Injuries are going to happen in the wrestling business, and for one WWE NXT star, they found out just days before they were called up to the main roster as part of this year’s WWE Draft.
Last week during NXT Spring Breakin’, then-NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell defended her title against Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne Perez in a triple threat match where Hartwell suffered an ankle injury, although she was able to finish the bout.
Stratton hit an outside dive, with Hartwell falling sideways on her ankle. She was taken backstage and later medically cleared to return to the match. Because WWE thought Hartwell couldn’t return, they made the call to have Stratton win the title. However, Indi got medically cleared to wrestle and they went back to the original finish.
Hartwell, who is in a walking boot, relinquished her championship on this week’s NXT. A tournament will start next week, and the finals will take place at the NXT Battleground event.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Hartwell earned the respect of many in the company for gutting through the injury.
Meltzer wrote, “Indi Hartwell suffered a high ankle sprain last week. She got a lot of respect from people in coming back out while she could barely walk from the trainers room to finish the match.”
We wish Hartwell a speedy recovery.
