10 NXT Women's Champions, Ranked By Promo Ability

Pro wrestling companies won’t put their top championships on just anyone. A title belt shines a spotlight on a given wrestler, so generally, a champion has to be the total package: in-ring skills, a connection with the audience, and promo skills. After all, someone who can’t compellingly speak into a microphone might not be the best choice to convince people to watch future wrestling matches.

Let’s take a look at some of the women’s champions of NXT and assess their promo abilities. They’re all great wrestlers and may have gone on to be great promos, but let’s stick to how well they did during their time in what was once considered WWE’s developmental league.

10 Bayley

In some ways, being a pure vanilla babyface seems like the most difficult character to portray in wrestling. After all, a performer has to act virtuous and sympathetic while also not being boring. Bayley’s gimmick as a sweet, naive newcomer to the cutthroat world of WWE made her perfect fodder for a pure hero character, but her promos were always a little awkward. It worked given her character was awkward, but it was a shock to see just how good she was at playing the obnoxious heel years later.

9 Ember Moon

Ember Moon might be one of NXT’s most underrated champions thanks to the shadow of Shayna Baszler’s tremendous heel run. But she’s a great performer, and her fire-based Mortal Kombat ninja character set her apart from the rest. Her promos didn’t anywhere near live up to the gimmick, but that’s okay -- she was great at sounding like a normal person, which made her easy to root for, even if some fans might have preferred a little more theatricality.

8 Raquel Gonzalez

Raquel Gonzalez dethroning NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai was a big surprise in 2021, but it was a great decision, as it’ll get Gonzalez a chance to further develop in a way she wouldn’t necessarily be able to as Dakota Kai’s enforcer.

With all eyes on her, Gonalez has had to take the lead over Kai, who remains her partner. But she’s already proven to be a strong promo, sounding like someone who’s not only won a championship but intends to keep it.

7 Sasha Banks

Aside from maybe Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks was one of the Four Horsewomen who fans saw improve every single week she showed up on NXT television, developing her gimmick and persona until she became The Boss that fans know today. Her character work was top-notch -- never forget the day she broke Izzy’s headband at TakeOver -- but her promo work is underrated. One of her best promos in NXT was her face-off with Bayley where she said “I want to beat you again and again and again and again, “ perfectly setting up their classic Iron Man match.

6 Paige

NXT’s first Women’s Champion, Paige, was easily one of the promotion’s first breakout stars thanks to her in-ring abilities and her “anti-Diva” gimmick clearly distinguishing her from the way WWE was presenting women on the main roster. Her promo abilities were always great and would benefit her in the long run as injuries would force Paige to transition into non-wrestling roles on screen like managing The Kabuki Warriors and sitting on pre-show panels.

5 Asuka

Talent for whom English isn’t their first language can be hard to rate when it comes to promo ability. Aside from berserk outliers like Scott Steiner, a “good promo” usually constitutes being able to speak coherently and fluidly, and Asuka’s English during her NXT run isn’t as fluent as she is nowadays, but all the energy was still there. Never forget the time a backstage interviewer asked her about Ember Moon and Asuka deadpanned “She still works here?”

4 Shayna Baszler

Mixed martial artist turned pro wrestler Shayna Baszler spent 2018 through 2019 as a dominant heel champ in a period with a lack of credible contenders. As a new talent was being built up, Baszler was the focus of the division, much to the chagrin of some fans who didn’t really “get” her.

Some have criticized her promo skills because she never came off as an uber-charismatic smooth talker, but she was deceptively great. She sounded like a normal person to a large extent -- after all, they don’t pay MMA fighters to talk -- which belied her destructive submission abilities.

3 Io Shirai

Like many of her Japanese compatriots, Io Shirai’s English isn’t great by WWE’s standards where everyone has to be The Rock when it comes to holding a microphone. But she’s made great use of it thanks to her chaotic heel character, using both English and Japanese to create something special. While cutting promos in English, Shirai is pretty terse, but then she switches to Japanese and refuses to shut up, often to the annoyance of other characters like when she was feuding with Rhea Ripley.

2 Charlotte Flair

One of the biggest successes to come out of NXT, Charlotte Flair has pretty much spent her entire career as the cornerstone of whatever women’s division she is -- especially in 2020, as she was the focus of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT for a while. While she was dangerously close to overexposure, Flair made for a great heel in NXT because her promo skills and entitlement drew “Go back to Raw” chants from NXT fans who traditionally welcome back all alumni with open arms.

1 Rhea Ripley

Not every wrestler can be referred to as a total package -- not even Lex Luger himself -- but Rhea Ripley is one of the few who can. She’s got a cool gimmick as a heavy metal bruiser, looks awesome, and is great in the ring. She’s not the orator that many wrestlers try to be, which makes her promo abilities underrated but actually pretty great. She speaks bluntly, but forcefully in a way that perfectly reflects her character.

NEXT: 10 Wrestlers You Forgot Had A Shot At The NXT Women's Title