Former WWE Women’s Champion Nikki Cross has looked back on her reign as 24/7 Champion and being the last one to hold the title.
On the November 22, 2022 episode of Raw, Cross defeated Dana Brooke to capture the championship for the 11th time in her career. Later that night, Cross discarded the title in a backstage segment. However, while Cross was supposed to throw the championship in the trash to write it off TV, the Scottish star missed the target.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Cross admitted that she did miss the trash can, but she did make the shot during a rehearsal:
“Yeah, I missed it. So we did a take right before it, and it was perfect- nailed it, landed inside the trash can. A rehearsal, but we taped it.”
When Cross was asked about the segment not being live, the former Women’s Champion confirmed that the one that fans saw was recorded live. Cross also confirmed that due to a sound issue, they were unable to use the other footage. Aware of the risks of live TV, Cross knew that she had to remain in character after the mistake:
“We had to go live, but I don’t know what it was. I think there was an audio [issue]. There was something that meant we couldn’t use that tape. So we had to go live. Then in the moment, I was so into the character. I was looking at the ceiling. I was envisioning emptiness and nothingness. I was so focused on being in the daze. I was just so into it that I just threw it. I just threw it, and it missed the trash can. I just kept going with it. Because in those scenarios, there is nothing you can do. You cannot, unless you’re actually a superhero like Doctor Strange, you can’t change time. I didn’t have a time stone on me, so I couldn’t change time.”
Cross also noted that by missing the shot, it could lead to somebody else gaining possession of the title:
“Honestly, I think the reason I missed that was to leave the door open down the line for someone else to be the 24/7 Champion. It was a funny moment. It was still the idea of that character was just about the chaos and the championship. In that moment, her focus was the chaos, so she didn’t really mind what happened at the championship.”
The 24/7 Championship was introduced by Mick Foley in 2019, with Titus O’Neil becoming the first-ever champion. The idea behind the title was that it would have to be defended at all times, similar to the Hardcore Championship featured in the Attitude Era. While some segments were funny at first and showed promise, WWE quickly showed less interest in the championship. R-Truth held the championship 54 times, more than anyone else in the title’s history.
Nikki Cross Proud Of 24/7 Championship Moments
Although the championship was viewed as an undercard title, the performers gave it their all to make it as entertaining as possible. Looking back on some of the segments, Cross had fond memories of everyone putting their all into what they were tasked with:
“What I do want to say about the 24/7 championship is, you know, people like R-Truth, Tozawa, Dana Brooke, Tamina, Reggie. We had the 24/7 wedding. I had the Blue Fascinator. People worked really hard on making the 24/7 championship the most entertaining thing it could be on TV.”
Featured image: WWE
