Record-Breaking NXT Superstar Makes WWE Championship History This Week

A seemingly impossible feat was achieved this week, and there might yet be more to come.

by Michael Hamflett
Thea Hail
WWE.com

An NXT cult favourite made WWE history this week, and has taken to Twitter to share the news.

Chase University's Thea Hail was successful in an invitational battle royal to determine the number one contender to NXT Champion Tiffany Stratton, and though there's no current destination for the match itself, her status as Number One Contender has given her a unique place in the history books.

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As she put it:

At 19 years, 9 months, she's bang on, too. In terms of the various "youngests ever" in WWE, Nicholas Cone is the youngest champion at 10 and Renee Dupree was 19 years, 6 months when La Resistance lifted Tag Gold and Tyler Bate won the WWE UK Championships at 19 years, 10 months but none of those were ever a Number #1 Contender. She'd be the youngest female champion in company if she wins to, beating Roxanne Perez's 2022 NXT Championship win (21 years, 1 month) and Paige's 2014 Divas Title win (21 years, 6 months).

Convalescing at home, the Dean of Chase University Andre Chase must be thrilled to see the work of his star student.

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Contributor
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