There is no shortage of acts that thrived in NXT only to have lackluster runs on Raw and SmackDown after, or else not wind up getting the main roster call up at all. The Tian Sha faction, featured in developmental, throughout 2021 doesn’t quit for that categorization as they had their moments as a faction with a few noteworthy victories (including one at an NXT TakeOver event), but never seemed to have the full support of management behind them or to fully establish themselves with the audience. Indeed, the group dissolved quietly without a single title win to their name, making it understandable for fans to forget about them, despite the group only wrapping up its run a few short months ago.
Tian Sha Looked To Feature Xia Li
Xia Li looked to be the feature player for the Tian Sha stable. She was a unique prospect for her athletic ability, diminutive size, and Chinese origins. Clustering her in a faction as the star wrestler with a male sidekick and a mysterious mentor figure all gave her a leg up on performers with less defined identities.
Li got a push that included her defeating veteran Mercedes Martinez in a match at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, which was particularly noteworthy for Martinez having previously beaten her in one of the forgotten matches from the Mae Young Classic. Indeed, Li getting the call-up to the main roster ahead of her teammates seemed like a vote confidence in her, if a knock on the group itself’s sustainability. Of course, that momentum fizzled as well, as Li went unused after leaving NXT.
Tian Sha Briefly Established Mei Ying As A Force
After wrestling for several years in smaller stages, and starting as Karen Q in NXT, Mei Ying had a fascinating role in Tian Sha. She didn’t wrestle much, and when she did it was mostly in a tag team with Xia Li, with Li handling most, if not all, of the action. However, Ying's role was as something like the “Yoda” of the group—ancient and difficult to provoke to action, but deadly when she did engage. The character purportedly had major buy in from Triple H and Shawn Michaels behind the scenes.
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Tian Sha Gave Boa Direction
Boa was one of a small number of talents signed off tryouts held in Shanghai in 2016. He went on to accomplish little on screen—training and mostly being used as a big body who put over others when he did make it to TV.
Being a part of Tian Sha gave Boa something to sink his teeth into. Though his role was mostly that of a sidekick to his better featured female counterparts, he nonetheless had a recognizable spot on the card, and seemed to take a step up in the dying days of the gimmick—possessed by the spirit that had previously occupied Mei Ying and becoming a threat to Solo Sikoa (though the newest Anoa’i recruit ultimately won their feud).
Tian Sha Didn’t Last Long
It's difficult to say whether a longer run for the Tian Sha faction would have been to the benefit of the talents at hand. For all the potential they arguably had as a unit, it’s hard to envision Boa breaking out in the men’s division and Mei Ying may have been too over the top of a magical gimmick to enjoy long term success.
Xia Li may have had the best opportunity to succeed with the Tian Sha group, but it may also be telling about the group’s limitations that WWE saddled her with a mystical Asian faction as opposed to letting her shine on the merits of her own athletic prowess.
For only operating in NXT, its limited accomplishments, and short tenure, Tian Sha was easy for wrestling fans to miss. Add on the limited likelihood for long-term WWE success of the talents associated and the group seems destined to be a point of trivia only the most devoted NXT fans will remember in a few years.
