Indi Hartwell Says She Was 'Shocked' By WWE NXT Stand & Deliver Women's Title Win

Much to the surprise of fans, Indi Hartwell once scaled a ladder (with the help of Dexter Lumis) to claim the NXT Women's Championship at "WWE NXT" Stand & Deliver in 2023. According to Hartwell, the move wasn't just a surprise to fans, but to herself as well.

"It did happen out of nowhere. I was shocked. Everyone was shocked," Hartwell told "Insight With Chris Van Vliet." 

In the weeks leading up to Stand & Deliver, "NXT" held qualifiers for the NXT Women's Championship ladder match, with Hartwell under the impression that wouldn't even be in it. As such, she expressed interest in helping out with the WWE tryouts slated for the same weekend as the premium live event in Los Angeles. WWE Performance Center coach Matt Bloom, however, suggested that Hartwell bring ring gear to Los Angeles. Shortly after, Hartwell learned that she'd be competing in a Last Chance Qualifying Match, which she later won.

"I got into the [ladder] match, and I was like, 'Oh, cool. That's amazing,' but then they didn't tell us the ending of the match until the night before," Hartwell recalled. "So we couldn't put together an ending to this match. It was pissing us all off. We can't even plan this. Then Shawn Michaels pulled us all aside in the hotel. I'm just eating an apple because he's probably going to say that Roxanne's going to win it. So I was eating an apple and he's like, 'Oh yeah, okay, the winner's going to be Indi.' Everyone was shocked, even Sara Amato. Everyone was like, 'What the hell, Indi is winning it?' I was very surprised."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight With Chris Van Vliet" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.