NXT

Shayna Baszler defeated Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Kairi Sane in a Fatal 4-Way match at NXT TakeOver: New York on Friday to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

Belair was in a position to win after hitting a double KOD on Shirai and Sane. In actuality, she cleared the field for Baszler. The champion re-entered the ring to prevent Belair from getting a pinfall and locked her into the Kirifuda Clutch.

Belair tried frantically to break the hold, pulling Baszler's hair and scratching her face and trying to gouge her eyes, yet nothing worked. Unable to reach the bottom rope, Belair had little choice but to tap out.

The odds were stacked against Baszler, as NXT general manager William Regal decided to put all three of her rivals in the title match at TakeOver after The Queen of Spades interrupted a No. 1 contender's match between Belair and Shirai.

Baszler choked out both Superstars and then put Sane to sleep when she attempted to intervene as well. After being informed that her actions would result in a Fatal 4-Way, Baszler was none too pleased.

All three challengers had plenty of history with Baszler entering Friday's match, and that was especially true of Belair, who faced Baszler in a singles match for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix in January.

Baszler won that match due primarily to interference from Four Horsewomen stablemates Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, but Belair came close to winning on multiple occasions before passing out in the Kirifuda Clutch.

After Phoenix, Belair entered into a loose alliance with Shirai and Sane against Baszler, Duke and Shafir. That led to a six-woman tag team match between the two sides in which Shirai pinned Baszler and established herself as a potential title contender.

While Belair was on the winning side, she wasn't happy that Shirai was the one who got the pin, and that led to some tension between them.

The common goal of all three competitors wanting desperately to take down Baszler put the champ in a difficult situation. Even so, the challengers had to worry about Duke and Shafir, who seemed likely to get involved since there are no disqualifications in a Fatal 4-Way.

Many incredible female performers have come through NXT over the past several years, but it isn't a stretch to say that Baszler, Belair, Shirai and Sane are four of the best from an all-around perspective.

They all bring different talents to the table, and they meshed to put on what may have been one of the best Fatal 4-Way matches in NXT history.

Baszler continues to own the NXT women's division by virtue of her win, but any three of the women she beat Friday could emerge as a singular challenger moving forward, and there is no guarantee that her reign will stretch far beyond TakeOver: New York.

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Before the opening bell rang for NXT TakeOver: New York on Friday, WWE announced the newest signing to its developmental brand.

Yujiro Kushida, who most recently enjoyed a long run with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, formally signed a NXT contract.

In an announcement video, Triple H called Kushida "one of the biggest international stars in the world" and said he "couldn't be more excited" for the Time Splitter to enter the NXT ranks.

Kushida was a six-time IWGP junior heavyweight champion with NJPW and won the Super J-Cup in 2016. The 35-year-old confirmed in January he was leaving NJPW, which left many wondering whether WWE would be his next move.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in February (h/t Uproxx's Emily Pratt) that WWE was looking into launching an NXT spinoff in Japan, as it has in the United Kingdom.

If nothing else, Kushida is a strong addition to NXT, especially if the tradition of post-WrestleMania call-ups to the main roster continues.

The War Raiders defeated Aleister Black and Ricochet at NXT TakeOver: New York on Friday to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Black and Ricochet had one hand on the title after Black delivered Black Mass to Rowe. Ricochet followed up with a Shooting Star Press. Hanson broke up the pinfall before the referee completed his three-count.

Hanson and Rowe regained their sense and took back control. Hanson hit Ricochet with a powerslam and then leapt through the ropes to remove Black from the equation. That allowed Rowe to set up their Fallout finisher for the win.

The tag title match at NXT TakeOver: New York came as a result of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which was won by Black and Ricochet.

After beating Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel in the first round of the tournament, Black and Ricochet knocked off Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in the semis. Then, in the finals, they took down The Forgotten Sons, who beat Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, as well as Moustache Mountain, to reach the finals.

It came as somewhat of a surprise that Black and Ricochet won the tournament since they have been working as a team on the main roster for the past several weeks.

With Black and Ricochet on the main roster, it was widely assumed that their time in NXT was over. Instead, NXT fans were treated to a dream match involving four of the best all-around talents the yellow brand has ever produced.

While Black and Ricochet have been dominant since coming together as a team, they were mostly viewed as underdogs entering Friday's event. That is primarily due to the fact that it was assumed they would be going up to the main roster on a full-time basis after WrestleMania, which would have precluded them from being NXT Tag Team champions.

WWE has handled their call-up much differently than most past call-ups, though, which left open the possibility of continuing to use them on all three brands moving forward.

Meanwhile, The War Raiders hadn't done much as NXT Tag Team champions before Friday since beating Undisputed Era for the straps at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. Because of that, they were in desperate need of a big win to establish themselves as the dominant force in NXT's tag team division.

The uncertainty of Black and Ricochet's status added some intrigue to Friday's match in addition to the fact that fans have long been clamoring to see the four of them together in a ring.

The end result was a tag match that likely won't soon be forgotten by NXT fans, and with The War Raiders retaining, it seems likely that Black and Ricochet are indeed main-roster bound and have potentially wrestled their final match in NXT.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).