Following Thea Hail’s victory over Blake Monroe for the NXT Women’s North American Championship on tonight’s episode of NXT, a new report indicates that the title change was not the planned outcome of the match.
According to Fightful Select, sources within NXT confirmed that the finish was unintentional and that Blake Monroe was scheduled to retain her championship. The report states that there was a “scramble” backstage immediately following the conclusion of the match as officials reacted to the error.
The unplanned title switch reportedly caused significant logistical issues regarding future storylines. Fightful Select noted that there were specific creative plans in place for the next several weeks that were predicated on Hail not holding the championship. Consequently, the result has affected the creative direction for multiple performers.
The report further stated that the writing team began taking steps immediately to adjust storylines to account for Hail’s victory. While no specific individual was immediately identified as being at fault for the error, the primary focus backstage was on quickly modifying the necessary creative elements.
As seen below, replays of the finish appeared to show Monroe’s shoulder slightly off the canvas before the referee completed the three count.
Here is the finish Blake Monroe didn't get her shoulder up and the ref kept counting definitely wasn't supposed to happen in my opinion #WWENXTpic.twitter.com/W6OJOVbEEC https://t.co/c4fTgaPiUE
— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) December 17, 2025
