Shayna Baszler is WWE May 2025. This has not been so surprising to anyone who has been paying attention to programming over the last few years. Baszler was a third of the Pure Fusion Collective, a random trio that had no purpose other than doing something to Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, and Baszler.
This is a far cry from Baszler’s early presentations at WWE. She had clear weaknesses as a WWE star, but it was very easy to avoid them and allow Basser to focus on the in-ring action. But with a stacked, incredibly talented roster, it’s hard to get a second chance. When she first debuted on the main roster, fans were hoping that Bashler would become the next big heel in the women’s division. Unfortunately, it became clear early on that she was merely an afterthought.
Shayna Baszler was a monster heel from NXT
Baszler had the ultimate boss energy of development
- WWE pushed Shayna Baszler as a top heel when he debuted with the NXT.
- Her second reign as NXT women’s champion lasted more than 400 days.
- She was runner-up in the 2020 Royal Rumble and eliminated eight wrestlers.
The Black and Gold era of NXT was something special. You may have lost track of your original purpose of building a new young star to some degree, but the show was incredible. Shayna Baszler competed in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, losing all the way to the final, where he lost to Kairi Sane.
She made her NXT in-ring debut in January 2018 and quickly became a major threat. Baszler defeated Ember Moon at the NXT Women’s Championship in April 2018, but deleted the title in August. She became a two-time champion in October and then embarked on over 400 reigns as the NXT women’s champion. She went through the department and bulldozed, but it seemed like no one on NXT could stop her. Baszler leaned heavily against the background of kickboxing and MMA to create weapons in the ring. She was systematic, technically skilled and deadly.
But then Rhea Ripley stepped up. Ripley had built up a ton of momentum. On the NXT episode on December 18th, 2019, she won the title in an incredible match. It was Ripley’s starmaking turn and an early indicator of her greatness. Baszler was stuck on NXT until the end of January 2020, making a big impression with the Royal Rumble. She was the last woman to eliminate eight wrestlers and be eliminated by winner Charlotte Flair.
WWE defeated Shayna’s main roster debut
Poor creative decisions left Baszler in the face of a difficult battle
- Baszler bit Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in the neck when he made his main roster debut.
- She challenged Lynch for the Wrestlemania 36 title after eliminating all five competitors in the exclusion room.
- Vince McMahon reportedly canceled her push because she didn’t like her MMA-heavy ring style.
Baszler was officially called to the main roster on February 10, 2020 on an episode of Raw. Her debut was strange. She targeted raw female champion Becky Lynch and took her out by biting her around her neck and drawing blood. It was a strange introduction for fans who were not familiar with her NXT work, but she had their attention, it was good.
At the Elimination Chamber PLE, Baszler was one of six contestants deciding who would challenge the title lynching at WrestleMania 36. With a bold booking decision, Baszler eliminated all other contestants. The choice backfired as he was heavily criticised for his lack of excitement and predictable outcomes. But if WWE wanted Baszler to look like an unstoppable force, it was a success. It all ended at WrestleMania when Lynch defended her title with a roll-up pin. Reports say Vince McMahon was pulling the plug into the Baszler push because she was unhappy with her MMA heavy style. All this left Basisler, who was fighting a battle that she had no intention of winning.
Shayna Baszler wasn’t ready for the main roster
WWE failed to Baszler for not circumventing her limitations
- Shayna Baszler had poor microphone skills and a terrible lack of charisma.
- WWE should have given her a manager to cover these weaknesses, but never did.
- Her NXT Run was proving what Bassar could do as a top-level heel.
In 2020, the landscape of WWE was very different compared to what we have today. Vince McMahon really didn’t care what was going on with NXT, so when the call-up happened, the wrestlers mostly started from scratch. Baszler’s MMA style was not news for anyone who saw even one of the developmental matches.
Anyway, she had some major weaknesses that hinder her in the main roster anyway. First, she was below average on the microphone and lacked charisma. Things were developmentally different from NXT’s small-scale, rabies audiences. Applying to casual fans was a completely different job. None of these issues broke the transaction by any means. Her second NXT Women’s Championship run proved to be a top-level heel when Basser was booked correctly.
By combining her with the manager, she would have addressed her charisma and promotional issues, allowing her to focus solely on her abilities in the ring. But it never happened. Shayna won three women’s tag team championships on the main roster, but none of those governances were far apart. Between her 2020 call-up and the present, several more promising stars appeared, knocking her in a further order of pecking order. But for all intents and purposes, Baszler struck the ceiling in 2020 shortly after the Wrestlemania 36, making it a complete after-sales in WWE.
