I Think I'm in Love with Nikki Cross.

Sure, I’ll admit that I have always been drawn to women that have a little bit of crazy in them. I can say this because my wife will openly admit that she falls in that category at times. It’s one of her many eccentric qualities that I love about her (in case she is reading – insert wink emoji). I’m not talking Bad Girls Club crazy. I’m talking A.J. Lee crazy. An apparently well-balanced women that every once in a while is so overcome with raw passion for something or someone, that they morph into a completely different person that is somehow both slightly scary and hot at the same time. With the ability to switch back and forth at any given moment, it is a complicated dance that some women have complete control over.

Nikki Cross is not one of those women.

There is no sweet and innocent side to Nikki Cross, and why would there be? She is in a group called SAnitY for crying out loud. A group name like that merits dark and dysfunctional behavior, which is exactly what Cross is committed to. At any given moment you will catch her biting the ropes, sadistically laughing out loud, hitting things for no apparent reason, or sporadically running around the ring bouncing off of anyone or anything that’s in her way. Black mascara always seems to be smeared below her eyes, giving her that enraged bride that was left at the alter look. And in what has certainly become her signature pose, she often has two handfuls of her long, dark, stringy hair clutched in her fists as if she is about to yank it all out at any moment.

Yet somehow with all of these lunatic characteristics, she manages to maintain a rather endearing quality about herself with the way she expresses her undying affection and commitment to her group, and more specifically to the leader of SAnitY, Eric Young. Nikki Cross looks at Eric Young the way Bellatrix Lestrange looks at Lord Voldemort. Like at a moment’s notice she would jump into shark infested waters without hesitation if he asked her to. Unlike the other two members of SAnitY (Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) whom are clearly emotionally lacking, Nikki Cross is the heart and soul of the group. She literally makes SAnitY. Without her there would be no convincing that the group was anything more than 3 big dudes that shop at Hot Topic together. She is the support system that single handedly elevates Eric Young into appearing as an actual leader. With Young lacking the charisma and mic skills that a Bray Wyatt has, he needs this boost from Cross to help him get over as the undeniable leader of the pack. Admittedly like most women do, she makes the man better.

In addition to her character, Cross is killing it in the ring. Her personality bleeds into her style of wrestling perfectly, and she has just enough size to look great against any of the women in either NXT or WWE. In her very first NXT Takeover appearance (San Antonio) this past January, she battled for the NXT Women’s title in a 4-way match against Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, and the undefeated Women’s Champion Asuka. Although she didn’t come out on top, it was a fantastic showing in an NXT main-event caliber match that also put Nikki’s raw toughness on display when she took a bump off of the announcer’s table platform through a table via double suplex from Royce and Kay.

Trust me, I understand Asuka’s greatness and I have been eating it up just like you. But if there is one other woman in NXT that I’m just as hyped for, it’s hands down Nikki Cross. Keep in mind that this Scottish superstar has been working the global indie-circuit since 2008 (see Nikki Storm) and is a former 3-time Champion for the British independent promotion Pro-Wrestling: EVE. Also keep in mind that as well as she embraces the psycho-goth look she currently has in SAnitY, that there was a time when Nikki Cross dressed a little more like Nikki Bella.

She can do it all, and she is just getting started. (Fantasy booking ALERT!) If it were up to me, look for a dominant win from Cross and SAnitY at NXT Takeover: Orlando this weekend (against Dillinger, Strong, No Way Jose, and newcomer Ruby Riot), and a still undefeated Asuka to walk away with the win against Ember Moon. I truly feel that if there is one woman in NXT that has the capability of finally breaking Asuka’s historic run, it is Nikki Cross in what will be an epic match (or series of matches) at upcoming NXT Takeover events this spring and summer. With an inevitable Nakamura main roster bump, a “TNA flashback” title match could be in the near future with Bobby Roode and Eric Young eventually squaring off, giving SAnitY the opportunity to have both the NXT Championship and the NXT Women’s Championship in their possession. Just saying. But regardless of her future NXT success, there is no question that she will eventually be the “new Nikki” of WWE, and there is no question that I am falling for her hard.

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#yoe #NXT #3