Indi Hartwell Has Signed With TNA (TNA News)
Former NXT Women's Champion finds her new home.
At last night's TNA Rebellion pay-per-view (April 27), the former Indi Hartwell revealed that she has signed with the promotion.
Hartwell is a former WWE NXT Women's and Women's Tag Team champion (alongside Candice LeRae). Pushed to a not inconsiderable extent as part of The Way stable alongside LeRae, Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis, to whom she was married in storylines, Hartwell fared less well on the main roster. A split with LeRae didn't generate much in the way of critical acclaim. A sporadic presence thereafter, Hartwell was eventually released on November 1, 2024.
In a self-deprecating X post, she quoted Sean Ross Sapp's post with the caption "Wait what" - which might be explained by the fact that she had wrestled on SmackDown that same day, in a losing effort alongside LeRae to Bayley and Naomi, in a match taped on October 25. The news broke within an hour of SmackDown ending.
Opinion - A Fitting Landing Spot
There aren't many options left for the independent contractor, particularly those who operate within women's wrestling. Hartwell drew cult praise for her irreverent comedy stylings in the Way. Her whacky onscreen relationship with serial killer character Lumis was a harbinger of sorts for the demented, horned-up NXT 2.0 rebrand of September 2021.
Hartwell, across a near decade-long in-ring career, has drawn less in the way of acclaim for her in-ring work, which is why TNA, a more entertainment-focused promotion, is a good landing spot. She's more likely to get over there than in Ring Of Honor or All Elite Wrestling - but Hartwell did put forth a well-received effort against Mercedes Moné for House Of Glory on March 15 on the promotion's City Of Dreamz show.
TNA's working relationship with WWE NXT might indicate that the door isn't shut on Hartwell visiting her former home from time to time.