Shotzi Gets Emotional After WWE NXT Return, Win Over Stephanie Vaquer

By Ross W Berman IV
Shotzi smiling WWE.com

Shotzi snuck away from Tuesday's "WWE NXT" with a win over Stephanie Vaquer, who has been one of the promotion's top prospects since joining the company at the end of 2024. Her victory came thanks to distractions from Vaquer's rivals in Fatal Influence, which gave Shotzi an opening to roll up the former CMLL champion, but Shotzi was nonetheless emotional over the rare win, which earned her a shot at NXT Women's North American Champion Fallon Henley in Atlanta, GA.

"That was my first singles match in almost a year," Shotzi said in an interview on X. The former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion was in tears over her victory. "It's just been such a long journey to get back in the ring, and I feel like that match really set the tone for 2025."

Shotzi was out of action for much of 2024 with an ACL injury. She was injured around February and didn't return to WWE until December, where as mentioned, she'd been mainly competing in tag matches, even getting a 6-woman tag victory over Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx in a match that saw her team with Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley at the recent New Year's Evil. Shotzi, like many in the "NXT" women's division, had taken a backseat to new arrivals like Vacquer, former STARDOM star Giulia from Japan, and Zaria, all of whom debuted within the last months of 2024 and have taken central roles in the division.

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