Spring 2017. The WWE tryout in November 2016 was a success. She signed a WWE contract. It was a shiny good time for Steffanie Newell who was considered one of the best wrestlers on the independent scene across the entire world. She had finished her independent commitments on April 30th and would soon report to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. The fun-loving girl from Bargoed, Wales had an ambitious goal: Winning every WWE Women's Championship at some point. Most of all she just wanted to travel the world and have fun doing what she loves.

June 1st 2017. On that day a friendship was born. According to Newell in 2020: That was the fateful day Charlie (Dakota Kai) and her met. They quickly bonded, becoming best friends and inseparable. They trained together, hung out and even attempted to bring holiday cheer to their co-workers. They formed a tag team called Team Fly-Kicks or Team Kick or Team Fly Kicks. Although they didn't get to team up on NXT television until 2019, they would often team up at NXT House Shows. Newell initially worked under her real name Steffanie Newell.

NXT would not only give Newell a new bestie. It would also reunite her with one. That friend was Candice LeRae. Newell had first met Candice in the UK and they bonded over going to visit historic Welsh castles. Steffanie, Charlie and Candice became tight. In 2018, the trio had fun traversing the Florida Coconut Loop and beyond, even working some NXT house shows in Europe at cool unique looking venues. But in Summer 2017, there would be nothing shiny for Newell as she was about to have an unfortunate setback.

Newell had been announced to participate in the first ever Mae Young Classic in the Summer of 2017 featuring a mix of 32 NXT, WWE developmental and independent female wrestlers competing in a single elimination tournament. But she would be pulled from competing after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee. It was a freak accident that occurred in the middle of a training session with Charlie at the WWE Performance Center.

During her rehabilitation, Newell would appear on NXT television. The first appearance would be during the January 10th 2018 episode. Footage was shown of Newell and Kai helping train Jessi Elaban only for Shayna Baszler to worm her way in "to assist" and take things too far. Newell had been asked to film the session so Jessi could watch it back. Another incident featuring Shayna on the April 18th 2018 episode saw Newell in the background as the Queen of Spades had some threatening words for the women's locker room.

Steffanie would successfully rehab her knee, returning to the ring on April 13th 2018 at an NXT House Show in Venice, Florida. She would team up with bestie Dakota Kai in a losing effort to Reina (Raquel) Gonzalez and Vanessa Borne. A few days later, Newell and Kai would come out victorious in a match against Aliyah and Kavita Devi at a house show in Sanford, Florida. Following the NXT European Tour in June 2018, Newell would start working under her new ring name Tegan Nox.

The second Mae Young Classic had been announced to take place in August 2018 and stream on WWE Network starting in September. Prior to that, Newell would compete in matches held at Download Festival in the UK on June 9th. The first saw Newell and Nikki Cross defeat Shayna Baszler and Isla Dawn. Her second saw Newell join forces with her besties Dakota Kai and Candice LeRae to defeat Bianca Belair, Nina Samuels and Lacey Evans. During the second match, Newell would suffer an injury to her knee. Fortunately it was minor so she wouldn't again be pulled from competing in the Mae Young Classic. It was drawing near and she was the odds-on favorite to win it.