Thea Hail may never have made a name for herself in the world of wrestling had it not been for a video of WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio. Sitting down with the Pittsburgh City Paper, Hail, a native of the city, recalled her start in the squared circle.

“I quit gymnastics, I quit cheer, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life, and I was just scrolling through Instagram, and I always follow[ed] WWE. I always thought it was amazing, but I never really thought it was a thing you could do. I saw this video of Rey Mysterio, and I just put my phone down, and went, ‘I’m doing that.’”

Hail added that her dad was able to locate a training school in Pittsburgh which resulted in her receiving an AEW Dark match against Thunder Rosa. While Hail’s future would be with WWE, Rosa got her in contract with a recruiter from WWE.

Hail has since become one of the most popular women in WWE NXT thanks in no small part to her skills in the ring and infectious personality. Hail will challenge NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez tonight at WWE NXT Great American Bash (Night One.) Stay tuned to SE Scoops for all the latest from tonight’s show.

Rey Mysterio: Inspiration

Hail isn’t the only current WWE Superstar to be inspired by Rey Mysterio. Though they are currently at odds, Dominik Mysterio has said that he was inspired to enter the ring after seeing his ‘deadbeat’ father in action. Dominik’s ‘Mami’ Rhea Ripley has also admitted that she was inspired by Rey to become a wrestler and had plenty of Mysterio merchandise when she was growing up.

After facing Rey in 2018, Swerve Strickland shared online that he’d faced his “hero” as the AEW World Champion holds Mysterio in high regard. WWE Hall of Famer Lita has also said she was inspired to wrestle by Rey after her boyfriend at the time watched WCW Monday Nitro and the future Women’s Champion saw Mysterio in action.

Stay tuned to SE Scoops for all the latest on Thea Hail as well as the results and surprises from tonight’s WWE NXT Great American Bash show.

One WWE NXT Superstar hopes to make an impression in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match, which will take place later this week. 

On Twitter this week, the USA Network account asked fans who they’d like to see in the upcoming Royal Rumble matches. In a response, NXT Superstar Thea Hail made clear she wants in her first Women’s Royal Rumble match. 

PUT ME IN COACH https://t.co/jinxeNgsAD

— Thea Hail (@theahail_wwe) January 21, 2024

This year’s Women’s Rumble match will be the seventh in history after the match type was introduced in 2018. Previous winners of the Women’s Rumble match include Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Ronda Rousey, and reigning Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. 

Thea Hail is Over-The-Top

While Hail has yet to compete in a Royal Rumble match, the Chase U member has seen success in over-the-top-rope battle royals. Hail has competed in five battle royals in WWE and with a victory in 2 of those matches, she boasts a 40% win record. Hail was part of the battle royal that took place on last week’s WWE NXT, but failed to make it to the final four. 

WWE Royal Rumble 2024

Here is the card for the WWE 2024 Royal Rumble PLE as it currently stands:

• Men’s Royal Rumble match (Confirmed entrants: Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, GUNTHER.

• Women’s Royal Rumble match (Confirmed entrants: Bayley, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Nia Jax)

• Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight (Undisputed WWE Universal Championship)

• Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens (WWE United States Championship)

Who should fans expect to see return at the Royal Rumble…