Wren Sinclair, suspended for hitting referee, disguises herself as AAA’s Lady Shani to earn NXT Women’s title shot

Wren Sinclair won the October 6 Battle Royal to gain a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship title at Halloween Havoc at the end of this month. The Battle Royal was held to determine who will challenge Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s Championship on October 3. Sinclair was suspended in September this year.

Sinclair was among 20 athletes in contention for the spot. The match saw stars from six different brands including TNA, AAA and EVOLVE, all of whom Sinclair outwrestled. The bout also featured some current champions such as La Catalina and Zaria.

Disguised as Lady Shani from AAA, Sinclair won by eliminating Kali Armstrong and became the number one contender for the NXT Women’s Title.

Why was Sinclair suspended?

Wren Sinclair, the American professional wrestler is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the NXT. Sinclair accidentally hit referee Victoria D’Errico during a post-match brawl with Kelani Jordan on September 8. She confronted Kelani claiming that she had injured Kendal Grey during Heatwave. Officials stopped Sinclair and managed to rescue Kelani. Sinclair was suspended indefinitely by NXT General Manager Robert Stone following the incident.

Kelani retained her title against Jaida Parker in the match.Sinclair attacked Kelani after the match ended.

Sinclair had shared an update on her suspension recently. She revealed she remained suspended from WWE, adding that 22 days had passed since the incident. Sinclair also alleged that Robert Stone had not answered her calls.

She further stated that she had written to Stone upon being left out of the October 6 Battle Royal, where she made a surprise appearance. Her post asked Stone why she was not allowed inside.

Sinclair said she was trying to keep busy with new hobbies while she waited for a clear answer.

Sinclair was earlier also spotted at a WWE merch truck outside the Performance Centre in September, but was kicked out of the area. The former Women’s Speed Champion had not been back on weekly NXT programmes since then.

Sinclair surprised fans on Tuesday after she was revealed to be disguised as AAA’s Lady Sinclair upon the bout.

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How did the Battle Royal unfold?

The Battle Royal on Tuesday featured stars from six brands, with eliminations starting early. Layla Diggs was eliminated by Izzi Dame. Dame was later eliminated by Zaria. Reina Volcan was nearly impossible to handle during the early stages. She eliminated both Skylar Raye and Adelicious.

Indi Hartwell from TNA eliminated the Knockouts Champion Xia Brookside. Brookside pulled Hartwell over the top rope to end her time in the match. They will play against each other again this Sunday for the title at TNA’s Bound for Glory.

The final four in the Battle Royal came down to Kiana James, Lizzy Rain, La Catalina and Kali Armstrong. Armstrong eliminated the three in the order of Cataline, then James and lastly Rain.

After eliminating Rain, Armstrong thought she had won the match. She turned her attention to Kelani Jordan. However, Wren Sinclair disguised as Lady Shani returned and eliminated her.

Sinclair, dressed as Lady Shani, had never been eliminated. Reina Volcan had powerslammed her earlier, however she was pulled underneath the bottom rope. She climbed back into the ring and eliminated Armstrong.

It was then revealed that Sinclair had been wearing Lady Shani’s gear.

Robert Stone apologizes

Following the match, NXT General Manager Robert Stone issued a message on social media. He apologized to Kelani for the suspended Sinclair’s appearance.

Replying to a fan's post saying Wren Sinclair should not have been there, Stone said he agreed. He further added that this was a situation he needed to figure out. Stone asked fans to “stay tuned”.