WWE NXT Preview (7/11): Mandy Rose Defends Title Against Roxanne Perez
A major title match is set for tonight's episode of WWE "NXT".
Mandy Rose will defend the NXT Women's Championship against one of the brand's fastest-rising stars, Roxanne Perez, who earned the title shot by winning the Women's Breakout Tournament last month. Perez is also coming off her first championship victory in WWE. She and Cora Jade won the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles from Rose's Toxic Attraction cohorts Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne on last Tuesday's The Great American Bash special.
Rose has held the NXT Women's Championship for more than 250 days. She won the title from Raquel Gonzalez (now using the ring name Raquel Rodriguez after being called up to "SmackDown") on the Halloween Havoc special last October. Since then, Rose has successfully defended it on "NXT" programming against Cora Jade, Dakota Kai, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray (now known as Alba Fyre), and most recently, Wendy Choo.
Perez signed with WWE less than six months ago. Prior to signing, she had a 119-day reign as Ring of Honor Women's Champion while performing under the ring name Rok-C.
Tonight's match will be the second one-on-one meeting between Rose and Perez. Rose won a non-title match in late April.
WWE is also promoting Apollo Crews' first singles match on "NXT" since his return to the brand last month. He's set to face Giovanni Vinci, the former Fabian Aichner, who made his re-debut last month. Vinci was formerly part of the Imperium stable in "NXT" and "NXT UK". The faction dissolved when former members Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser were called up to the "SmackDown" roster.
The following line-up is announced for tonight:
- NXT Women's Championship Match: Roxanne Perez vs. Mandy Rose (c)
- Apollo Crews vs. Giovanni Vinci
- Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner
Stay with Wrestling Inc. for more on tonight's "NXT" and join us for live coverage at 8 PM ET.