Backstage Reaction to Tatum Paxley After Big WWE NXT Battle Royal Win

Tatum Paxley just punched her ticket to Halloween Havoc—and WWE cameras were rolling to catch the emotional backstage aftermath. After winning the number one contender’s battle royal on the October 14 episode of WWE NXT, Paxley walked straight into a wall of cheers and a heartfelt moment with Shawn Michaels himself.

The final moments of the match saw Paxley play it smart, letting Jordynne Grace and Izzi Dame take each other out while she hung back. That calculated move gave her the win—and a title shot against Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc on October 25.

As the show went off the air, Paxley was shown celebrating in the ring with Raw star Lyra Valkyria. But what fans didn’t see until later was the celebration backstage, where WWE shared brand-new footage of Paxley returning behind the curtain. Shawn Michaels was the first to greet her, and he didn’t hold back with the praise.

“Excellent job, that was awesome, awesome job. Thank you so much, it was tremendous,” Michaels told Paxley as he hugged her.

Advertising

Advertising

He also made sure to acknowledge Lyra Valkyria, shaking her hand and thanking her as well.

This marks a huge moment in Paxley’s NXT run. After months of clawing her way up the roster, she now has her first major singles title shot lined up—on one of the brand’s biggest nights of the year.

The backstage clip adds an emotion to her win and shows just how much the locker room is behind her. Now all eyes turn to Halloween Havoc, where she’ll go one-on-one with Jacy Jayne and look to make it official.