Repackaged WWE Star Attacks Bayley In Return To Raw
Nikki Cross is officially back on WWE TV.
The former Nikki A.S.H. brought back her unhinged "WWE NXT" persona on this week's "WWE Raw," making a statement by laying out Bayley, Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to end the show.
Towards the closing stages of the Bayley vs. Belair non-title bout, Cross shockingly returned and took out Kai, SKY and the referee with a huge crossbody, before dropping Belair with a Twisting Fisherman Suplex. The chaotic ending allowed Bayley to pin Belair for the victory.
After the match, Cross proceeded to attack Bayley as well, standing tall as the show went off the air. The announcers referred to her as "Nikki Cross" throughout the segment, confirming that the Superstar had indeed brought back her old SAnitY gimmick.
Cross had been off WWE TV since she teased a character overhaul on the 9/26 episode of "Raw," where she unmasked herself, sat on the mat and burst into tears following her loss to the debuting Candice LeRae. The announcers even alluded to her having "a collapse" on live television but didn't provide a follow-up on her status in subsequent weeks.
Cross debuted her "Almost Superhero" gimmick in June 2021, riding a wave of popularity that led to her winning the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match. Shortly thereafter, she would cash in the briefcase on Charlotte Flair to win the "Raw" Women's Championship for the first time in her career. She would eventually turn to the dark side by betraying her former tag team partner, Rhea Ripley, in early 2022, and subsequently began sporting a darker mask to signify her heel turn.
Cross has never truly used her unhinged persona since graduating from "NXT" to WWE's main roster shows. Shortly before her main roster debut in November 2018, Cross' former SAnitY stablemates Eric Young, Alexander Wolf and Killian Dain were drafted to "WWE SmackDown" as part of the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up, leaving Cross to work on "NXT" as a singles competitor. She would eventually debut on "SmackDown" as a singles Superstar, before forming a successful tag team with Alexa Bliss the following year.