Former WWE star Shayna Baszler discussed the challenges she faced transitioning from NXT to WWE’s main roster. Having held the NXT Women’s Championship for 548 days, she moved up to the main roster in January 2020 during the Royal Rumble event and spent five years there before departing WWE in July 2024. On the podcast “Insight with Chris Van Vliet,” Baszler revealed how she had to reintroduce herself to the wider WWE audience, highlighting that the main roster has a much larger and mostly unfamiliar fanbase compared to NXT. She noted that while NXT has a dedicated following, many viewers of Raw and SmackDown were unaware of her previous work. Baszler described her main roster debut as a “wake-up call” because, despite starting at a significant pay-per-view like the Royal Rumble with a concentrated fan base, she soon realized she had to build her reputation anew with the broader audience. She also mentioned that even at house shows, many fans only recognized her as the “NXT girl,” illustrating the steep learning curve wrestlers face when moving up. For more insights into her current relationship with WWE, further reading is suggested.
Fan Take: Shayna Baszler’s reflections underscore the difficult adjustment many wrestlers experience when stepping into WWE’s main spotlight, which is crucial for fans to understand the pressures behind the scenes. This highlights how developing a connection with the larger WWE audience is vital for a wrestler’s success and can shape their career trajectory in the industry.
