WWE fans have urged Triple H to make an upcoming RAW star a Women’s World Championship contender amid growing uncertainty over Naomi’s future.
Naomi wasn’t able to defend her title this past Monday (August 11), as she wasn’t “medically cleared” to compete. The company and the 37-year-old have remained tight-lipped about the situation, but there is a feeling that she’ll be absent for the long term.
Fans Urge WWE to Push RAW Star as Possible Naomi Replacement
If Naomi is out of action for a significant period, she’ll likely have to relinquish her Women’s World Championship. She was supposed to defend the gold on Monday night against Iyo Sky, but Roxanne Perez stepped in and replaced her in a normal one-on-one singles match.
Fightful (via WrestlePurists) reports that WWE were “happy with how Iyo and Roxanne performed” and their match ended with The Judgment Day star picking up a surprise victory. This came courtesy of a mix-up between the Kabuki Warriors and Asuka walking away from her former Damage CTRL stablemate.
WWE’s higher-ups weren’t the only ones impressed with the duo’s match, and Iyo had already earned recognition as one of the best wrestlers in the business throughout the year. But Roxanne continues to grow and lay claim to being the company’s next breakout star.
One fan touched on Naomi’s likely absence by explaining why Perez had to beat Sky:
“WWE needs more top heels in the women’s division, and now with Naomi out for an undisclosed reason and Liv Morgan still sidelined with an injury, the gap is even bigger. I believe this is why Roxanne Perez beat Iyo Sky, and why Asuka will likely be turning heel sooner rather than later.”
Another fan has proposed that Roxanne become world champion:
“If Naomi has to relinquish, you just have to belt up, Roxanne, right now.”
One fan wasn’t surprised to see the pair impress:
“Their best wrestler vs their youngest best wrestler, who would’ve thought.”
Another echoed this:
“Both are fantastic and made the absolute most out of an unfortunate late change.”
One simply stated:
“Believe in Roxy.”
Roxanne moved up to WWE’s main roster earlier this year and was quickly tasked with replacing Liv Morgan as a member of The Judgment Day. She has taken that challenge on in her stride, and her stock continues to grow after a successful spell in developmental, where she became a two-time NXT Women’s Champion.
Roxanne Perez: The Ultimate Goal Is Main Eventing WrestleMania
The 23-year-old’s career is on an upward trajectory that looks likely to result in one day claiming the women’s world title. She is the youngest NXT Women’s Champion in history and arrived in the company in March 2022 as a former ROH Women’s World Champion.
She wasn’t part of WrestleMania 41 as she only replaced the injured Morgan as a Women’s World Tag Team Champion with Raquel Rodriguez in June. But performing on the grandest stage of them all is her main ambition (via Pro Wrestling Illustrated):
“Obviously, WrestleMania is the ultimate goal. But I just want to create a legacy here in WWE. I want to win as many championships as I can. I want to become a Grand Slam champion. I want to wrestle at every single WWE pay-per-view there is. One day I want to main event WrestleMania.”
There are already signs that WWE views Roxanne as a future WrestleMania main eventer, especially how strongly she was booked in this year’s Royal Rumble. She set the record for the longest time spent in a women’s rumble at one hour and seven minutes after entering at number three and finishing runner-up to Charlotte Flair.
