Last week fans were saddened to see WWE release three stars from the roster, including Indi Hartwell, Tegan Nox, and Baron Corbin. Those releases were a shock for everyone, and during tonight’s SmackDown Hartwell’s friend and former Tag Team partner Candice LeRae honored her as she came out for her match against Bayley. WWE fan Kelsey (@itsmekelsey_x) noticed that when LeRae headed out for her entrance she lifted her hand in the air to high-five like she did with Hartwell when they would hit the ring, and LeRae pretty much confirmed that when she liked the post.
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Kelsey included two photos next to each other to showcase the moment, and it’s a sweet tribute to her Tag Team partner that many probably missed during the show. You can check out the side-by-side in the post right here, which included the caption, “Candice still holding up her hand as if Indi was still there. 😭😭😭 #SmackDown.”
The releases were surprising to say the least, especially in regards to Hartwell, who was appearing on TV pretty steadily and had just started appearing on SmackDown more in the past week. Hartwell addressed the WWE release in an Instagram post after the news hit, ending the post by saying “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” You can find her full post below.
In the post, Hartwell wrote, “I got to live out a childhood dream for the last 5 years and I’m so grateful! I’m just a girl from Australia who never took naur for an answer and made her dreams a reality. It all started with a match in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center and fittingly, ends there too. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened 🫶”.
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Hartwell will be able to work with other companies after the 90-day non-compete ends, and she will join the free agent market alongside Nox. Corbin’s deal isn’t being renewed, but it’s not known specifically when his current deal officially ends. All three stars will be major assets to any wrestling company, and we can’t wait to see what they all do next.
Johnny Gargano also recently shared support for Hartwell, and can’t wait to see what she does next. “Obviously, everybody knows what Indi means to me and Candice, we absolutely love and we absolutely believe in her,” Gargano told Metro.co.uk. “We still do believe that she’s so incredibly young, I think she’s got a lot to offer the wrestling world, and I am very excited to see what she shows the wrestling world. I think she’s got untapped personality, untapped potential. I think when she’s able to finally show that to the world, people are gonna latch on.”
LeRae is continuing her storyline with Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton, as the WWE Speed Women’s Champion has been trying to drive a wedge between Jax and Stratton and become Jax’s main ally. Tonight that included helping Jax and Stratton in their match against Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, and she managed to do just that during the match.
Unfortunately, Stratton was not keen on accepting help from LeRae and started yelling at her from the ring that they didn’t need her help. That led to the Tag Team Champs coming back and getting the win, which won’t exactly help the already fractured alliance.
Hopefully, we’ll see Hartwell back in the ring soon, and whether it be TNA, AEW, New Japan, or any number of independent promotions, Hartwell would be a major addition to their Women’s Divison.
