WWE's Shawn Michaels Assesses NXT's Women's Division

Tomorrow night, five women will compete in WWE's second annual Iron Survivor Challenge at "WWE NXT" Deadline. The event will also see Kiana James and Roxanne Perez battle inside a steel cage. On the "NXT" Deadline media call, WWE's Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels spoke about the current state of the "NXT" women's division, referencing these matches as the perfect illustrators of the immense depth possessed by the brand's roster of women.

"It's just amazing to me, our women in 'NXT,' and the depth of the roster that we have. You can see it in the Women's Iron Survivor [Challenge] match, we have five unbelievably talented women, but they weren't in it last year, so that speaks to the depth," Michaels said. "As you mentioned, the Women's Breakout Tournament, we still have people like Lola Vice, Izzi Dame, Dani Palmer, so we have so many other women that are not even a part of this PLE. Kiana James [vs.] Roxanne Perez, [is] the second women's match on this, inside of a steel cage. The depth of NXT's women's division is better than it's ever been, and it's only getting deeper ... We've always had the most talented women in the world in WWE performing on the main roster, and I think that's going to continue in the future because the 'NXT' women's division is so incredibly stacked top to bottom."

As Michaels mentioned, this year's Women's Iron Survivor Challenge landscape features five competitors who are completely new to the match stipulation — Tiffany Stratton, Blair Davenport, Kelani Jordan, Lash Legend, and Fallon Henley. Of those involved, Stratton and Henley are the only former "NXT" titleholders, with Stratton backed by one reign as "NXT" Women's Champion, while Henley enters with one reign as "NXT" Women's Tag Team Champion under her belt. 

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