Nikki ASH signaled that change may be ahead after suffering yet another loss on Raw.
Though she recently made history as the first woman to challenge for every active women’s championship in WWE, Nikki ASH hasn’t had much success inside the squared circle in recent months. Her 2021 Money in the Bank win and subsequent reign as Raw Women’s Champion seem to be in the distant past, as do her reigns as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion alongside both Alexa Bliss and Rhea Ripley.
Her most recent loss came at the hands of Candice LeRae, who made her surprise return to WWE on the latest episode of Monday Night Raw. While LeRae was celebrating in front of the crowd in Edmonton, AB, Canada, a distraught Nikki sat in the corner of the ring and removed her signature mask, seemingly indicating that she may be done with her persona as Almost a Superhero.
As @CandiceLeRae returns on #WWERaw, @WWENikkiASH just took off her mask! pic.twitter.com/RLmGLnOe9d
— WWE (@WWE) September 27, 2022
Formerly known as Nikki Cross, the Scottish star originally donned the mask and took on a new identity back in June of 2021. The gimmick change led to her winning Money in the Bank shortly thereafter, and she became Raw Women’s Champion when she cashed in her briefcase and pinned Charlotte Flair. However, even while she was champion, she regularly lost matches and eventually lost the title back to Charlotte after just 32 days.
Fans were hopeful that the star would be in for a gimmick refresh when she first teamed with Doudrop back in May, and while it did lead to a heel turn, she continued to dress like a superhero, changing the blue in her outfit to black. It remains to be seen whether her unmasking on Raw will lead to her reverting back to her previous name of Nikki Cross or whether she’ll take on yet another identity as she continues to evolve.
Elsewhere on Monday Night Raw, Bayley challenged Bianca Belair to a ladder match and a returning Edge challenged Finn Balor to an I Quit match at Extreme Rules. Full results from the September 26th episode can be found here.