Female star announces first post-WWE appearance; Royal Rumble return seemingly teased

A former WWE champion has announced her first appearance since being released from the Stamford-based company. Interestingly, a return to the Women's Royal Rumble Match has also been teased.

Indi Hartwell competed in World Wrestling Entertainment from 2019 to 2024. During her time on the developmental brand, she was a member of The Way stable and held both the NXT Women's Championship and the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Candice LeRae.

The Impressive's last in-ring match was on Friday Night SmackDown in October 2024. LeRae and Hartwell lost to Bayley and Naomi in a tag team match. She was then let go from the Sports Entertainment Juggernaut.

Officially, Indi Hartwell is now a free agent, as her 90-day non-compete clause has expired. The former NXT Women's Champion announced today that her first post-WWE appearance will be at WrestleCon this Saturday in Indianapolis. She encouraged fans to meet her there between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Interestingly, the upcoming Royal Rumble Premium Live Event emanates from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this Saturday. This has led to speculation about her potential appearance in the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match, though the chances of it happening are pretty slim:

"I will be at @wrestlecon THIS SATURDAY ONLY!!!!! Come meet me at my first post-WWE appearance 10AM - 2PM See you there 🫶," she wrote.

Check out Hartwell's tweet below:

Indi Hartwell opens up about her WWE release

The Aussie was released under Triple H's leadership in November 2024. She opened up about her departure from WWE in a video on her YouTube channel.

Indi Hartwell stated that while some might have foreseen it, she was genuinely surprised by the decision. Despite the unexpected nature of her release, the 28-year-old star claimed that she was in good spirits and coping well:

"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.

As previously mentioned, Hartwell's return to the Women's Royal Rumble just days after the expiration of her non-compete clause is highly unlikely. However, fans are aware of wrestling's "never say never" policy, hence the wrestling world will have to wait and see if this speculation materializes.