Nixon Newell Says WWE Fans Told Her to Kill Herself Over Injury-Prone Label

Former WWE star Nixon Newell—best known to fans as Tegan Nox—got real about the abuse she endured from wrestling fans after her injury struggles.

During a brutally honest appearance on The Stardom Cast, Newell opened up about receiving daily death threats, being told to take her own life, and how the “injury-prone” stigma nearly broke her.

She said her second WWE release didn’t come as a shock—especially after her creative pitch was killed days before production.

“So, we got… when I got back, did all that stuff with—did some stuff with Liv, did some stuff with Natty… I kind of knew it was coming when I was pitching very frequently, multiple times a week, and nothing was coming to fruition.”

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“And then I knew that it was coming when an idea that I’d pitched—to be a football hooligan as a gimmick—got through all the talking stages, got through the pitching stages, got to higher-ups, was scheduled to film some stuff… and then like two days before, got canceled. And I went, ‘Something’s happening—and I think I’m going.’”

But the story took a much darker turn when Newell reflected on the mental toll of being labeled “injury-prone.” For nearly a decade, online trolls and even decision-makers inside WWE used that phrase to justify shelving her career momentum.

“Yeah… for the last, what, eight years I was in WWE—constantly called injury-prone. Was told that, you know, I’m not in a push ‘cause I’m injury-prone. ‘She can’t even wrestle a match without getting hurt,’ like all this stuff, right?”

“And I’m like… alright basement dwellers, so sad. You know what I mean? Your opinion means nothing to me. But there was a time, especially after the second knee injury, where I was in such a dark place—it was incredibly bad. I’ve never been that low in my life. It was awful.”

That dark period spiraled further after she handed over control of her social media to others. Nixon says the daily messages went from trolling to something far more cruel.

“So, to see that every single day… I gave control of my social media over to people because I couldn’t do it. Because every day, I was being told I’m injury-prone, and then every single day—and I’m not joking—for a good 18 months-plus, I was being told that I should kill myself.”

“Like, all kinds of death wishes, death threats, just because I was hurt.”

“One person—I can’t remember the name but I remember the profile photo—said on Twitter: ‘It should have been your neck instead of your knees.’ I was like, sick. Thanks for that.”

Despite all of that, Newell fought back by taking control of the narrative in a promo. She explained why she referenced the “injury-prone” label in a recent appearance, not to dwell on it—but to flip it on its head.

“That’s why I felt the need to say it in that promo, because I’m at the point where I don’t care.”

“If you’re gonna hate on me now, at least be creative about it. You’ve said that for eight years—joke’s run dry. And people are like, ‘The joke’s clearly not dry because you mentioned it.’ It’s like—no. I’m making fun of you by calling myself injury-prone, you idiot.”

Nixon Newell’s honesty puts a spotlight on the emotional abuse wrestlers face long after the physical injuries heal. Her story is a reminder of how cruel fan culture can be—and how much strength it takes to push through it.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.