Nikki Cross's 10 Best Matches

Making her debut in 2008, Scottish wrestler Nikki Storm developed notoriety by wrestling in Europe and the North American independent scene . In 2016, she’d sign to WWE and debut on NXT as Nikki Cross before moving on to the main roster in 2018 and becoming a two-time Women’s Tag Team Champion alongside Alexa Bliss.

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In 2021, the underrated Cross underwent a gimmick change, becoming a masked superheroine named Nikki A.S.H (Almost a Super Hero). While that sounds like a burial, it would actually lead to what so far is a career apex. Nikki had a lot of great matches in the years leading up to her title win, so let’s take a look at 10 of her best.

10 Bayley vs. Carmella vs. Dana Brooke vs. Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Cross (WWE Money in the Bank, 5/19/2019)

In 2021, Nikki Cross not only won the women’s Money in the Bank, but also cashed it in the next night on Raw, capturing her first singles championship in the company. Two years earlier, Nikki took part in her first MITB match, a fast-paced, exciting affair lasting less than 14 minutes, where Cross made an impression thanks to her recreation of the Terry Funk spinning ladder attack spot.

However, Bayley would end up winning the briefcase and later the SmackDown Women’s Title enroute to her acclaimed heel turn.

9 Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross (WWE SmackDown, 7/24/2020)

Bayley would still have the SmackDown Women’s Title in summer of 2020, and former tag team champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross would go head-to-head to determine a #1 Contender to take on the champion.

Cross, fresh off an unsuccessful title shot against Bayley at Extreme Rules (see below) would once again find herself with another opportunity, after overcoming Bliss via a flash roll-up pin in a strong 12-minute opener on this episode of SmackDown.

8 Kana vs. Nikki Storm (SHIMMER Volume 65, 4/13/2014)

Before clashing numerous times on NXT, Asuka and Nikki Cross tagged together in Japan in 2013 under their previous ring names of Kana and Nikki Storm, respectively. They then had their first singles bout on the American indies for SHIMMER the following year. At the time, Kana was a year away from signing with WWE while Storm was still a couple years away.

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While the two would meet again with much higher stakes in NXT (see below), this SHIMMER bout was a strong effort between two future stars.

7 Bayley vs. Nikki Cross (WWE The Horror Show At Extreme Rules, 7/19/2020)

Bayley and Sasha Banks had already beaten Bliss Cross Applesauce for the women’s tag belts two months earlier on SmackDown, leading to this singles feud between Cross and Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title.

Accompanied by their respective tag team partners, this match isn’t necessarily a classic, but it’s a fun bout with lots of classic pro wrestling shenanigans. In the end, Bayley retains the title thanks to a cheap shot while using Sasha’s signature BOSS ring.

6 Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riot (NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 5/20/2017)

Nikki Cross had a few shots at the NXT Women’s Title during her run in developmental, all of which happened during Asuka’s unbeaten 510-day run with the belt.

This three way with Ruby Riot (back when she spelled her name with one T) tends to fly under the radar for fans, because it was forced to follow the Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate show-stealer at TakeOver: Chicago, but is a very good 12-minutes of multi-woman chaos.

5 Kay Lee Ray vs. Nikki Storm vs. Viper (ICW Fear & Loathing VIII, 11/15/2015)

In 2015, Scotland’s Insane Pro Wrestling introduced a new Women’s Championship, holding a tournament to crown an inaugural champion. The finals of that tournament would be a three-way bout between future NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray, the future Nikki Cross, and Viper, otherwise known as Piper Niven or Doudrop in WWE.

The result was a great match on what was at that point, one of ICW’s biggest shows, in which Viper would capture the belt, and defend against both women in separate matches.

4 Ember Moon vs. Kairi Sane vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce (NXT TakeOver: WarGames, 11/18/2017)

In 2017, Asuka had vacated the NXT Women’s Championship due to a call-up to the main roster, creating the need to crown a new champion. But rather than stage another tournament like when Paige was forced to vacate, NXT opted for a four-way bout featuring three women Asuka had already defeated and recent Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane.

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While not the best match on the TakeOver: WarGames card -- that would be the eponymous WarGames match -- the four-way for the Women’s Title would be a fast-paced affair lasting less than 10 minutes. Ember Moon would capture the title, while Cross would continue to chase it, failing to dethrone Shayna Bazler the following year.

3 Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane (WrestleMania 36 - Day 1, 4/4/2020)

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross -- the aforementioned Bliss Cross Applesauce -- had a surprisingly charming run as a tag team, capturing the women’s tag belts in 2019 only to lose them to the Kabuki Warriors at Hell in a Cell.

At the infamous pandemic WrestleMania, Bliss and Cross ended up recapturing the belts to become two-time champs in a fun opener featuring some of WWE’s best female talent that likely got overshadowed by wacky cinematic bouts and main event title changes.

2 SAnitY vs. Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong, Tye Dillinger & Ruby Riot (NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 4/1/2017)

Made up of Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain, and Nikki Cross, the chaotic crust punk table SAnitY was causing trouble for the NXT roster, with Tye Dillinger’s refusal to join the group being a particular sticking point.

This resulted in a random assortment of babyfaces -- including the debuting Ruby Riot -- taking on the group in a mixed tag match to open up TakeOver: Orlando. While some fans may balk at the mixed tag rules in a match where each side has three men and one woman, the bout is still a fun heels vs. faces tag match.

1 Asuka vs. Nikki Cross (NXT, 6/28/2017)

After taking part in several multi-woman matches for the title, Nikki Cross finally got a one-on-one singles match with Women’s Champion Asuka in the form of a Last Woman Standing match. Despite taking place on TV rather than on a TakeOver, the result is still a great 20-minute battle between the unpredictable Cross and the nigh-unbeatable Asuka, and it is easily Cross’ best match in WWE.

There are lots of pretty brutal spots including a powerbomb onto some chairs that had some fans calling this match one of WWE’s most violent women's matches.

NEXT: Asuka's 5 Best Main Roster Matches (& Her 5 Best In NXT)