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WWE NXT wrestlers Tatum Paxley and Kendal Gray have been two of the brand’s most notable performers during 2025.
Paxley moved from the tag team scene with Gigi Dolan and Shotzi Blackheart early in the year and quickly rose through the ranks to earn shots at the NXT Women’s Championship and the NXT North American Women’s Championship.
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Tatum Paxley celebrates as the new NXT Women’s Champion during NXT Halloween Havoc at Findlay Toyota Center on October 25, 2025 in Prescott Valley, Arizona. (Meg Oliphant/WWE via Getty Images)
Tatum Paxley in action against Lola Vice during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on October 28, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE via Getty Images)
She became NXT Women’s Champion after defeating Jacy Jayne at Halloween Havoc. However, her recent relationship with Izzi Dame and The Culling broke down, leading to an emotional match at NXT Deadline, which she lost thanks to the help of Dame’s compatriots.
Sol Ruca, who has been making her own waves in NXT for the past three years, told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview that she is over the moon for Paxley as her hard work has paid off.
“Tatum, she’s grown so much and when she won the title, I was literally backstage trying not to cry because she tried so hard and she’s still at it,” Ruca said. “She’s always there and ready to work and I think she really deserved to be the NXT Women’s Champion.”
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Kendal Gray enters the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on October 28, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Matt Pendleton/WWE via Getty Images)
Kendal Gray enters the arena during NXT Deadline at the Boeing Center at Tech Port on December 6, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Andrea Kellaway/WWE via Getty Images)
Gray found her place at WWE Evolve as she split her time between that brand and NXT. She won the Evolve Women’s Championship from Kali Armstrong in September. Then, she won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge and earned a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.
Ruca suggested that she was impressed with Grey’s growth over the past two years. Gray joined the WWE organization in 2023 as part of WWE’s Next In Line program, five years after being named American High School Wrestler of the Year.
“Same with Kendal, she’s gotten really good in the past, I don’t know, she’s been here for what? Like two years, maybe? I think the amateur wrestling experience really helps, but they’re really putting her in the deep end right now,” Ruca said. “And I think she definitely holds her own.
“I think she’s carrying herself very, very well. I think her promos are getting better, and I don’t think she’s very nervous about the position she’s in. I think she’s pretty confident, which is definitely a good thing for her.”
Zaria and NXT North American Women’s Champion Sol Ruca interrupt Fatal Influence during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on July 15, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Andréa Kellaway/WWE)
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Ruca will have a big opportunity to make an impression on WWE fans. She will face Bayley on Saturday in Saturday Night’s Main Event, which will also be John Cena’s final match in his WWE in-ring career.
