Photo credit: WWE.com.

NXT Beats Raw, SmackDown in Women's Elimination Match at WWE Survivor Series

Mike Chiari

NXT beat Raw and SmackDown in the first-ever five-on-five-on-five women's elimination match at Survivor Series on Sunday.

Rhea Ripley hit Sasha Banks with Riptide for the win.

Candice LeRae and Io Shirai headed to the back early in the match with apparent injuries. They returned as Banks had Ripley locked in the Bank Statement to offer their teammate a helping hand. That gave NXT a decided edge and The Boss was unable to fight off the combined efforts of the trio.

The NXT squad was made up of Ripley, Shirai, LeRae, Toni Storm and Bianca Belair, while Raw featured captain Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Natalya and Sarah Logan, and SmackDown was comprised of captain Banks, Carmella, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke and Nikki Cross.

Turmoil involving the NXT, Raw and SmackDown women's division first started a few weeks ago on SmackDown. An NXT invasion occurred because much of the main roster talent was unable to make it back to the United States in time for the show as a result of mechanical issues with the plane in Saudi Arabia after Crown Jewel.

NXT women's champion Shayna Baszler was the first to strike a blow for NXT when she attacked both Banks and SmackDown women's champion Bayley. Later in that same show, Belair took out Carmella and Dana backstage, followed by Ripley and Tegan Nox beating Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a tag team match.

During subsequent weeks, NXT continued to invade Raw and SmackDown, and a number of brawls took place. Also, an eight-woman tag team match occurred on the blue brand, with Banks, Carmella, Brooke and Cross beating Ripley, Nox, Mia Yim and Dakota Kai.

There was even some crossover from the main roster to NXT. Most notably, Bayley made her presence felt on the yellow and gold brand by attacking several female Superstars outside the building and then laying out Baszler to close a recent episode.

On the go-home episode of NXT prior to TakeOver: WarGames and Survivor Series, many of the women involved in Sunday's match showed up following a bout between Kay Lee Ray and Kai.

Carmella, Brooke, Rose, Deville, Logan, Sane and Cross were just a few of the SmackDown and Raw Superstars who arrived on the scene and took part in an all-out brawl.

That added some heat to the rivalry between NXT, Raw and SmackDown, and it helped put the finishing touches on the build toward a match meant to determine brand supremacy.

NXT's ability to come together and work as a cohesive unit was the biggest difference in the match, but given how many legitimate contenders there are for the NXT Women's Championship, the winning team members likely won't coexist much longer.

      

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