Piper Niven and Santana Garrett’s hard-fought main event blew the roof off Full Sail University. Plus, WWE Performance Center standouts collided, Australia’s Toni Storm rocked out against U.K.’s Ayesha Raymond, and New Zealand’s Dakota Kai put her foot down against India’s Kavita Devi.
The Captain of Team Kick puts her feet to work against Kavita Devi, the first Indian-born woman to compete in a WWE ring. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
India’s Kavita Devi, a champion powerlifter and student of The Great Khali, showed incredible strength facing the much more experienced Dakota Kai of New Zealand. Devi military press-slammed Kai, chucked her into the corner and smothered her with avalanches.
Devi wasted too much time between her attacks, however, and Kai avoided Devi’s splash in the corner. Kai raced into Devi with a running big boot and trampled her with a double foot stomp from the top rope to snare the win. Kai advances to meet Australia’s Rhea Ripley in a Trans-Tasman match in the Second Round.
Scotland's Piper Niven and Santana Garrett of the U.S. duke it out in an electrifying main event that has Full Sail University divided. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
Full Sail University was split between Scotland’s Piper Niven and Ocala, Fla.’s Santana Garrett, serenading the competitors with dueling chants of “Let’s go, Piper” and “Santana.” Garrett worked hard to avoid Niven’s crushing bursts of offense, though she couldn’t steer clear when Niven leveled her with a crossbody block.
Garrett persevered, shook Niven with a palm strike and ripped her off the turnbuckles with a Trish Stratus-like headscissor takedown. The WWE Universe roared in excitement, and Garrett, a former gymnast, attempted her Shining Star Press finisher, but missed. Niven quickly squashed her with a senton to the back and spiked her with a Michinoku Driver to claim the fall. The hard-fought win earns Niven a match with Serena Deeb in the next round.
Piper Niven's strategy: "More cross bodies. More sentons. Don't get dropped on my head."