Analyzing Why WWE Fans Love Nikki Cross and If She Has Main-Event Potential

Nikki Cross debuted on the main roster all the way back on November 6 when she answered an open challenge from Becky Lynch on an episode of SmackDown, but she wasn't officially called up until January.

She spent several months appearing in random backstage segments before WWE made a change to her character and reintroduced her following the Superstar Shake-up.

On the May 13 episode of Raw, Cross appeared backstage with Alexa Bliss and complained about nobody knowing who she was or how she was even drafted to Raw in the first place. 

This was no longer the unhinged Nikki we knew from the developmental system as a member of Sanity. She seemed more like a lost puppy looking for a friend than the wolverine who took Asuka to her limit in a Last Woman Standing match in NXT.

She has become friends with Bliss, but knowing The Goddess as we all do, it has become clear she is just using Cross to get back in the hunt for the Women's Championship.

Despite being aligned with a heel, the WWE Universe has come to appreciate Cross more and more with each passing week. Let's take a look at why fans like her so much even though she is best friends with a villain.

She Is a Sympathetic Character

Everyone has felt like they were being used by someone they thought was a friend at one point in their life, so seeing it happen to someone as sweet as Cross makes her a more sympathetic character.

Even though Bayley can see through Bliss' tactics, she has not been able to convince Cross of her nefarious ways.

She always defends Bliss when someone says anything bad about her, which makes her a great friend who is being taken advantage of by someone who knows how to manipulate people.

This whole situation parallels the film, Mean Girls. Lindsay Lohan's character was a naive outsider who was tricked into being friends with the resident pack of popular girls because she didn't know any better.

Cross is friends with Bliss because she was the first person to give her any attention. It's one of those storylines where the payoff is going to be Cross catching Bliss doing something evil and beating the life out of her.

She Was Misused for so Long

Cross was called up to the main roster along with EC3, Lacey Evans, Heavy Machinery and Lars Sullivan, but it took WWE almost six months to do anything with her.

This was disappointing for a lot of reasons, but people were mostly sad to see Sanity disband without ever getting a chance to shine as a stable on the main roster.

Killian Dain is back in NXT, Alexander Wolfe is in NXT UK and Eric Young is chasing the 24/7 Championship. At this point, Cross has the best chance at success out of the entire group.

When Cross was called up separately and barely appeared outside of a few backstage segments, a lot of people lost hope she would ever get a proper push.

Once WWE began using her in this current storyline, we had reason to believe she would get a fair shot to succeed on Raw and it reinvigorated fans' interest in her. 

The WWE Universe hates seeing talent go to waste, so when someone who has been booked poorly finally gets their shot, the fans tend to appreciate that person even more.

She Is Different

WWE has a large roster of unique women right now. It has many different characters who each have their own personality, but nobody is quite like Cross.

The former member of Sanity has managed to combine aspects of her character in NXT with the more grounded version she has been playing lately to create one of the most energetic gimmicks in the company. 

When she bursts out onto the stage and runs around with a huge grin on her face, you can't help but appreciate how happy she is to be there.

She has a lot in common with Bayley in that way. Fans latched onto The Hugger because she was always excited to be in the ring surrounded by people who love this business as much as she does. Cross gives off the same impression.

When she was tasked with hosting an episode of A Moment of Bliss on Raw, Cross told the audience she was nervous. One fan loudly responded by yelling, "You're doing great, Nikki!"

When Bayley asked why Cross wasn't part of the Women's Championship match at Extreme Rules, the crowd made it clear it wanted to see her included. 

She has endeared herself to the WWE Universe in a short time because she has a relatable yet unique personality that comes through her character. 

Does She Have Main-Event Potential?

The women's division only has a few titles floating around. There are two Women's Championships between Raw and SmackDown and one set of tag titles, so they are fighting for a lot less gold than the men.

Cross and Bliss are eventually going to reach a breaking point and go their separate ways, so the tag team division is not an option for now.

Her best option is pursuing the SmackDown women's title, and she may just get her chance at Extreme Rules. While nothing has been announced yet, a lot of people expect her to be added to the match between Bayley and Bliss.

It might be too early to put an entire division on her back, but she has the potential to be a top star in the future.

Not only does she have the support of the crowd, but Cross also has a unique in-ring style that would be a nice change of pace from what we have seen in the title picture recently.

She favors mayhem over technical precision and that is something that has been missing from the women's division, especially since The Riott Squad was broken up by the Superstar Shake-up and none of them have appeared on TV since.

Cross is going to be a women's champion someday, and when she finally hoists the title above her head, the crowd is going to go wild.