Shayna Baszler, who is known for having a very dominant persona as a heel on the NXT women’s roster, often receives fan criticism, with many citing that her gimmick has gotten boring and repetitive.
Baszler doesn’t just have a fierce persona, she is also a brute in the ring. She is a two-time in NXT Women’s Champion and has held the title for 416 days, second only to Asuka’s as the longest-reigning champion. Last week on WWE NXT, Rhea Ripley was able to defeat Baszler and win the title for herself.
Ripley talked about her huge win against Baszler in a recent interview with Newsweek and touched on the criticism that the Queen of Spades receives from fans. “I read a lot of things on Twitter, and I see a lot of things about Shayna and about me. I absolutely hate it when they rag on her and say she’s boring.”
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Rhea defended Baszler, saying that her character is not supposed to be exciting and that her job is to make the fans hate her, not like her.
“She’s a heel, she’s not supposed to be exciting. She’s not supposed to make you like her. She’s not supposed to do any of that stuff. She’s doing her job right. And I hate when people disrespect that fact. So to go out there and put on a match like that with Shayna and prove to everyone how wrong [they are about] not only me but her as well, it’s a feeling that can’t be matched. I just love proving people wrong.”
Rhea must know how hard it must be playing a heel character as she herself was one when she performed in NXT UK. She was also the first women’s champion of the brand. Hopefully, critical fans see this and understand that Baszler has a role to play and a job to do.