Mariah May IMMEDIATELY Jumps Ship To NXT After AEW Release - Full Backstage Details (WWE News)
Mariah May makes her shock NXT debut after leaving AEW.
After several weeks, possibly months, of speculation over her future, Mariah May made her shock WWE NXT debut last night.
Previously, it was reported that May's AEW deal was up at some point this year, with rumblings of her being WWE-bound once she became a free agent. On the opposite side of that, Tony Khan was obviously keen to tie the former AEW Women's Champion down to a new contract.
More recently, Mariah May was removed from the official roster page on AEW.com, which only added further fuel to the fire when it comes to those WWE rumours. And now, the Glamour has turned up in NXT.
On last night's NXT offering, several women came out to confront new NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne and lay down their claim to a title shot. At that point, the lights went out, and a spotlight then shone on the observation tower so often used in NXT. There, Mariah May appeared and cut a brief promo about how the Glamour has arrived in NXT, noting how the NXT women's division is the best in the world, and proclaiming how she'll be the next NXT Women's Champion.
While Mariah wasn't named by the NXT commentary team, nor gave her name herself, the WWE Performance Center crowd gave her an extremely strong reaction. Of course, a certain Ricky Starks wasn't named when he made his first NXT appearance, with the following week seeing him take on the Ricky Saints moniker. As such, it could well be that Mariah May will likewise be given a new name in the coming weeks.
Per Fightful Select, Mariah May has signed a multi-year deal with WWE, and her debut was kept extremely tight-lipped, to the point that the talent involved in the NXT Women's Title segment were only told of May's involvement when they were in the Gorilla Position before going to the ring. This report notes how recent NXT call-ups had been made with the expectation of Mariah May joining the brand, with her AEW contract expiring at the turn of this month, much like Abadon and Bear Bronson.
In addition to her appearance last night, Mariah also cut another short promo for WWE Digital and posted on X how she's "home".
"It's about damn time!"
The glamour has arrived in NXT ?@MariahMayx #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/ZJEgVPTqT1
— WWE (@WWE) June 4, 2025
— Tweet
Mariah May In NXT
While some fans may see it as a step down for a one-time AEW Women's Champion and one of AEW's most featured players to be joining the NXT roster, this move could well be a smart one for both Mariah May and for the wider WWE.
For NXT, Mariah's arrival comes at a time with Stephanie Vaquer, Giulia, and Roxanne Perez have all joined the main roster, with Jordynne Grace likewise expected to head to SmackDown imminently. As such, the Glamour is an ideal choice to immediately step in as the base of the women's division, and it would be no surprise whatsoever if she were to become the NXT Women's Champion fairly soon.
When looking back at NXT's history, the developmental brand has a reputation for basing its women's division around a strong champion, with Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Shayna Baszler, and Stephanie Vaquer just a few notable examples of that. Mariah May fits that mould perfectly, and a solid run in NXT for the rest of the year would be a good way for Mariah to take centre-stage and for those fans not too familiar with her to see what the Brit brings to the table.
Of course, from a talent perspective, Mariah May has all the tools to have been dropped straight onto Raw or SmackDown. However, given the sheer amount of great women already on the main roster, complete with the recent additions of Vaquer, Giulia, and Perez, there is a chance that Mariah could have been lost in the shuffle somewhat. By having a relatively short run in NXT, that allows you to build May up as a major star for the brand, ahead of then sending her to Monday or Friday nights a little down the line.