Shayna Baszler: Queen Of Spades
Stepping Back Onto Her Throne
“I was a princess made of ashes; there is nothing left of me to burn.
Now it's time for a queen to rise.” Laura Sebastian, Ash Princess
Shayna Baszler is a Bad Ass.
Before the wrestling world got the chance to meet the “Submission Magician” , the MMA world got to see her first. Baszler started on tv when she was apart of The Ultimate Fighter from UFC. She was the first person chosen for her season as a part of Team Ronda Rousey (don’t worry we’ll get back to her soon).
Baszler would go on to be eliminated from the show, and have a 0-2 record in the UFC before pursuing a career in the wrestling scene. She started making her way around the indie circuit and stopping in a few well known ones including: Ring Of Honor, Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), and Shimmer.
But when WWE was creating an all-female tournament with competitors from all over the world, The Mae Young Classic, Baszler would get her chance to shine. She created a path of destruction all the way to the final. Unfortunately, Baszler would lose to Kairi (fka Kairi Sane). It would not be long after the finals that Baszler would make her NXT debut by attacking Kairi.
This aggressive attitude and snapping of limbs would get the attention of the NXT Women’s Champion Athena (fka Ember Moon). The two would have a match at NXT Takeover: New Orleans and that is where Baszler would capture her first title in WWE. During her 133 day reign, atop the throne of the women’s division, Baszler proved to be a hard opponent to beat. That is until an old foe came back to haunt her…
Kairi.
But do not fret, Baszler would get the chance to regain her title only a mere two months later at the first, and only all female WWE PPV, Evolution (and yes there should be another one!). Defeating Kairi would help Baszler become the first ever TWO TIME NXT Women’s Champion. And back on her throne she went. Sitting atop the division, Baszler would go on to dominate the roster once again. This time in a variety of hardcore and more challenging matches such as Fatal- Four- Way and a Steel Cage.
Not only that, but Baszler would get the chance to represent the NXT brand at the brand warfare PPV Survivor Series. This would be the first, and sadly the only time the NXT brand got to be represented fully at the PPV. Champion vs Champion vs Champion. Becky Lynch, Bayley and Baszler would fight it out to see who would be the most dominant champion on their respective brands. Baszler would go on and prove the doubters wrong as the “least experienced” woman in the match and settle comfortably on her throne defeating the other champions.
Baszler’s dominant title reign of terror lasted 416 days, until she came across an Australian Bad Ass in Rhea Ripley (there’s a piece on her too you can check out). Before she would leave black and gold brand, Baszler would get the chance to enter the Royal Rumble match at #30. Impressively, she would eliminate eight competitors in the match to show some more of her dominance to a larger audience.
Baszler would take a bite, quite literally, out of the competition when she debuted on the main roster. Not even a month later, she would enter the Elimination Chamber and this is where a lot of fans (including myself) thought that WWE would let us see more of the Queen of Spades that we saw only a few months prior in NXT. During the Chamber match, Baszler eliminated EVERY SINGLE COMPETITOR to win the match. She was a force to be reckoned with.
Sadly, this was not the case. Baszler would not be able to obtain the Raw Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania 36 and after that would not be a large focus on tv. Her screen time was limited and then she was put into a semi-random tag team with Nia Jax. Although the pair did go on to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships not once, but twice. When the tag team split, the fans did not really see a whole lot of Baszler once again. Yes she was involved in The Queen’s Crown Tournament, but was eliminated in the semi-finals. Yes she was on the Smackdown side for Survivor Series, but was eliminated by Bianca Belair.
After a failed tag team with Natalya, Baszler would join her long-term friend Rousey to wreak havoc. The pair decided they wanted to take over the women’s tag division, and that they did. They won the vacant WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and wanted more. So they went after and claimed the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships for themselves, unifying the titles. Rousey & Baszler sat together on the throne of the women’s tag division.
But Baszler could only take so much…
At Money In The Bank, Baszler snapped! She attacked her partner and walked out, letting them lose those titles and their grip on the division. Fans cheered. This is what they wanted to see. No more Baszler as a second fiddle to Rousey. No more fans forgetting how intense and aggressive Baszler could be. But there were some fans and Rousey herself who wanted to know why? Baszler said it best:
“Unlike you, I paid my dues. I scratched and clawed for a chance to get here. I kicked the front door down to get here where as you, you waltzed your way through the backdoor straight to WrestleMania.”
So the story comes full circle. SummerSlam. MMA Rules Match. No Pinfalls. No Count Outs.
And to some, the match may not have been all it could have been (maybe should have been in a cage or a fight pit but that's just me), but Baszler came out on top. She took one hell of a beating, but looks that much more like a badass.
What’s next for Shayna Baszler?
Personally, I would love to see her become the Queen of Spades once again. Perhaps try and right the wrong of her last loss in NXT to the current Women’s World Champion Ripley? Regardless, Baszler has busted her ass and deserves at least one more reign atop her throne.