The Doll Claims Her Throne

Tatum Paxley's journey to the NXT Women's Championship was a road paved by abandonment, loneliness, survival, struggle, but most importantly, love.

Abandonment is something that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives at least once. Be it by a trusted friend or even a family member, that inescapable feeling of loneliness and betrayal suffocates you. It makes you question your value as a person, and after a while that void that becomes a shell that hurts even worse than the catalyst ever did.

That feeling of despair is at the core of the character of Tatum Paxley, and her journey as she looks to claim the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT’s Halloween Havoc was once paved by deep loneliness, but over time that loneliness was challenged by a deep love for her friends, the fans, and even herself.

A Diamond in the Rough

Upon arriving in NXT in early 2022, Tatum was immediately scouted by Stokely Hathaway’s (then known as Malcom Bivens) Diamond Mine faction. A group made up solely of shooters, powerhouses, and athletic specimens. Tatum’s background as a championship powerlifter made her a no-brainer for recruitment as the group sought to rebuild after the loss of both it’s leader Roderick Strong and “head trainer” Hachiman (Hideki Suzuki).

Tatum wore the uniform, accompanied the group to the ring for matches, and threw herself headlong into training, but she never quite belonged with the jocks and losses piled up. Malcom was the fast talking hustler that managed the group, the Creed Brothers were the freakishly athletic jocks, and Ivy Nile was the hard-nosed den mother that kept them together. Tatum by comparison, was just slightly above average. She showed flashes, but she fell well behind her stablemates in terms of overall potential. She would even try her luck in that year’s Breakout Tournament (which NXT should bring back next year), but would fall in the first round to Lash Legend.

Once Malcom left the group and the company in the spring of 2022, Ivy and the Creeds became even closer as a unit. This pushed Tatum even further into the background and she found the pressure of Diamond Mine’s “tough love” training approach getting heavier and heavier each passing day. Eventually it became too much for Tatum to bear and in the midst of a triple threat tag match, Tatum would abandon Ivy “We were never a team!”. She also attacked Ivy for good measure.

For Tatum, Diamond Mine was a false home. She was drawn to their unity and even fixed herself to be a person she thought they would desire, but in the end they didn’t accept her. She didn’t meet their standard. So she was left behind.

After losing to Ivy in a singles match, Tatum and Diamond Mine would go their separate ways. While Diamond Mine would eventually move on to RAW and ally with Chad Gable to become American Made, Tatum remained in NXT.

No longer beholden to Diamond Mine’s perceived standards, Tatum started to change her look and mannerisms. Her hair became darker, her skin got paler, and the confident strides to the ring that she had as part of Diamond Mine were replaced with methodical, slow-paced walks. She’d lay on the mat like a marionette with it’s strings cut, and fall across the ropes as if she was poured onto them. It was a startling change, but it seemed that her real self was beginning to show itself.

Her change of presentation was very reminiscent of Daffney, the late women’s wrestling legend.

Tatum would cling to the shadows backstage, quietly stalking and unnerving her opponents and as well as the audience as she tried to find a place where she belonged. She kept careful watch over the rest of the locker room, but never allowed herself to be part of it. She was an outcast, that is until a “sweet dove” descended and lured her out from the dark.

Lyra Valkyria

For any that watched NXT during this time, it can’t be understated just how important Lyra Valkyria was and continues to be to Tatum Paxley’s development as both a person and a wrestler. What is often glossed over however, is just how much the reverse is also true. Tatum also brought out the best in Lyra.

Lyra was a rising star in NXT at this time, having made a name for herself in NXT’s ill-fated UK division. Once NXT UK folded following the pandemic, Lyra would make her way stateside where Tatum was among the first of her opponents. The two first met on the now defunct “NXT Lvl Up” show, not long before Tatum quit Diamond Mine, and an almost immediate kinship was forged in the heat of battle between the two. Tatum, despite lacking the experience, could handle Lyra’s quick and precise strikes, while Lyra could endure Tatum’s surprising power and unpredictability. Lyra would come out on top in this contest, but they were far from done with one another.

Once Lyra had become NXT Women’s champion in the Fall of 2023 she and Tatum would cross paths again, the former radically different from before.

Immediately Tatum had set her sights on Lyra upon the winged warrior becoming champion. Tatum would be just out of view during Lyra’s backstage interviews and interactions with other wrestlers in the back, her eyes never leaving the champion. Occasionally she would chime in to eerily declare that no one could beat Lyra, but she was otherwise ignored by her roster mates as well as her quarry.

Tatum made her presence fully known near the end of a tag match in which Lyra teamed with Nikita Lyons against Blair Davenport (now known as Bea Priestley) and Cora Jade (now known as Elayna Black). Sitting on the barricade and caressing a feather that had fallen from the shoulder piece of Lyra’s ring gear, Tatum distracted the champion long enough for Davenport to secure the victory for her team.

After the match, Tatum would rush the ring and viciously toss Lyons through the ropes and to the floor. Confused and frightened, Lyra backed herself into a corner while Tatum perversely crawled towards her. This confusion doubled when Tatum joyfully embraced Lyra as if she were her own child, or perhaps a pet.

That next week, Nikita would get her payback on Tatum in a singles match, but that didn’t matter to Paxley. She had gotten what she wanted. She was closer to Lyra. She had captured her “sweet dove”. Lyra denied any involvement with Tatum, and tried her best to avoid her, but that didn’t deter Paxley’s advances.

At New Year’s Evil, Lyra successfully defended her championship against Blair Davenport, the bout leaving her too exhausted to repel the challenge of Lola Vice, who aimed to cash in the championship contract she won in the Women’s Breakout Tournament.

However, before Vice could make make good on her promise to be champion, Tatum jumped from behind the barricade Lola. Lola Vice’s partner Elektra Lopez would rush out to attack Tatum and creating a two on one situation. In the chaos Lyra, to her own surprise, came to Tatum’s defense. The pair would beat back latin pair and save Lyra’s title.

Tatum would return the favor the following NXT by saving Lyra from a two on one beatdown by Vice and Lopez, resulting in a tag team match between the duos. Tatum in this match would go so far as to not only dress like Lyra, but also copy some of her moves as well.

She would also show just how far her devotion went when she would take a vicious spinning kick from Vice that was meant for Lyra. Amazingly, the force of the kick was strong enough that a now unconscious Tatum fell onto a prone Elektra Lopez which resulted in pin. Lyra and Tatum had won, much to the delight of Tatum and the confusion of Lyra, but a win is a win. Tatum had earned a bit of Lyra’s respect that day, even if the champion would never want to be stuck alone with Tatum in a dark alley.

Slowly but surely, Lyra would warm up to Tatum and show more of her personality, even if most of those moments consisted of her being exasperated by Tatum’s obsessive behavior. It wasn’t all “smooth” sailing, as this odd couple’s relationship would be tested by the return of Roxanne Perez.

The Prodigy was eager to reclaim the NXT Women’s Championship that she never lost (having lost the title to Indi Hartwell in a multi-woman ladder match), and quickly asserted herself as Lyra’s next opponent after winning a battle royal. At the contract signing, that old wrestling trope of someone going through the signing table reared it’s head, but with a slight twist.

Words were exchanged, contracts were signed, and the match was official, but once Lyra and General Manager Ava left the ring, Tatum slithered from underneath. She blindsided Roxanne, slamming the number one contender through the table, much to the shock of Lyra. Tatum excitedly hugged Lyra as she had done before, eager to be praised for a job well done, but the champion was not amused. Lyra pushed Tatum to the ground, screaming “What are you doing?!” and “What’s wrong with you?!” as she tried to tend to Roxanne. Tatum sat distraught in the ring with her head in her hands. She didn’t understand why Lyra was yelling at her. She had eliminated an enemy. She protected the title Lyra loved so much. Isn’t that what she wanted?

Lyra would ignore Tatum for days, finally talking to her again before Tatum’s match with Perez the next week. Tatum expressed her desire to fight Lyra’s battles FOR her so she remained champion forever, but the champion quickly shot down that notion. If Lyra was still champion, then she would never leave NXT, more importantly she would never leave TATUM like so many others did, but Paxley’s obsession was starting to become more dangerous than usual, and it would soon reach a fever pitch.

At Vengeance Day, Lyra and Roxanne would have their match, but a spanner would be thrown into the works when Lola Vice once again sought to cash-in her Breakout Tournament contract. Once again Tatum would try to run interference, but this time proved to be a failure and Vice would successfully turn the singles match into a triple threat. Towards the end of the match, Tatum would inadvertently take Perez out of the match, leading Lyra to retain the NXT women’s championship.

Lola would seek revenge on Tatum in a one on one match the week after, but the real story of the match was Lyra coming out to support Tatum at ringside. Though she caught a second wind thanks to Lyra’s being there, Tatum still ultimately submitted to a leg choke by Vice. Lyra would take her backstage to recover, where Shotzi Blackheart (who will play another major part in Tatum’s journey) would appear and challenge Lyra to a title match. Tatum would overhear and devise a plan to take out Shotzi, but Lyra quickly shut that down and made Tatum promise to stay in the back during the match.

After a successful title defense against both Shotzi and Lash Legend (Lash would get the opportunity after Shotzi got injured during her match), Lyra would make good on her promise and reward Tatum by teaming with her again, only this time they would be facing the then WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions the Kabuki Warriors (former NXT Women’s Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane) to a Tag Title match at Roadblock. Despite their hours of film watching and preparation, the odd couple would fall ton the veterans due to a miscommunication where Lyra accidentally kicked Tatum, leading the Kabukis to retain.

Lyra had no time to check on Tatum as Roxanne Perez would appear and attack them from behind after the match, leading to Lyra’s shoulder being injured. Tatum would try and defend her friend’s honor, but again she’d lose in a singles bout to Perez. Goading a one-armed Lyra to come out, Perez once again got the upper hand on the champion when she caused her to strike Tatum.

Enraged, Lyra demanded another match with Perez at Stand & Deliver, putting her title on the line. When an altercation with Perez on Supernova Sessions ended with the champion putting her rival through a table, Tatum began to get worried. What Lyra had done was similar to what Tatum did to Perez before Vengeance Day. Something dark was being brought of the champion by Perez, threatening to smother out the light that Tatum had held so dear. Tatum didn’t want that. If Lyra wasn’t pure anymore, than who was she to Tatum?

Despite a valiant effort, Lyra’s title run would come to an end at Stand & Deliver at the hands of Perez. Tatum would try to console her friend. Just as before, Lyra rejected Tatum’s sympathy, but this time it was different. Lyra was angry and wrathful, and brushed Tatum off as if she meant nothing. She was just in the way. An irritating distraction. Nothing more. Tatum felt abandoned again.

Lyra would demand a rematch with Roxanne despite her arm being in a sling, but just as she had before Tatum jumped at the front of the line in order to protect Lyra…or so Lyra thought.

Lyra apologized for blowing Tatum off, and assured her friend she was fine to compete, but there was no convincing Tatum anymore. She had already made up her mind. Her smile gone, and her eyes filled with anger, Tatum grabbed Lyra and viciously threw her injured arm first into the metal steps at ringside.

Tatum would repeatedly scream at Lyra that the title no longer belonged to her as referees pulled her away. All Lyra could do was repeat Tatum’s name in shock as she tried to process what had just happened, Roxanne cackling in the background.

Tatum would explain why she turned on Lyra. She framed it as if her goal was always the title, and that she mostly followed Lyra around because she had it. She loved Lyra, but Lyra broke her heart when she lost the title to Roxanne. She said Lyra meant nothing to her now, but in hindsight most everything Tatum said at this moment was a lie.

Yes, it was true that Lyra broke her heart, but not because she lost the title. Tatum’s heart broke when Lyra rejected her after losing the title. She said that Lyra “Lost the one thing I loved most.”, on the surface she was talking about the title, but digging a little deeper it could be interpreted that Tatum was acutally talking about Lyra’s good nature. That championship was starting to bring something dark out of Lyra, and that darkness was not something that Tatum could accept.

Lyra was personification of goodness and purity in Tatum’s, that vision being tainted was beyond offensive. She saw Lyra as an object to be coveted instead of a person to be understood.

Tatum proclaiming that she needs to be champion was less about the value of the champion title itself, and more Tatum aiming to take on the sins that being champion comes with. If held long enough, that title will eventually corrupt its holder. Look no further than Roxanne Perez herself. Before losing her title she was a sweet, friendly girl but losing the title made her desperate and willing to do anything to get it back. Lyra was already falling prey to that poison. Tatum felt she could handle it. So she made her goal the title, and now Lyra was in her way.

Lyra would attack Tatum the following week, effectively ending their friendship for good (or so we thought). Soon the match was made at Spring Breakin’: Roxanne Perez would defend her NXT Women’s Championship against Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley in a triple threat match.

Tatum’s first ever singles title match would prove to be something of a coming out party for her as a performer. While not as experienced as her opponents, she showed that she was more than capable of hanging with the top talent NXT had to offer if given the opportunity, a true testament to her hard work so far.

In the end, Tatum would hit a devastating 450 splash on her former friend, but would be rolled up by Roxanne before she could capitalize. Her dream of being champion had been put on hold, but the hunger for gold only deepens after the first taste.

A Thirst For Gold

Lyra would be called up to RAW not long after Spring Breakin’, vowing to never return to NXT again.

Without Lyra to guide her way, Tatum would return to her old habits of stalking and freaking out the other girls in the locker room. Despite wanting the NXT Women’s championship to suit her own ends at first, Tatum would start to set her eyes on any gold that crossed her path.

When Roxanne Perez was challenged by TNA Wrestling’s then Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace (who is now part of the NXT Roster) for her NXT Women’s Championship at Battleground, Tatum would attempt to steal the Knockouts title away from ringside. Even getting into a back and forth tug o war with Ash by Elegance (the former Dana Brooke). This would lead to Tatum answering Grace’s Knockouts Championship open challenge at TNA’s Against All Odds event a few days later. Though Paxley would lose this match.

When a Women’s version of the North American championship was announced, Tatum quickly tried to lay claim to the title (even fighting over it with NXT Guest Host Sexxy Red), but would fail the first time around when she lost to visiting main roster star Michin in her ladder match qualifier.

Tatum would soon get her chance when she began to follow around the inagural champion Kelani Jordan. Allying herself with a newly returned Wendy Choo (who had also undergone a dark transformation of her own), Tatum would challenge Jordan for the title at The Great American Bash. Paxley would once again fall short of the championship, and would inexplicably be turned on by Choo, who choked out Paxley after the match.

Paxley would get a measure of revenge after Choo’s failed title challenge against Kelani at No Mercy the following month. This back and forth lead to Choo getting some outside help from TNA Wrestling’s Rosemary. Tatum would defeat Rosemary 1 on 1, but would quickly double teamed by the pair. However, Tatum would receive help from an unexpected source.

Lyra Valkyria sprinted to the ring, running off the nightmarish pair to the excitement of the crowd. Tatum watched from the corner in disbelief, fighting back tears as she watched Lyra defend her like a knight in shining armor. Lyra would pull Tatum into a hug, and in that moment Tatum’s entire worldview sould be shattered.

For so long she thought she was alone. In her own words “no one wanted to be friends with a girl like Tatum Paxley.” Until this moment, she had only driven others away. She thought she was destined to be alone, she had accepted that, but she was wrong. Someone had come back for her, and it was someone Lyra had thought she had discarded forever. Tatum had abandoned Lyra, but this moment proved Lyra had never abandoned Tatum. Tatum had been accepted, but more importantly, she was loved.

I remember being excited when I saw this moment happen in real time. Tatum and Lyra’s story really stood out in not just the current version of NXT, but arguably WWE as a whole. Now after having revisted Tatum’s story for the sake of writing this essay, her reunion with Lyra hits even more than it did then. This moment really was the peak of Tatum’s development as a character up to this point, and she would only get better from here.

Lyra and Tatum would team up for a third time to deal with Rosemary and Wendy Choo. The reunited friends would score a cathartic and emotional victory, but Tatum and Choo weren’t quite done just yet.

After stuffing Tatum in a box after a match Tatum had with Jaida Parker, the bitter rivals would settle their score in WWE’s first-ever women’s casket match, which Tatum would win.

Chemical Dependency

Lyra would return to the main roster not long after helping Tatum. Their friendship back and stronger than ever, Lyra left Tatum with a new assignment “make new friends”. Tatum would take this advice in stride, but not before continuing her quest for gold.

With Choo taken care of, Tatum would once again set her sights on the Women’s North American title, this time being held by Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley. Tatum make her move when the champion’s announcement for an open challenge resulted in a ringside brawl between all the women in the locker room. Tatum would sneak behind Fallon, hitting her with her new finisher “The Psycho Trap” and holding up the title, officially answering the challenge.

As sadly become the status quo, Tatum would lose thanks to interference from Fallon’s Fatal Influence teammates Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx. As the trio beatdown the obstinate challenger, she be saved by a returning Gigi Dolin, the former friend and now bitter enemy of FI’s leader Jacy Jayne. Gigi and Tatum would form an immediate connection, their mutual love of weird and macabre making them a pair almost as tight as Tatum and Lyra.

The two would lose in a tag match, but the numbers would quickly be evened out with the return of Shotzi Blackheart. After this twisted triumvirate defeated the Mean Girls in a six-man tag at New Year’s Evil, Chemical X would officially be born.

Gigi and Shotzi would prove themselves very quickly to be invaluable to Tatum. Just as Lyra instructed Tatum had made friends she could count on to watch her back when it counted. Friends that (she thought) would never abandon her. She and Gigi would become mainstays in the tag scene, challenging then champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, as well as making appearances in TNA. But alas, this match made in heaven (or hell) was not meant to last.

Gigi would be released from WWE in early 2025, with Shotzi following soon after when it was announced her contract would not be renewed. Real world releases always suck in professional wrestling, especially when it leaves other wrestlers without a vehicle for growth.

Losing Shotzi and Gigi would bring Tatum to her lowest point. She lashed out, destroying her doll house and screaming about how she was once again alone. In a match with Thea Hail later that night, Tatum would be disqualified after she would attempt to gouge out Hail’s eye until she was pulled off by the referees. Despite this heinous attack Thea would still show grace and kindness towards Tatum, relating her own recent loss of Chase U to Tatum’s loss of Chemical X.

There was a moment for Tatum and Thea to begin to connect on a deeper level, but that was swiftly ruined by an attack on Hail by Jaida Parker (whom Hail had been feuding with at the time). As Tatum’s downward spiral continued, she would find herself being pulled up by a sinister force.

The Culling

We now come to the present, and Tatum’s current affiliation with the Culling.

As Tatum continued to spiral, Shawn Spears was slowly amassing power behind the scenes. His aim was to “purify” NXT and Tatum fit that vision perfectly. After recruiting the rookie Niko Vance and a down and out Brooks Jensen, Spears would seduce Izzi Dame into joining by convincing her to turn on the D’Angelo Family. The final piece of the puzzle would be Tatum.

Over the weeks Izzi would slowly endear herself to Tatum, halting the lonely girl’s attempt to make friends with Sol Ruca and Zaria (though they did warn her about Izzi). After Tatum would accidentally cost Zaria a chance at competing at the Evolution PLE, she would officially join the group after helping Izzi defeat ZaRuca in a tag team match.

The Culling clearly preyed on Tatum’s insecurities, using words like “friend” and “family” to keep her pacified and amenable to what they want her to do. Tatum is just happy to be of use to someone and be wanted. Regardless about the optics of the situation, the results were undeniable. Tatum and Izzi would challenge Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss for the tag team titles, and Tatum would once again earn another opportunity for the North American title against Sol Ruca.

The most recent return of Lyra have shown to be a threat to Izzi’s hold on Tatum, with Lyra’s more loving and genuine support of Tatum running in direct opposition to Izzi’s control. Whenever the two would share a moment, Izzi would be quick interfere and drag Tatum away. Lyra remains Tatum’s guiding light, but Izzi continues to keep Tatum in the dark. This is definitely something The Culling will likely address soon, but that’s for another day.

So Tatum’s road has put her opposite Jacy Jayne, this time for the NXT Women’s Championship. This is her second chance at the title since that fateful triple threat at Spring Breakin’, as well as her first ever match on a PLE proper. This a milestone for the girl that was ridiculed, hurt, and abandoned. But thanks to her relentless determination, and the support of a true friend, Tatum Paxley is finally be able to call herself a champion, and you can “bet your ass” on that.