Indi Hartwell looking to push past her fears at NXT Halloween Havoc [Exclusive]
Tis' the season. No, not that season. While it's all but a guarantee that Christmas decorations will be going up in droves starting at midnight Nov. 1st, this week is about the lead up to All Hallows' Eve. This is a time of the year centered around fear and at NXT Halloween Havoc, Indi Hartwell may have to overcome one of her fears to capture the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship.
Alongside Persia Pirotta, Hartwell will take on Io Shirai and Zoey Stark as well as Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne in a triple threat "Scareway to Hell" Ladder Match for the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. Shirai won the right to spin the wheel of fortune, so to speak, by defeating Pirotta and Jayne on NXT 2.0 last Tuesday.
Indi Hartwell looked less than pleased with the result of Shirai's spin when it landed on the ladder match stipulation.
you good, @indi_hartwell?
(Hey @JohnnyGargano, @CandiceLeRae, @austintheory1... you got any advice for Indi's upcoming #LadderMatch??)
#WWENXT https://t.co/HrMDhBVHM8
This will be Hartwell's first ladder match ever and she may have to rely on her tag team partner if they plan to walk out with the gold. Why? Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling this week, Hartwell revealed that she has a little problem with heights.
"You know, despite my finisher being a springboard elbow drop, I think I'm kind of scared of heights. So I might have to get my tag team partner Persia to be the one to climb," said Indi Hartwell.
Hartwell is no stranger to taking to the skies, but timing is everything. When you're climbing a ladder, or even "just" climbing the top rope, there's more time to stop and think about how high you are off the ground.
"You don't realize until you're standing up there, and I don't stand up there often, but sometimes at training I'll get in the ring and I'll stand on the top turnbuckle and I'm like, 'I don't know how people do this,'" Hartwell said. "When I springboard I'm up there for a second. I don't have to think about it. I'm up and I'm gone. But when you're up there about to hit a move from the top, that's kind of scary. So that's not for me," said Indi Hartwell.
Despite being legit-scared, at least a little bit, heading into this match, Hartwell told Sportskeeda Wrestling that she's doing her best to prepare for tonight. That includes leaning on her support system.
"I think the best way to prepare for a match like this is to watch a lot of ladder matches that have happened in the past," Hartwell said. "Thankfully, being paired up with Candice (LeRae) for the past year, she's pretty good in these types of matches. Although, she didn't win last year at Halloween Havoc, but obviously, talking to Candice and Johnny (Gargano), watching ladder matches, that's helping me prepare," said Indi Hartwell.
The last time Hartwell held one half of the women's tag titles, it was with Candice LeRae by her side. A meaningful run for her no doubt, but if she's victorious tonight at Halloween Havoc, it'll be the special on an entirely different level.
Indi Hartwell has the opportunity to shine with her real-life best friend
Tonight could make for a very memorable moment for both Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. The two real-life friends have a chance to capture the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships together, which would be the culmination of a joint wrestling journey that started years ago.
"So the cool thing that we've tried to explain, but I don't know if people fully understand, that Persia and I are actually real life best friends. We've been best friends since both of us started in the wrestling business. We both came in about five years ago and that's when we first met. We've kind of been neck and neck in our wrestling journeys, up until now," said Indi Hartwell.
Hartwell told Sportskeeda Wrestling that she always seemed to be just a step a head of Pirotta, but thankfully Persia keep pushing until she found herself in NXT as well.
"Our goal was always to get to WWE, but I got here first. Thankfully she followed through. We never thought that we'd be able to be a team together in WWE and now it's happening. So it's extremely satisfying and she's such a powerhouse. I went from being in a tag team with Candice where I was kind of the bigger one, the powerhouse, but now I have someone who's bigger than me. You know, only good things can come from that," said Indi Hartwell.
Will the powerhouse team of Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta become the new NXT Women's Tag Team Champions tonight at Halloween Havoc? If last year's event was any indication, literally anything can happen. Johnny Gargano was able to capture the North American Championship from Damian Priest after someone in a Ghostface costume bashed the Archer of Infamy with a steel pipe.
Boo.
That's not Ghostface, that's INDI HARTWELL assisting @CandiceLeRae! #WWENXT @indi_hartwell https://t.co/nPxobN2CoG
The person behind the mask turned out to be Indi Hartwell herself. A few weeks later, Ghostface returned to once again help Gargano reclaim the North American title. This time it was Austin Theory in the costume that the Scream franchise made famous, and The Way was born.
Fast-forward a year later and members of The Way are scattered. So Indi and Persia may be on their own tonight. Maybe Chucky will get involved. Who knows? Tune in to the USA Network at 8pm ET to find out.
Check out our full conversation with Indi Hartwell in the video above. Also, make sure to follow Sportskeeda Wrestling on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for more exclusive interviews in the future.