Shayna Baszler On How WWE NXT Will Handle The Competition With Move To The USA Network
The two-time and current WWE NXT Women's Champion, Shayna Baszler, was a recent guest on the State of Combat Podcast. During the discussion, Baszler went into detail about how it feels to see NXT make the jump to a cable TV channel like USA Network.
"It's like we've always done, you know? People who watch NXT, we've always done everything we could to out-do ourselves, to put on the best show that we could put together and I think we have done it time after time," Baszler explained. "What it means for us is that it is a huge audience that is going to see it now. It's another day for us but it is exciting because we are finally expanding, and everyone is going to see us doing what we have been doing for 5-6 years now."
Baszler elaborated on the competition that NXT will see in their new timeslot, namely AEW on the same night and RAW and SmackDown earlier in the week. She's looking forward to the wider scale of audience that NXT will be able to reach once they've made it to cable TV.
"It's exactly like I said, we have always had RAW and SmackDown in mind. That is a thing – it's all a WWE machine but we have always concentrated on giving our very best show," Baszler said. "That is not just me blowing smoke. You can ask anybody that has watched NXT for as long as they have, there's never been a person that has watched NXT, a TakeOver, or followed a storyline on TV on the Network – I don't think there's anybody that has ever been disappointed in our show. That isn't something I have ever heard. We have always blown people away. I think, like I said, it's going to be us concentrating on the same things that we have, and doing the same things we have done, and now it is on USA Network, so now a ton more people are going to see it."
Baszler also mentioned how the camaraderie among the NXT roster is something unique in itself. She noted how the stars in the locker room all put in their utmost effort to elevate the people around them during matches.
"I think there's very much a feeling of helping the person next to you be better," Baszler said. "You talk about this spirit of competition, but I think what people really miss in pro wrestling and what makes it really successful is that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the NXT locker room that is holding somebody down. It's not really a we're in it for ourselves type of thing. We are all helping each other, and if you can elevate people around you, it is going to help the entire product. It comes out as it does and you guys are going to see it."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the State of Combat Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.