Since its creation in 2013, the NXT Women’s Championship has been held by several Hall of Fame-caliber women over the years.
Names like Paige, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley instantly come to mind for many people.
However, there are only two women that are brought up when talking about some of the most dominant title reigns in NXT history: Asuka and Shayna Baszler. Both have carved paths of destruction through the NXT women’s division during their respective reigns, taking on any and all challengers who dared get in their way.
This got me thinking, out of the two of them, who should be considered the greatest NXT Women’s Champion? So, I decided to do some research and compare each woman’s reign using several aspects to determine who was/is the better champion out of the two.
Now, without wasting any more time, let’s jump right into this and see whether The Empress of Tomorrow or The Queen of Spades reigns supreme!
Reigns
I figured it would be best to start things off by looking at the statistics of both women’s time as champion.
Asuka only had one reign as champion, defeating Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Dallas to capture the title. She held it from that day, April 1, 2016, until August 24, 2017. A collarbone injury and imminent move to the main roster forced her to vacate the title, ending her reign at 510 days.
However, the episode of NXT TV where she relinquished the title wasn’t aired until September 6, the actual date when WWE recognized the end of her reign. This means that she “technically” held the title for 522 days, which currently stands as the longest NXT Women’s Championship reign and single-longest title reign of any major NXT champion in history.
On the other hand, Baszler has the distinction of being the only woman to win the NXT Women’s Championship twice. Her first reign started on April 7, 2018, when she defeated Ember Moon at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. She held the title for 133 days until August 18, losing it to Kairi Sane at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4.
This aspect is pretty neck and neck; Asuka has the single-longest reign, while Baszler has the most reigns and is coming very close to surpassing Asuka’s record of days as champion.
Baszler recaptured the title from Sane a little over two months later, on October 28, at WWE Evolution. As of this writing she is still the current champion, having the second-longest NXT Women’s Championship reign at 368+ days. Her combined days as champion stands at 501 days, 21 shy of tying Asuka’s record.
Challengers
Next, I looked at the numerous challengers that both women faced as champions.
During Asuka’s reign, she faced the likes of Bayley, Nia Jax, Mickie James, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Nikki Cross, Ember Moon, and Ruby Riott. Baszler faced off against women such as Moon, Sane, Cross, Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, Toni Storm, Io Shirai, Mia Yim, and Candice LeRae.
When you compare those lists, it feels like, at least to me personally, that Baszler had more quality competition than Asuka did. That’s not a knock on any of the women Asuka faced, but as a whole, there was just a higher-caliber group of women that faced Baszler.
That isn’t to say that Asuka didn’t have any memorable feuds. Her matches against Bayley and Moon were some of the best of her NXT career. The same can also be said for Baszler’s feuds against Moon, Yim, Shirai and Sane, with the latter almost winning the NXT Year-End Award for Rivalry of the Year in 2018.
Obviously, the rosters are always evolving, so who’s to say things would have been different if Asuka got to face some of the women that Baszler did and vice versa? However, this time around, I have to give the edge to Baszler in terms of the quality of their competition.
Dominance
Finally, I looked at how dominant both women were atop the NXT women’s division.
It’s pretty obvious that Asuka was one of, if not the most dominant wrestler in NXT history. She was never pinned or submitted during her time on the black-and-yellow brand, a streak that she took with her to the main roster. The streak lasted from her debut at NXT TakeOver: Respect on October 7, 2015, all the way until April 8, 2018 when she was finally defeated by Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34, an astounding 914 days.
Don’t forget that she never technically lost the title, so who knows how much longer she could have held it and who could have beaten her for it.
Baszler didn’t have an impressive streak like Asuka, but was still pretty dominant in her own right. She’s only lost the title once, but regained it two months later and hasn’t looked back since. However, she has been pinned by Shirai in a non-title match.
This time around, the edge definitely goes to Asuka in terms of sheer dominance.
Final Verdict
Now, before I make my choice, I should start by saying that this is only my opinion. There are going to be people who agree and others who won’t, which is perfectly fine. We are all allowed to have different opinions, just as long as we respect everyone regardless.
With that out of the way, let’s move on to my final verdict. After going through the categories and giving it some thought, I believe that the greatest NXT Women’s Champion is… Shayna Baszler.
While Asuka had the more dominant reign and the 914-day undefeated streak, I personally felt like her time as champion got more and more stale the longer it went on. It was entertaining seeing her demolish her opponent time after time, until it wasn’t. After a while, it got to the point where it felt like literally no one on the roster could dethrone her and have it be believable.
Then there’s Baszler; the only woman to win the NXT Women’s Championship twice and is coming close to tying (and possibly beating) Asuka’s record of total days as champion. Her second reign has easily been her best, as she has evolved into a much more focused and tenacious competitor.
I think she’s the best in large part because of her competition. Just look at the women she’s faced; there have been several matches (most notably against Shirai and Yim) where many believed her time as champion would come to an end. This, in my opinion, made her victories even more impressive and showed time and time again that she should be taken seriously as one of the best women’s wrestlers in the company.
So, in this battle of supremacy, my winner is none other than The Queen of Spades herself, Shayna Baszler.
Who do you think is the greatest NXT Women’s Champion: Asuka or Shayna Baszler? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!
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You can find the author of this article on Twitter @Shalenehixon21. Thanks for reading!