in the Superstar Shake-up
Charlotte Flair winning the NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36 would be a Best for Business decision for the Black and Gold brand. In the last six months or so, the company has taken huge strides in establishing NXT as a proper third brand of the company alongside RAW and SmackDown.
As mentioned in the last point, if WWE starts counting NXT titles as World Championships as well, it would establish NXT as the proper third brand for the company. Mind you, it is NXT which goes on a head-to-head collision on Wednesday nights with AEW Dynamite and with AEW's show having a slight lead over NXT, WWE would want their third brand to get as good ratings as the other two.
The addition of someone like Charlotte Flair is sure to boost-up the ratings as she has the star power to draw more eyes to the product, which would be beneficial for other NXT Superstars as well. WWE can even take this a step further and involve NXT in the Superstar Shake-up after WrestleMania as well.
#2 Fresh match-ups for Charlotte on NXT
Let's be honest here, in the span of her four-year-long main roster career, Charlotte has faced and defeated almost every female Superstar on the roster. It is common to see fans demanding something new from WWE when it comes to her as no one wants to see her have yet another feud with someone like Becky Lynch or Bayley.
This is one of the biggest reasons why the decision of having her go after the NXT Women's title was welcomed by the WWE Universe with both hands. Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair is a fresh match-up which no one has seen before and it allows the Queen to do something new and add another layer to her character.
Moving her to NXT after WrestleMania would lead to her having more fresh match-ups with the rest of the NXT Women's roster, which is currently considered by many to be the best women's roster across all promotions around the world. Imagine her taking on the likes of Toni Storm, Candice LeRae, Bianca Belair, etc. With Belair being heavily involved in the initial stage of her feud with Ripley, she would make for an ideal first challenger for Charlotte, provided she wins the title at WrestleMania.
#1 Rhea Ripley might join the main roster
One of the major scenarios that Charlotte's NXT Women's title win could lead to is the current champion Rhea Ripley making her move to the main roster. Before joining the NXT roster, Ripley was an integral part of the NXT UK roster, where she became the first NXT UK Women's Champion in 2018.
With her being considered as the next breakout star in the company by many, it would make sense for the company to have her join the main roster following WrestleMania 36. The WWE Universe is already familiar with Ripley due to her amazing performance at last year's Survivor Series PPV, where she led Team NXT to a victory against the women's Survivor Series teams of RAW and SmackDown.
A match against Charlotte Flair at the Grandest Stage of them All is itself a great opportunity for The Nightmare to establish herself as a main-event star in the company. Even in a loss, she won't lose any momentum and can join the main roster to wreak havoc there. With Shayna Baszler looking set to join the RAW roster, it would make sense for her to be the big edition to SmackDown's roster.