Tatum Paxley wants to be relatable to the NXT audience.
At Halloween Havoc 2025, Tatum Paxley shocked fans by defeating Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship. Her win marked the first time the 29-year-old had ever won a title in her career, and, having debuted in 2022, viewers have watched her develop over the last three years. From her storyline with Lyra Valkyria to how being a member of The Culling, Paxley’s character has often shown emotional vulnerability which hasn’t often been seen on WWE TV. Now, the current champion has reflected on how she connects with the audience.
Speaking on the Nikki & Brie Show, Tatum Paxley discussed how her character flaws can make her relatable.
“I really feel like me having this title kind of shows people that you can overcome your own thoughts, because our thoughts are our own worst enemy, right? A couple weeks ago on NXT, I cost me and my friends a match and I freak out. I can’t control it. I just get so out of control, but I’m champion. And we’re used to champions being 100% on top of their game at all times. But I’m not. That’s not who I am. I think that’s what’s so interesting about me being champion because at the end of the day, I’m still going to be able to overcome those thoughts and those flaws that I have, but they’re always going to be there because I’m human… I just want to relate to people, and that is relatable. We don’t win all the time, but we’re going to try to our best to come out on top. And I feel like that me holding this title, that’s what that represents. And what I want to keep representing is I’m never going to be 100% or perfect, but I’m still going to try my best to be the best I can be in getting to hold this title. Even if it’s for a short time, a long time, I think that’s what that represents.”
-Tatum Paxley
Having won the title on October 25, the champion was quick in defending her gold, taking on Lola Vice just three days later. While her first defence ended in a no contest, attention now turns to how Paxley’s reign develops in the coming weeks and months.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Tatum Paxley as soon as we hear more.
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