NXT underwent a massive overhaul in 2021. The black and gold branding was ditched, some of its Superstars were released, and a lot of new faces were introduced. There have been a lot of title switches since too, and rather than put the Women's Title on a new face, the richest prize in NXT's women's division was given to a returning one. Mandy Rose came back to the brand, and it quickly became clear the new look NXT was far more suited to her than the old one where she struggled to fit in.

The terrific job Rose has done as champion has been a welcome surprise. That is very much a double-edged sword, though. With Vince McMahon and his cronies much more invested in NXT, it's only a matter of time before Rose returns to the main roster along with the persona she has carefully crafted in NXT, perhaps with the rest of Toxic Attraction joining her. That feels like such an inevitability that plans for a new champion need to be discussed right now, and even though the brand has changed, it should signal a return to what made that title great years before Rose ever held it.

Make NXT Great Again

Some of the very best female Superstars to ever grace NXT have held that title, and almost all of them have been terrific performers and legitimate badasses. It was also a stage on which those same Superstars established themselves as top contenders not only in NXT but throughout all of WWE. Asuka defeated all comers for more than 500 days. Shayna Baszler doing the same across two reigns. Even as recently as Raquel Gonzalez. It wasn't that long ago that Gonzalez was a nobody who popped up to assist Dakota Kai. Being the final woman to hold that title during the black and gold era means something, and that momentum will eventually carry her onto the main roster.

If there's one woman in NXT right now who can return the Women's Title to what it once was, and make it work on what is now a very different landscape, it's Kay Lee Ray. The Scottish star has been under the WWE umbrella for a while now, quietly showing everyone that matters exactly what she can do, and exactly why she can be trusted in whatever spot WWE needs her to be in. Ray can talk people into the building, makes her opponents look good, and best of all, she can wrestle rings around anyone else in that locker room. That ability is what the NXT Women's Title's history has been rooted in since the very beginning.

She Knows How To Make A Title Mean Something

Ray has also proved something no one else on the roster is able to boast. Like some of the former NXT stars mentioned above, Ray is very capable of holding a WWE Championship for a very long time. The Scot was NXT UK Women's Champion for 649 days, so well over a year. Yes, a large chunk of that was when NXT UK was on hiatus due to the pandemic. However, if anything, that's another reason Ray should be the face of the NXT Women's division. There will forever be an asterisk alongside her last title reign. She can prove her doubters wrong by winning the US version of the title and by dominantly holding it for an extended period.

On top of everything that has already been said, Ray is also a lot younger than some fans might think. Not because she looks older than her years, that's not the case at all, but because Ray has been doing this for a very long time. Like so many British wrestlers, Ray got her start in the ring at a very young age, wrestling her first match at the age of just 16. That means at 29, she already has 13 years of experience under her belt, and her ability in the ring and on the mic shows that. There's no one else in NXT, or perhaps all of WWE, right now who can boast that, hence her being the perfect person to lead what is clearly going to be a brand led by younger talent.

Ray will get her chance to become the face of NXT's women's division at Stand & Deliver. However, there are other women in there who might well stop her. Rose could extend her reign, or Shirai could become the champion for a second time. The biggest threat to Ray winning the title on April 2 will be Cora Jade. At just 21, it's clear WWE wants to build the brand, if not the company's entire division around Jade eventually. It feels far too early for that right now though, and Ray would be the perfect person for Jade to take the title from her down the line. Yet another reason why Ray should be the face of the division moving forward. The perfect foil for Jade to chase.