Former AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May made her WWE NXT debut on last night’s show, as was previously reported.

According to Fightful Select, May has signed a multi-year deal with WWE; however, details about her debut were kept under wraps to prevent leaks. Sources within WWE indicated that only a very small group knew in advance about May’s signing. Plans for her involvement in NXT had been set for some time, and the news was only communicated to talent in the gorilla position just before her segment began.

The report also mentioned that May had been heavily tipped to join WWE in recent months, as she was preparing for life after AEW. Although AEW expressed interest in retaining her, the specific details of their offers are unknown. Sources at AEW stated they do not believe she left on bad terms. May was removed from the AEW roster page at the end of last month, but management noted she was still technically under contract at that time. Her contract was set to expire at the beginning of June, along with several others, which led AEW to remove her from the roster page to proactively address the situation. Notably, Abadon remains on the roster page even though their contract also expired at the start of the month.

During her NXT debut, May was not referred to by name, and it remains uncertain whether that will change in the future. Mariah May is believed to be her real name, and she is permitted to use it if both parties agree, as she had used it before her time in AEW. Similarly, when Ricky Starks debuted, he was not referred to by name either, although the situations differ. WWE was insistent that there could be complications regarding his use of the name “Ricky Starks,” despite it having been used on WWE TV before, and his real name being Richard Starks.