Candice LeRae pays heartbreaking tribute to recently released WWE star on SmackDown

A top WWE star was recently released by the company, which was a shock to many fans. Candice LeRae, who is her good friend, paid tribute to this star on the latest episode of SmackDown. This was after Indi Hartwell's release.

Candice and Indi shared a good friendship due to their time in NXT. They formed a faction along with Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory, called The Way. The group was involved in many notable storylines in NXT.

When Gargano and Candice left the company, Indi Hartwell continued in NXT and eventually won the NXT Women's Title. She even finally received her main roster call-up. When Candice and Gargano returned to the Stamford-based promotion, the former reunited with Indi once again. However, they weren't prominently featured on the main roster this time.

Candice Le Rae and Indi Hartwell were finally starting to gain momentum due to their recent feud with Bayley and Naomi when the latter was shockingly released from the company. This past week on WWE SmackDown, Candice faced off against Bayley in a singles match. During her entrance, Candice put up her hands as if to high-five Indi, which was their signature pose when entering together. However, with Indi absent due to her release, many fans felt this turned out to be a heartbreaking tribute.

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Indi Hartwell opened up on her WWE release

Although Indi Hartwell wrestled in NXT for many years, she wasn't booked as the top star in the division and always took a back seat to other women. Her most notable storyline on the brand was her romance storyline with Dexter Lumis. Even after winning the NXT Women's Championship, she didn't get to do much with the title as she was called up to the main roster soon, where fans felt she was again underutilized until her eventual release.

In a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Indi Hartwell spoke about her WWE release and stated that although this came as a bit of a surprise to her, she was in good spirits.

"A week ago today, I was released from my WWE contract, and it’s been a weird week of different feelings and emotions. It’s still pretty fresh, but honestly, I can say that I’m doing well, and I’m feeling good. Now, I’m sure a lot of people can say, ‘How didn’t you see this coming? You should have seen this coming.’ But honestly, the past few weeks, like maybe 2 or 3 weeks of being back on TV, I didn’t have that feeling at all, and I didn’t expect it. But, I took it like a champ," she said.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Candice LeRae now that Indi Hartwell is no longer by her side.