Shyna Baszler will have her first match since her WWE release.
The former NXT Women’s Champion is currently set to take on former TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich at the upcoming Prestige Roseland XII show on October 5th.
This isn’t the first time Baszler has fought Slamovich. These two actually met at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport X; Baszler got the win over Slamovich due to the referee‘s decision. These two worked well together in their first match, so it should be fun to see how they work in a regular pro wrestling match.
It’s no surprise that Baszler is out on the indie scene working again. She hasn’t worked on the indie’s without the WWE moniker since 2017. The former WWE’s star time in the company was filled with missed opportunities. The promotion originally seemed high on the 45-year-old when she came in and Baszler is on record for having one of the longest NXT Women’s title runs in the company’s history.
Her time in WWE looked even more promising when she got a huge victory over Becky Lynch and Bayley at the 2019 Survivor Series. But Vince soured on Baszler because he reportedly didn’t understand her MMA character. Apparently, Baszler’s gimmick was hard to figure out like rocket science. Nevertheless, once she lost to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36, she was mainly mid card fodder with her biggest accomplishments was winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on multiple occasions.
Despite the release, Baszler stated on the Ariel Helwani episode that she wanted to continue working on her craft. She was also open to going over to AEW.
I would like to. I’ve said this. I said almost exactly this statement when people were talking about [the] UFC to WWE transition. I don’t care as much [about] the letters behind it. I just want to practice my craft. And if I can do that alongside my friends, that’s always a great place to be. So you know, I’m, I’m not going to say a hard no to any of that.”
There’s no word on if she’s had any talks with the promotion. Though it would be a surprise if she didn’t end up in either TNA or WWE. Baszler’s style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but she is one of the better female wrestlers that would be an addition to any roster.