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November 2024. I had planned to write a retrospective on Tegan Nox’s WWE run. Time had passed and it turned into a series of Daily Posts on X counting down to her pro wrestling free agency date. In May, a fire was lit in me to revisit this piece. Then I stalled. After watching Wrestling In Middle’s Nixon Newell interview and her Reintroduction Video on Instagram, that fire re-sparked in me to finally finish this look back and look forward.

Newell’s first WWE run from June 2017 to November 2021 was a mixed bag. Her NXT including NXT UK run was great stuff. That brief main roster run was underwhelming. Yes, she had the knee injuries during her NXT run. But the knee injuries never did nor ever should define her career.

There are several things that DID define her NXT run. Her tag team and friendship turned epic rivalry with former bestie Dakota Kai. The fun and underappreciated Lady Wizardballs tag team with Shotzi Blackheart. That stellar match against Io Shirai. Reigniting her longtime independent wrestling scene rivalry with Kay Lee Ray briefly in NXT UK. The rivalry including Dinner at the Garganos with Candice LeRae & Johnny Gargano. A special mention of that romantic bit in which she left a piece of pizza for Mia Yim & Keith Lee to share.

Nox’s abrupt main roster call up took place on SmackDown July 9, 2021. Teaming her back up with Shotzi was great. They made the most of it. Their digital exclusives were fun bits that should have been televised. The duo were fired up to pull lots of hair from a nose. But various factors hindered the overall main roster ride of The Lady Wizardballs. Said factors were more than just Shotzi & Nox not getting a Women’s Tag Team Titles shot after winning consecutive non-title contender’s matches. Pulling Nox, Shotzi and Toni Storm from NXT when they were in the midst of storylines was a poor decision, too.

Just days before the call up, Nox had powered back up to NXT TV following injury recovery, reigniting her rivalry with Candice LeRae. Storm was feuding with Sarray. Shotzi & Ember Moon were about to end their long running rivalry with Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez. Storm made her SmackDown debut then was off TV for a few weeks. Surely, they could have done the Sarray match then called her up. The same with Shotzi. Both matches could have happened on NXT July 13, 2021. If Candice’s pregnancy hadn’t yet occurred (it was publicly revealed on August 12, 2021), perhaps the same with Nox vs. LeRae. If the pregnancy would have prevented it, the match understandably couldn’t have happened.

Having Shotzi & Nox called up a week later, on the first WWE show in front of a full capacity crowd since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, would have made more sense than during the final Thunderdome show. It would have left a window open for them to wrap up their NXT storylines, and a chance for WWE to actually hype up their main roster debut.

From an odd place to debut them to not even getting a televised match over 4 minutes to the lack of a tag team titles match… credit to Shotzi & Nox for giving us some fun stuff, but at the same time WWE’s poor treatment of the Women’s Tag Team Division combined with bad main roster creative hurt their run. Getting released soon after the team was stupidly split in the 2021 WWE Draft marked a disappointing end to Nox’s first WWE run. A run that in NXT’s OG Black & Gold Era had been continuously going well for Nox as far as stories and matches.

Tegan Nox returned to WWE on December 2, 2022. It was a new era. Triple H was now in charge of the main roster creative, improving it in many ways. Much of the cast of Triple H’s revered Black & Gold NXT were finally getting respect on the main roster. Some who had been released were brought back. There were so many opportunities for Tegan in this new WWE. When she actually got opportunities, I thought she was having a good second run.

Her second run started on SmackDown with a brief reignition of her rivalry with Dakota Kai in tag team form followed by a feud with Xia Li. After that, she briefly formed an alliance with Natalya. Getting ditched by both her SmackDown tag team partners, Liv Morgan and Natalya, subtly laid the groundwork for Nox to turn heel on WWE Main Event after getting moved to Monday Night RAW during the 2023 WWE Draft.

During her Summer 2023 heel run on Main Event, Nox impressed fans with a different side of her persona. A side those who followed her indies run prior to WWE saw briefly. But now, she had a chance to do it on a bigger stage. As part of it, Candice LeRae and Nox were finally able to have the match they didn’t get to have in NXT. They delivered as you knew they would, resulting in one of the best Main Event show matches of 2023.

Nox’s heel run was something fresh and exciting. A chance for her to showcase that she was more than “the girl next door who likes Harry Potter and video games”. It’s unfortunate heel Tegan Nox only lasted a short while. But fortunately, her return to being a babyface brought with it a promising spotlight on RAW, with her appearing on most episodes from September 25, 2023 until March 4, 2024. She returned to Main Event for two episodes in February 2025, the second featuring an entertaining match against Chelsea Green.

At the start of her regular appearances on RAW, Nox had a storyline with Becky Lynch who had recently won the NXT Women’s Championship, culminating in a pretty good match for the title on RAW October 9, 2023. After that, Nox started another chapter of her storyline with Natalya. It already had backstory since Nox had been working regularly with Natalya on-and-off in some manner since Tegan’s main roster call up in July 2021. There were endless possibilities where it could go… instead, the Nox & Natalya storyline got dropped in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XL. Nox revealed in her Wrestling In Middle interview that Natalya and her pitched a lot of ideas for their storyline, only to be told the team was being dissolved with no further explanation.

The final televised match of Nox’s second WWE run was on RAW April 1, 2024. She teamed with Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark against Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane & Asuka. It was fitting Nox’s last televised match of this run would be alongside and against women who had been importantly bonded to her overall WWE tenure, many of them good friends of hers in real life. Her bonds with Shayna and Kairi even go back to Nox’s (as Nixon Newell) January 2017 Stardom tour. It was on that tour Shayna and Nixon teamed up in a trios match opposing a team featuring Kairi. Newell’s tour ended in a match against Kairi, after which Kairi proclaimed big things for Nixon’s future. A few months later, Newell started her WWE journey. The trios match on RAW was in so many ways a full circle moment.

Nox would get some wins during the April 2024 WWE European Tour. Upon returning stateside, she got drafted to SmackDown in the 2024 WWE Draft. Nox worked a few dark matches but never returned to television, eventually released on November 1, 2024 ending Newell’s eight year WWE journey.

Despite what online trolls will insist, Nixon Newell had NO knee injuries during her second WWE run. Newell did reveal she had an illness during the time she was off television in 2024, however made it clear during the Wrestling In Middle interview that she was cleared and STILL able to wrestle. Nixon was good to go but WWE creative didn’t have anything for her.

The thing is, there was one existing storyline where she would have fit like a glove. Remember when Michin could have used an ally against Chelsea Green & Piper Niven? At the time, I remember thinking that’s where Tegan would finally appear on SmackDown, backing up her long-time friend against the two women whom Nox had been feuding with months prior on RAW. Who better to backup Michin against Piper than Piper's longtime frenemy Tegan who knows Piper all too well? That practically writes itself. Imagine, later on Nox possibly joining longtime frenemies Niven and Alba Fyre (the former Kay Lee Ray) with the trio turning on Green at some point.

The “she couldn’t get over” nonsense that gets shouted by a certain type at places like forums and comment sections isn’t true. The storylines on RAW started to get her more reaction. When they stopped featuring her on shows, it’s not her fault she can’t continue to get over with the crowd while sitting in catering. She made pitches, she tried. The thing is, for much of her second run things were going well. After the Natalya storyline got dropped and she got drafted to SmackDown, WWE dropped the ball with Tegan Nox. Oddly enough, releasing her shortly before they announced mid-card women’s championships. Championships many point out need more contenders and persons for said contenders to face along the way.

Some wrestlers have a character, others are notable by an identity or persona. Tegan Nox. Nixon Newell. It’s always felt like an identity or persona. Or is there really a difference between the three? Once, the girl next door. Now, the real her: A tattooed up punk, emo girl. Persona. Identity. Character. Whatever works to connect fans to you. And when given opportunities, she’s been able to connect. For many, through her social media including Twitch. For others, her pro wrestling work going back to her first indies run. Sometimes you don’t have to be over-the-top to connect... just real.

That brings me to the present and future. Tegan Nox is no more. Nixon Newell has returned. Since she became a pro wrestling free agent, Nixon returned to the UK independent scene. Notably ATTACK! Pro Wrestling where she has a storyline with Dani Luna that resulted in Newell turning heel. Her ring work has been great in her run of five matches as of this writing. She has delivered fiery promos on social media, promising to knock down doors and take opportunities.

The last seven months have been a rough time for Nixon. But the massively positive reaction to her Reintroduction Video on Instagram, the outpouring of support, has lit a new fire in her. She wants to be part of the pro wrestling industry for the rest of her life. Wrestler. Producer. Trainer. Anything. For as long as she can. It’s what she loves to do, her life-long passion. 2025 marks her 14th year in the pro wrestling business. She’s clearly far from done. The pro wrestling world is now wide open to and endless for her. There is only one question: Where will she pop up next?

Personally speaking, I’m still hoping for a Team Kick reunion someday. Another ride of The Lady Wizardballs, too. Some nostalgia is nice, however I’m equally excited for the bevy of fresh opponents and rivalries out there waiting for her. The infinite paths of the indies allow Nixon both a chance for her to reinvent her face persona while still delivering more of her heel side… if she were to choose to work both ways. Most importantly, I hope she can have fun doing what she loves to do: Pro Wrestling. Hershee the Chocolate Labrador and me are excited to see what awaits The Welsh Dragon in the wide-open world of pro wrestling before her feet, positive that the best is yet to come for Nixon Newell.