The fallout from last night’s botch on WWE NXT between Blake Monroe and Thea Hail will have lasting effects on the brand for years to come.
Last night’s episode of WWE NXT kicked off with Blake Monroe defending the Women’s North American Championship against Thea Hail. This was a match that Monroe was clearly booked to retain. However, things didn’t go according to plan.
In the closing moments of the match, Thea Hail hit Blake Monroe with a springboard senton splash. When Hail went for the cover, Monroe didn’t kick out. The referee counted things as a shoot, and the three-count was executed before the champion could kick out.
Several moments of confusion between everyone in the ring led the audio team to play Monroe’s theme. However, it was changed to Hail’s theme, and she was declared the next NXT Women’s North American Champion.
Before the evening was over, Fightful Select released a report that revealed the botched result had caused a scramble backstage. Noting this turn of events greatly altered the creative plans set for the next several weeks.
We now have a lot more information about what this botch. And what it means for the talent of NXT in general going forward.
A “heavy shifting” in policy at WWE NXT will occur due to last night’s botch
According to a new report from Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp (via Fightful Select), one NXT staff member told Sapp that this botch took place at the worst possible time. Noting that the company was preparing to send talent home for Christmas break. In doing so, weeks of creative had already been finalized and filmed.
The backstage segment between Hail, Monroe, and Jordynne Grace was done on very short notice, as the company had decided to lean into the finish.
One NXT higher up informed Sapp that this botch is going to result in heavy shifting in policy among talent. This will now require talent to stay through the end of the show moving forward. To save time, NXT often does pre-tapes on Monday to insert into the show on Tuesday, but now those talent will be required to stay through the following day’s show as well.
As far as the actual finish, the internal belief was that Blake Monroe had the wind knocked out of her and wasn’t able to get her shoulder up in time before the referee counted to three.
Hail’s reign might not be a long one, as a rematch is already being discussed internally, and it could take place as soon as NXT’s New Year’s Evil special.
Stay tuned to WrestleZone for more information as it becomes available.
READ MORE: Blake Monroe and Thea Hail React to Title Change Botch On WWE NXT
What do you make of this report? Are you surprised that this botch will lead to sweeping changes backstage in WWE NXT? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
