Thea Hail Calls Out Toxic Backlash Over Botched NXT Women’s North American Title Win

Thea Hail’s NXT Women’s North American Title win on December 16, 2025, was never supposed to happen—but she’s tired of hearing the criticism over something that wasn’t even in the script.

After weeks of silence and online speculation, Hail finally responded to the backlash during her appearance on Busted Open Radio After Dark, where she directly addressed the online negativity surrounding her accidental victory.

“The controversy surrounding the finish—people have a lot to say for no reason,” Hail said. “Thea Hail won. Thea Hail hit the Boing, one-two-three, and I think a lot of people were upset about that.”

She didn’t shy away from the fact that fans and insiders have criticized the botched finish, but made it clear she earned that moment. But it wasn’t just critics in the wrestling community who bothered her—it was the toxicity she experienced on social media in the aftermath.

“I don’t know why, because I worked really hard. You’ve seen me work really hard, so let a girl win. Twitter is really mean. I’m just a girl, and Twitter is mean and very toxic. It’s not a good space in wrestling at all.”

As previously reported by PWInsider and Fightful Select, Hail’s win was the result of an in-ring miscommunication with Blake Monroe, who was supposed to retain the title that night. Monroe had the wind knocked out of her during the final moments, and Hail—still early in her career—immediately went for the pin, not realizing Monroe needed time to recover.

Since referees are trained to call matches as if they’re real, the count went through. Monroe did try to get her shoulder up at the last second, but the damage was done. WWE even played Monroe’s theme music at first before scrambling to switch to Hail’s.

A lot of backstage chaos ensued as the creative team had to rework multiple segments and storylines due to the unexpected title change. Hail would later lose the title to Izzi Dame at New Year’s Evil in early January, bringing the brief reign to a close.

Whether it was a fluke or fate, Thea Hail is standing by her moment—and isn’t backing down from the hate.

Do you think Thea Hail deserved to win the title—even if it wasn’t the plan? Or should WWE have fixed the mistake immediately? Drop your thoughts below and let us know what side you’re on.

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