Indi Hartwell Vacates NXT Women's Championship Following WWE Raw Move

Drafted WWE NXT superstar bids farewell to brand and announces tournament for vacant title.

by Michael Hamflett
Indi Hartwell
WWE.com

Indi Hartwell relinquished the NXT Women's Championship on last night's episode of the show ahead of her upcoming move to Monday Night Raw.

The now-former titleholder bid farewell to the brand on the May 2nd edition of NXT by announcing that there would be a tournament for the vacant prize that would culminate in the crowning of a new champion at NXT Battleground on May 28th. She was drafted to Raw during Friday's episode of SmackDown,

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Hartwell delivered the promo on crutches with her right foot in a surgical boot following an injury sustained what proved to be her last title defence on the April 25th Spring Breakin' special. She suffered what first appeared to be a serious ankle injury during a spot alongside challengers Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne Perez, but returned to finish the match and retain the gold.

Closing the segment with sentimentality, she went to leave before being carried out by longstanding storyline husband Dexter Lumis in a mirroring of their familiar pose. The pair were part of 'The Way' alongside Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae and Austin Theory, and already there are rumours swirling that the group could be reunited on Raw without the SmackDown-bound United States Champion.

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After signing with WWE in 2019, Hartwell made her television debut for NXT on the January 15th 2020 edition of the show, covertly attempting to help LeRae during the bout. The pair later went on to win the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles together.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett