Before getting called up to the main roster in 2020, Shayna Baszler was one of the most dominant female stars to appear on "WWE NXT" when she became the second longest reigning women's champion in the show's history. Although Baszler fought hard to bring that same brutality to "WWE Raw," she recently detailed the challenges of wrestling on Monday nights compared to the developmental brand in an interview with"Insight."
"I don't think I understood at the timethat the main roster audience is so much bigger than 'NXT,' that most of them don'tknow who you are, right? There is that hardcore crowd and they show up at pay-per-views ... but the majority of people that watch 'SmackDown' and 'Raw' do not watch 'NXT.'So I think that was a bit of a wakeup call for me."
Despite finding it difficult to connect with the WWE Universe during her first year on the red brand, Baszler admitted that her debut at the 2020 Royal Rumble generated a response because the die hard fans in attendance knew her name, but ultimately felt that she needed to reintroduce herself heading into her WrestleMania 36 feud with Becky Lynch. However, along with reintroducing her character to the main roster, Baszler had to make herself known to former WWE CEO, Vince McMahon.
"Vince at the time didn't watch 'NXT' religiously, right? So he would get told stuff like, "Oh, this is Shayna. She's a badass ... She did MMA, she's friends with Ronda Rousey. Here's Shayna.' So, even he doesn't know what I'm about in the ring. So, even introducing yourself to him is kind of a thing."
Baszler's Royal Rumble debut was beyond impressive, having eliminated 8 competitors after entering at number 30, and despite Charlotte Flair emerging victorious in 2020, "The Queen Of Spades"was initially told that she was going to win.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
