26-year-old to become a staple in WWE's women's division, Matt Hardy predicts

Matt Hardy has appeared in AEW, TNA, WWE, and several other companies throughout his career. In a recent podcast episode, the legendary wrestler gave his take on Mariah May's first WWE appearance.

On June 3, May surprisingly showed up on NXT after leaving AEW. The 26-year-old confronted Jacy Jayne and declared her intention to win the NXT Women's Championship.

Hardy said on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy that he expects the new WWE star to be a major player for many years:

"She worked hard in Japan, she got herself over, she came to AEW, she did some amazing, compelling, super entertaining TV. It's a win, man. I think she's gonna do great in NXT. I think she'll end up moving up to the main roster and she'll do great there, and I think for years to come she'll be a staple in WWE's women's division." [8:37 – 8:53]

May made her name wrestling for the Japanese promotion Stardom before joining AEW in 2023. She held the AEW Women's Championship for 174 days and feuded with Toni Storm in a memorable storyline.

Matt Hardy reacts to WWE's booking of Mariah May

Some fans expected Mariah May to make her WWE debut on RAW or SmackDown. However, she looks set to spearhead the NXT women's division instead after Giulia, Roxanne Perez, and Stephanie Vaquer's main roster call-ups.

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According to Matt Hardy, WWE's higher-ups made the right call by introducing May on the NXT brand:

"I don't mind it because I know there are WWE fans that don't watch AEW, as crazy as that sounds, so just to put her out on NXT and introduce her, let her have like a trial and error of working the WWE style, the way WWE TV works, let her do that there on NXT, so whenever she does go up to the main roster she's gonna be totally polished." [9:00 – 9:25]

In the same episode, Hardy named two possible winners of the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match on June 7.

Please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart