Dakota Kai will face Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship at TakeOver: XXX.
Kai went one-on-one with former Champion Rhea Ripley to kick off this week's episode of NXT, and while The Nightmare asserted her physical dominance for most of the match, the Kiwi Superstar refused to stay down, and managed to counter several big moves to gain some near falls.
In the end, Ripley looked close to finishing off her opponent, but recent Robert Stone Brand recruit Mercedes Martinez landed a kick on the apron behind the ref's back and allowed Kai to hit her Go To Kick finisher to pick up the win.
This was a great, hard-hitting match to kick off what turned out to be a terrific episode of NXT overall, and the heel going over makes more sense in this particular situation. It also sets up what should be a very exciting feud between Ripley and Martinez.