Shayna Baszler Beats Bianca Belair, Retains WWE NXT Women's Title at TakeOver

Shayna Baszler handed Bianca Belair her first televised NXT loss at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on Saturday night and retained the NXT Women's Championship in the process.

Baszler made Belair pass out in the Kirifuda Clutch after Belair previously used her strength to break out of the hold.

Belair appeared to have Baszler beaten at one point, but with the referee knocked out, the match continued:

Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir interfered multiple times on Baszler's behalf, and while Belair was close to overcoming it, she could not find her way out of Baszler's finisher a second time.

Saturday's title match was a long time coming for Belair, who has slowly worked her way up the ranks in NXT since making her first big splash as a participant in the 2017 Mae Young Classic.

Her strength, athleticism and look have made her stand out as one of WWE's biggest potential future stars, but she was passed over on several occasions in favor of other women receiving title shots.

Although she appeared in the women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania last year, Belair had never competed at an NXT TakeOver until Saturday night against Baszler in Phoenix.

After running through essentially the entire NXT women's division, Belair finally became No. 1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship by beating Io Shirai, Lacey Evans and Mia Yim in a Fatal 4-Way match.

With that win, The EST of NXT stood up to Baszler and made it clear that she wasn't intimidated by her or Duke and Shafir.

Belair was so confident entering the match that she said the following about Baszler in a WWE.com interview: "Shayna is irrelevant to me in the sense that all I see is a competitor that I have to go through to get what I want: the NXT Women's Championship."

While Belair is the total package, she had never gone up against someone as accomplished and dominant as Baszler prior to Saturday.

Baszler is the only two-time NXT Women's champion in the history of the brand, and her background as a former UFC star makes her one of the most technically sound and vicious women in all of wrestling.

Belair is an elite athlete in her own right, though, dating back to her time as a collegiate track and field star, as well as a CrossFit competitor.

Due to their backgrounds, the matchup between Belair and Baszler made for one of the most intriguing clashes to occur in the NXT women's division in recent memory.

Although Baszler retained and left with her title reign intact, Belair likely isn't going anywhere any time soon, and it may be only a matter of time before she captures the NXT Women's Championship.

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