WWE The E-Federation Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
WWE The E-Federation Wiki
Advertisement
Register
WWE The E-Federation Wiki
WWE The E-Fed Wiki
527
pages

Nixon Newell

Edit
Nixon Newell
An image of the Nixon Newell.
Birth name Steffanie Rhiannon Newell
Born November 15, 1994 (age 29)
Bargoed, Wales
Resides Orlando, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Nixon Newell
Billed height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Billed weight 141 lb (64 kg)
Billed from Welsh Valleys
Trained by Dave Stewart
Mike Hitchman
Debut 2013

Steffanie Rhiannon Newell (born November 15, 1994) is a Welsh professional wrestler signed with WWE where she currently performs on their Smackdown brand under the ring name Nixon Newell.

Newell previously wrestled on the British independent circuit under, most notably for promotions such as Attack! Pro Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, and Fight Club: Pro.

In WWE, Newell is a former multiple time Womens Champion, holding the RAW Womens Championship and the SmackDown Womens Championship on three occasions. She has also held the WWE Goddess Championship, the WWE Womens Tag Team Championship with Jinny and the WWE Hardcore Championship, making her a Grand Slam Champion. Newell holds the record for both the longest reign as SmackDown Womens Champion (which she holds alongside Kay Lee Ray) at 175 days and as WWE Goddess Champion at 201 days.

Early Life[]

As a little girl, Newell played football for a number of teams in her area and at one point took part in trials for both Cardiff City and the Welsh national team. At age 13, she suffered a knee injury which would ultimately cost her a place on the Wales Under-16 team. When she finally turned 16, she gave up football, instead, taking a long hiatus from all sports, citing her knee injury and a lack of passion for the sport as her reasons.

Shortly after quitting football, she found a professional wrestling school in Port Talbot and began training under Dave Stewart and "Wild Boar" Mike Hitchman. She said that the encouragement of her late grandfather to pursue a career in professional wrestling was her main inspiration. Outside of football, she played netball and tag rugby. Despite playing football for the majority of her youth, Newell grew up as a fan of professional wrestling after being introduced to it at the age of five and cites Molly Holly as her favourite female wrestler and dream opponent.

Professional Wrestling Career[]

Pre-WWE Career (2014-2018)[]

Attack! Pro Wrestling (2014-2017)[]

Newell debuted for Attack! Pro Wrestling in July 2014, competing three times on the same show. Firstly she defeated Lana Austin and later in the evening teamed with Austin to defeat Mark Andrews and Pete Dunne to win the Attack! 24/7 Championship for the second time in her career. Later that night, Newell and Austin lost the championship to Mike Bird in a handicap match.

Newell debuted her Luchadora The Explorer character on 24 January 2015, teaming with Brookes in a loss to The Anti-Fun Police (Damian Dunne and Ryan Smile). She competed as Luchadora once again on 14 February, winning a special invitational scramble match. In January 2016, Newell aligned herself with Mark Andrews, forming the extremely popular team known as Bayside High. In their first match as a team, Newell and Andrews defeated #CCK (Brookes and Kid Lykos). Two days later on 3 April, Bayside High became the new Attack: Pro! Tag Team Champions, defeating #CCK. The duo retained the titles until August, when they lost them back to #CCK in a TLC match.

In late 2016, Newell turned into a villainess, abandoning Bayside High and aligning herself with Pete Dunne. In their first match together, Dunne and Newell (dressed as the Suicide Squad iterations of The Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively) defeated Martin Kirby and El Ligero (dressed as Kevin Owens and El Generico, respectively).

Fight Club: Pro (2015-2017)[]

Nixon Newell was the first woman to wrestle at Wolverhampton based promotion, Fight Club: Pro in 2015 where she competed in a 4 way match in the infinity tournament against Chris Brookes, Dan Moloney and Eddie Dennis.

Due to Newell’s departure to WWE, Fight Club: Pro honored her with a show named after her “First Female of Fight Club” where Nixon requested to face Candice LeRae. This match ended after Newell hit LeRae with the Shiniest Wizard.

Newell’s final FCP match took place at Dream Tag Team Invitational (Night 1) where she was a surprise entrant in a 6 way match.

Progress Wrestling (2016)[]

Newell debuted for Progress Wrestling on 28 August 2016, defeating Alex Windsor. On November 27, she entered the Natural Progression Series IV Tournament (a single elimination tournament to crown the first ever Progress Women's Champion), defeating Katey Harvey in the first round.

Shimmer Women Athletes (2016)[]

Newell debuted for the American all-female promotion Shimmer Women Athletes at Volume 81, first losing to Veda Scott and then losing to Nicole Matthews the following day at Volume 82. At Volume 84, Newell picked up her first win in Shimmer, defeating Scott.

What Culture Pro Wrestling (2016–2017)[]

Newell debuted for What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) on 27 July at Loaded #5, defeating Bea Priestley,[18] but was defeated by Priestley the following day. On August 24, Newell and Priestley faced off once again, this time in a last woman standing match to crown the first ever WCPW Women's Champion, won by Newell. On 13 February 2017, Newell lost the WCPW Women's Championship to Bea Priestley in a no disqualification match.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2017)[]

In January 2017, Newell embarked on her first tour of Japan, competing with the all-female promotion Stardom. In her first match on the tour, she and Kay Lee Ray defeated Oedo Tai (Kris Wolf and Viper). On 29 January, Newell challenged Kairi Hojo for the Wonder of Stardom Championship, losing after a diving elbow from Hojo.

WWE Career (2017-Present)[]

Signing to WWE in 2017, Newell was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Before her debut could occur, Newell suffered a serious injury to her ACL.

Monday Night RAW (2018-2020)[]

On August 2018, Newell was assigned to the Monday Night RAW roster and made her on screen debut at the SummerSlam event. During the show, Newell interfered in the Goddess Championship match on behalf of her friend, Dakota Kai during Kai's match with Rosemary and caused a disqualification; leading to Kai retaining the championship.

In October 2018, Newell won a Beat the Clock challenge in order to become the Number One Contender for the WWE Womens Championship held by Alexa Bliss. Newell would challenge Bliss for the title at the Halloween Havoc event in a Buried Alive match but was unsuccessful in capturing her maiden WWE Championship. In November, Nixon was one of the final three competitors in a Battle Royal, won by Nikki Bella, and became a contender for the Divas Tag Titles with Charlotte as her partner. At the Survivor Series event, the RAW Team of Newell, Bella, Charlotte, Rock and Velveteen Dream were unsuccessful in their Survivor Series Elimination match against Team SmackDown's Mickie James, Emma, Bayley and Breezango. Following Survivor Series, Newell would team with her friend Zelina Vega to challenge the Divas Tag Team Championships held by Bayley and Emma but would be unsuccessful at the Cyber Sunday event in a Ladder match.

Beginning in 2019, Newell would begin her quest to become the Womens Championship by entering the Womens Royal Rumble but was unsuccessful with Bayley winning the annual match. In February, Newell would qualify for the Womens Championship Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out but was again unsuccessful in challenging for the Title, being eliminated by reigning champion Angelina Love last thanks to help from Velvet Sky.

At WrestleMania 35, Newell would take part in the Womens Money In The Bank Ladder match but was pushed through a ladder by Zelina Vega, starting a feud between the two. Following the Annual Showcase, Newell would defeat Jackie Gayda in a match on RAW but would be attacked by new Divas Revolution member, Mickie James.

At BackLash, Newell would compete in two matches on the night, unsuccessfully challenging for the Hardcore Championship in a match won by Scarlett Bordeaux but would later win a Six Pack Challenge.

On June 17th's edition of Monday Night RAW; Newell would win another Six Pack Challenge, this time a contender's match for the Womens Championship. The next week, Newell would capture the Womens Championship from Peyton Royce, her first championship in the WWE. She would hold the championship until the Unforgiven event where Newell would lose the championship to Divas Revolution member Scarlett Bordeaux thanks to interference from the rest of the Divas Revolution stable.

Following the loss of the championship, Newell would begin a feud with Mickie James with both women being a member of opposing Women and Divas Revolution factions. The two would be part of the SummerSlam 10 Women Tag Team match, won by the Divas Revolution. At Halloween Havoc, Newell and James would face off in a Deathmatch, a match where Nixon would be victorious. At Survivor Series, Newell would be part of the Womens Revolution team in a Winner Take All Match against the Divas Revolution, a match which the Womens Revolution would win and see Newell become Womens Tag Team Champion for the first time in her career alongside Jinny as a result of the match. The pair would lose the titles the next month at Cyber Sunday to the team of Taya Valkyrie and Lacey Evans.

At the 2020 Royal Rumble event, Newell would capture the Hardcore Championship on the first match of the night. Later in the night, Newell would enter the Womens Royal Rumble match at Number 3. While unsuccessful in the match, won by Kylie Ray; Newell would be the Iron Woman in the match being eliminated number 28 and having the most eliminations in the match. At No Way Out, Newell would lose the Hardcore Championship to Adam Page while failing to win the Womens Championship from Billie Kay in the Elimination Chamber match.

At WrestleMania, Nixon would be unsuccessful in recapturing the Hardcore Championship and would also compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder match, won by Sunshine.

Friday Night SmackDown (2020-Present)[]

In May 2020, Newell would be drafted to the re-established Friday Night SmackDown brand. Following the draft, Newell would qualify for the SmackDown Womens Championship Scramble Match at Unforgiven. At the Unforgiven event, Newell would capture the SmackDown Womens Championship in the Scramble match involving Io Shari, Mandy Leon, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks. She would also compete in the Mr and Mrs Madness Tournament, teamed up with Heath Slater as Rock the Dragon, later Rock the Golden Dragon; but would be eliminated from the tournament in the Quarter Finals to the team of Brandi Rhodes and the Sandman.

On the July 31st, Super SmackDown event, Newell would retain the SmackDown Womens Championship against Scarlett Bordeaux, marking the first time Newell would successfully defend a championship in the WWE at the fourth attempt. Newell would defend the title on several occasions against Bianca Belair at SummerSlam, Allie at No Mercy and against Dakota Kai on Super SmackDown. By the time she would lose the championship to Ruby Riott in an Ultimate X match at Cyber Sunday, a match which also involved Allie and Peyton Royce; Newell would hold the title for a record 177 days.

At Cyber Sunday, Newell would enter into a feud with Bayley with the later costing her the Womens Championship. The feud would continue for several months with Nixon unsuccessfully competing in the Royal Rumble match while also being unsuccessful alongside Kaitlyn in winning the WWE Womens Tag Team Championships at No Way Out. At WrestleMania 37, Newell would defeat Bayley by disqualification after Bayley attacked the referee following the opening bell, however Newell would also play a pivotal role in Bayley and Tenille Dashwood's Womens Tag Championship loss to Bianca Belair and Alicia Fox inside Hell in a Cell. The feud between Bayley and Nixon would conclude at Extreme Rules where Newell would defeat Bayley in a Three Stages of Hell match 2-1, winning the opening Steel Cage match fall, losing the Submission match fall and then retrieving her own knee brace in a Ladder match to win the bout.

Newell would set her sights on becoming the Goddess Champion, looking to complete the Womens Triple Crown but would win a number one contender's match for Dakota Kai's SmackDown Womens Championship. On October 29th, Newell would defeat Kai to win her second SmackDown Womens Championship. Following the match, Kay Lee Ray would make her SmackDown debut, setting up a Unification match for the SmackDown and NXT Womens Championships at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, Ray would win the match to unify the titles, ending Newell's second reign at 30 days.

At the Royal Rumble, Newell would open the event with a victory over Mandy Rose to become the WWE Goddess Champion for the first time, completing the Womens Triple Crown and the Grand Slam on the same night. Later in the night, she would finish runner up to Cassie Lee, the former Peyton Royce in the Womens Royal Rumble match. Newell would defend the Goddess Championship over the next several months, defeating Eva Marie at No Way Out, Rosemary on the April 1st SmackDown, Kris Statlander at WrestleMania 200, Sunshine on the May 6th SmackDown, Cora Jade at Unforgiven, Candice LeRae at Extreme Rules and Deonna Purrazzo at The Great American Bash. Following the victory against Purrazzo, Newell would vacate the Goddess Championship to challenge for the SmackDown Womens Championship. Her reign would be the longest in the title's history at 201 days.

In wrestling[]

  • Finishing moves
    • Shiniest Wizard (Shining Wizard)
    • Vulture Culture Destroyer (Super Flip Piledriver)
    • Binary Lock (Inverted kneeling Sharpshooter)
  • Signature moves
    • Hidden Blade (Running high impact swinging elbow to the back of an opponent's head)
    • Misery Business (Fireman's Carry into a Stunner)
    • Photon Blast (Running Cannonball Senton to corner opponent)
    • Running Penalty Kick, often to seated opponent, rarely to an opponent trapped in a chair
    • Dragon Screw
    • Diving Crossbody
    • Suicide Dive
    • Molly Go Round
    • Tiger Suplex
    • German Suplex
    • Superkick
    • Chokeslam
  • Nicknames
    • "The Girl with the Shiniest Wizard
    • "WWE/SmackDown's Captain Marvel"
    • "The Welsh Firecracker"
    • "The Welsh Wizard
  • Entrance themes
    • "White Dress" by Halestorm
    • "You Held The World In Your Arms" by Idlewild
    • "Brick by Brick" by Junior
    • "Bombshell" by Halestorm

Championships and accomplishments[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement