Madison Knisely (born September 9, 2003) is an American
professional wrestler and
gymnast. She is currently signed to
WWE where she performs on the
NXT brand under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Thea Hail and is a member of
Chase University
Chase University (often known as Andre Chase University and Chase U) is an American professional wrestling stable consisting of Andre Chase, Duke Hudson and Thea Hail. They are currently signed to WWE, where they perform on NXT. The group's cha ...
.
Early life
Maddie Knisley was born in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. She went to school at Pivik Elementary School, in Plum Borough, Pennsylvania and studied gymnastics at a gymkhana in
Monroeville.
Professional wrestling career
All Elite Wrestling (2021)
On September 28, 2021, Knisley made her
All Elite Wrestling debut as
enhancement talent
In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
on ''
Dark'' under the ring name Nikita Knight against
Thunder Rosa. She wrestled in one other match with the promotion against
Julia Hart, on the October 24, 2021 edition of ''Dark'', which she lost.
WWE (2022–present)
On March 17, 2022, Knisley was announced as one of the 14 recruits who reported to the
WWE Performance Center in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
.
One month later, on the April 8 episode of ''
NXT Level Up
''WWE NXT Level Up'', also known as ''NXT Level Up'' (stylized as '' NXT LVL UP''), is an American professional wrestling streaming television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from ...
'', she made her in-ring debut under the ring name Thea Hail against
Ivy Nile
Diamond Mine is an American professional wrestling stable formed in the professional wrestling promotion WWE on the NXT brand. Formed in June 2021, the group is led by Roderick Strong and includes Brutus Creed, Julius Creed, Ivy Nile & Tatum Pax ...
, which she lost.
During the May 31 episode of ''
NXT 2.0
''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currentl ...
'', a
vignette aired showing Hail graduating with a 4.0
GPA, and tossing away major university hats. She instead picked and donned a
Chase University
Chase University (often known as Andre Chase University and Chase U) is an American professional wrestling stable consisting of Andre Chase, Duke Hudson and Thea Hail. They are currently signed to WWE, where they perform on NXT. The group's cha ...
hat, officially aligning herself with the group for the first time. On the June 17 episode of ''Level Up'', Hail, with
Duke Hudson and Bodhi Hayward accompanying her ringside, picked up her first victory, over Arianna Grace. On the October 11 episode of ''
NXT'', Hail competed in her first match on the
NXT brand against
Kiana James. During the match, James' manager
Mr. Stone interfered and
cut a promo, which seen Hail hit him with a
back body drop
Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...
and stomp him out of the ring. James used Stone's distraction to her advantage, picking up the victory with a
flatliner.
On the February 7, 2023, episode of ''NXT'', Hail confronted
Tiffany Stratton
Tiffany may refer to:
People
* Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name
* Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname
Known mononymously as "Tiffany":
* Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kno ...
over a
TikTok video which Stratton uploaded and she took issue with. After the incident,
Ava appeared behind Hail, cupped her hand over mouth, then dragged her away. Two weeks later, on February 21, Chase and Hudson defended Hail's honor, by facing
The Dyad
The Dyad is a British professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler, currently performing in WWE on the NXT brand. They are members of The Schism stable alongside Joe Gacy and Ava Raine. Reid and Fowler were previously ...
, who had Ava by their side. Hail was chased around the ring by Ava, which led to Chase arguing with her, while Fowler and Reid hit Hudson with the
double codebreaker, ultimately costing Chase University the match. On April 1, on the
Stand and Deliver
''Stand and Deliver'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca, based on the true story of a high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. For portraying Escalante, Edward James Olmos wa ...
Kickoff pre-show, Hail,
Duke Hudson,
Andre Chase, and
Tyler Bate defeated
Schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
in an
eight-person mixed tag team match to successfully retain control of Chase University. On the June 6 episode of ''NXT'', Hail won a
battle royal to become the number one contender for Stratton's
NXT Women's Championship. The match took place at Week Two of
Gold Rush on June 27. Hail was unsuccessful in winning. She challenged Stratton once again on July 30 at
The Great American Bash in a
submission match, but lost while being held in a
boston crab, as Chase
threw in the towel
A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat. The submission – then also referred to as a "tap out" or "tapping out" – is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or the opp ...
on her behalf. In response, on the following week's episode of ''NXT'' on August 2, Hail threw in the towel during Chase's match against
Baron Corbin while he was being held in a
single-leg crab, though Corbin thrown it back out and won by pinfall.
On the August 15 episode of ''NXT'', Hail lost to
Jacy Jayne due to distraction from her stablemates. The following week at
Heatwave, Jayne approached Hail backstage, empathising with her over Chase costing her the championship, turning
face in the process. On August 29, Hail ditched class at Chase University in order to spend time with Jayne instead. On the following week, Jayne represented Chase University with Hail for the first time, defeating
Lola Vice
Valerie Loureda (born July 19, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lola Vice. As a mixed martial artist, she competed in the women's ...
and
Elektra Lopez in a tag team match.
At Week 2 of
Halloween Havoc on October 31, Hail and Jayne challenged
WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across ...
Chelsea Green and
Piper Niven for the titles though they were unsuccessful as Chase refused to help Jayne cheat to win. On the January 30 episode of ''NXT'', as Chase, Hudson and
Riley Osborne
Josh Terry (born 27 March 1998) is a British professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Riley Osborne on the NXT brand and is a member of the Chase University stable.
Early career
Terry began train ...
were about to bid farewell to Chase U due to financial troubles, Hail and Jayne announced they would be releasing a calendar to help save it.
Following Chase and Hudson's defeat to
Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin in the
NXT Tag Team Championship match at
Roadblock on March 5, Jacy Jayne and new Chase U student
Jazmyn Nyx mocked Hail, resulting in her storming off. On the March 12 episode of ''NXT'', Hail and
Fallon Henley lost a tag team match after Jayne refused to be her partner the previous week. An emotional Hail disavowed her friendship with Jayne and declared she was returning to the "old Thea Hail". On the following week of ''NXT'', Jayne (with Nyx) turned on Chase U. At
Stand & Deliver on April 6, Hail teamed up with Henley and
Kelani Jordan
Lea Mitchell (born October 22, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and former artistic gymnast. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kelani Jordan and is the current and inaugural NXT Wome ...
to defeat Jayne,
Kiana James and
Izzi Dame in a
six-woman tag team match. On the following episode of ''NXT'', Jayne revealed the truth of Chase U's gambling debt. In Hail's NXT Women's Championship match at The Great American Bash, Chase placed an illegal bet that Hail would win the title. However, he chose Hail's safety and threw in the towel, resulting in him losing the bet. On the April 16 episode of ''NXT'', Hail lost to
Tatum Paxley after interference from Jayne and Nyx. Following this, a match was scheduled between Hail and Jayne for Week 2 of
Spring Breakin', which Hail won. However, a dissatisfied Henley turned heel and attacked Hail as she was celebrating.
On the May 21 episode of ''NXT'', Henley defeated Hail to qualify for a spot for the six-woman ladder match to crown the inaugural
NXT Women's North American Champion at
Battleground
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
.
Other media
Video games
Championships and accomplishments
* ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
** Ranked No. 115 of the top 250 female singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI Women's 250'' in 2023
References
External links
*
*
*
* {{ProfessionalWrestlingProfiles
2003 births
21st-century female professional wrestlers
American female professional wrestlers
Living people
Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania
Professional wrestlers from Pittsburgh
21st-century American sportswomen