Nikki Cross has never won a singles title headed into WWE Night of Champions.
Credit: WWE.com
Nikki Cross was replaced by Asuka at WWE Clash of Champions as Bayley defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Asuka. Following a disqualification finish, Sasha Banks returned to attack her former best friend.
Cross, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are all off the pay-per-view as they were not medically cleared. Cross did no appear on the go-home broadcast for Friday Night SmackDown.
WWE.com released a statement Sunday regarding Cross’ status:
“Bayley will address the SmackDown Women’s Championship situation tonight on WWE Clash of Champions with her opponent unable to compete,” read the statement.
“Nikki Cross, who was scheduled to challenge for the title, is not medically cleared. Additionally, Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax are not medically cleared and will not defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against The Riott Squad tonight. The situation surrounding the titles will be addressed tomorrow night on Raw.”
For a myriad of reasons, the hard-luck Cross never felt like a viable challenger to Bayley. Not only was Cross overshadowed by Bayley’s major feud with Sasha Banks—a feud two years in the making—she has also been used as a foil for Alexa Bliss and her ongoing descent into madness.
Bliss projects to be an accessory to The Fiend as part of a main event act inside the Firefly Fun House, with Bliss acting increasingly sinister since her brush with The Fiend on the July 31 broadcast. Friday on SmackDown, Bliss made headlines for her intense staredown of Roman Reigns.
Nikki Cross has been on a high-profile losing streak in women’s championship matches. The former women’s tag team champion still has yet to win her first singles title in WWE, and her failure to get over the hump has become a popular talking point.
In fact, Cross’ losing streak has been intertwined into her character’s storyline arch. In one of countless examples of WWE sabotaging an otherwise promising character, the promotion never misses an opportunity to remind its fanbase of her losing ways.
Cross’ recent appearance on “A Moment of Bliss” was the latest example of WWE promoting the popular character as a loser. Alexa Bliss even asked Bliss about how she intends to change her strategy since she has “lost to Bayley for most of the summer.”
Cross’ lot as an underdog in close proximity to more prioritized characters places her in danger of getting lost in the shuffle as WWE reportedly moves toward reopening. But by not being able to compete, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise as Cross avoided another costly defeat.
Source: Forbes – Business
