Shayna Baszler is a professional wrestler currently competing in WWE, portraying a villainess on the NXT program.
Shayna joined WWE in 2016 and she was announced as one of the 32 participants in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. In the first round, which aired on August 28, 2017, Shayna defeated Zeda, and also defeated Mia Yim on September 4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Before and after her second round match, Shayna was shown mocking Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky Lynch, who were all in attendance and seated across from the UFC's Horsewomen, teasing a feud between both sides--with Shayna displaying a heel persona.
In the quarterfinals, Shayna defeated Candice LeRae in the first of the four matches, doing so via submission. After her victory, Shayna turned heel and refused to break her submission, and delivered a kick to Candice afterwards. Later on, the evil Shayna snarled at NXT wrestler Johnny Gargano (Candice's husband) and the fans in attendance, cementing Shayna as the main villainess of the tournament. Shayna defeated Mercedes Martinez to advance to the finals, and engaged in a face-to-face staredown with her opponent, Kairi Sane, after the show ended. At the live finale on September 12, Shayna lost to Kairi Sane.
Shayna competed as a villainess at NXT live events, with her live event debut seeing her teaming with Billie Kay and Peyton Royce in a losing effort against Kairi Sane, Aliyah, and Dakota Kai. She officially signed with WWE in October, and a vignette promoting her NXT debut aired on the December 13 edition of the program. Shayna made her NXT TV debut on the December 27 edition, attacking Kairi Sane and placing her in a submission hold as revenge for her MYC loss.