Raquel Gonzalez served up the first big shock of WrestleMania week by ending Io Shirai's reign as NXT Women's Champion.
NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver night one has come to a close, and it is going to take some beating. Not just by night two, but also by both nights of WrestleMania this weekend. Tomasso Ciampa and Walter went to war, Johnny Gargano now knows who he will face tomorrow night, and the vacant Tag Team Titles have new owners.
However, the biggest shock of the night was saved until the very end. Raquel Gonzalez not only took Io Shirai to her limit, but the Dusty Classic winner ended the Japanese star's dominant reign. A devastating one-armed powerbomb proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Shirai's title reign. Gonzalez is now the NXT Women's Champion.
As the title match progressed, it appeared as if Gonzalez was being made to seem like a monster, but would eventually miss out on the win. Shirai hit her with a moonsault from the stage set, and Gonzalez even kicked out of the same move inside the ring. According to the announce team, the new champion is the first Superstar to kick out of the move in NXT.
Gonzalez would eventually beat a worn out Shirai with her powerbomb and pin the now former champion for the second time. Gonzalez also pinned Shirai at WarGames last year, which is likely why the Japanese star wanted to face Gonzalez in this match. Shirai went looking for Gonalez when she needed a new challenger, an act she probably regrets right about now.
Gonzalez's victory means Shirai's reign has come to an end at 305 days, just four days short of surpassing Paige's 308 day reign. That makes it the fourth longest NXT Women's Title reign of all time behind Paige and Asuka's debut runs, and Shayna Baszler's second time with the title. Only time will tell whether Gonzalez can break into that top four. WWE is high on her right now, that's for sure, and she has kicked off the first-ever two-day TakeOver with a bang.