As Indi Hartwell gears up to face NXT’s Thea Hail in the TNA Knockouts TV Championship Tournament, we asked her about her time in TNA, her plans for the TNA Lockdown pay-per-view, and her viral moment between her and former Wyatt Sicks member Dexter Lumis (Samuel Shaw).
Image credit: TNA
Soundsphere: You are such a natural fit for the TNA Knockouts TV Tournament, and as it also features some NXT stars, as somebody who’s worked for both brands, do you feel like this gives you a massive advantage and makes you the favourite to win?
Indi Hartwell: I never thought of it like that, to be honest, that it gives me an advantage because, you know, this Thursday on Impact in Philly, I am going up against Thea Hail, who’s from NXT. Maybe if I was another Knockout going up against Thea, I wouldn’t have any history or experience with her, but because I have worked for both companies and I’ve trained with Thea and worked with her in the past, maybe I do have an advantage. I didn’t think of it like that, but I guess so.
You know, just having the support of people just gives me more motivation going into it because I’m not going up alone. I’m going into it with all the people behind me. So yeah, I mean, that makes me feel good now. I’m extra motivated for this Thursday.
Soundsphere: So I feel like now is the perfect time in TNA to introduce a Knockouts TV Championship. I think it’s something the promotion has needed for a while. What’s your take on that?
Indi Hartwell: Yeah, for sure. I think with the collaboration with NXT and including indie girls in this tournament, we have so many girls on the roster, so many Knockouts on the roster. So I think it was about time that we had another title introduced, especially with it being a TV title. We have the big AMC deal this year, so it kind of just makes perfect sense. It’s just more opportunity for the women.
Soundsphere: If you become the first TNA Knockouts TV Champion, will you be satisfied with that? Will you bask in that for a while, or will you immediately want to knock Xia Brookside from her perch?
Indi Hartwell: Don’t you mean when? I’ve been in TNA now for over a year, and my goal coming in was to win the Knockouts World Title. It’s like my journey so far has not brought me there. So having this opportunity now, it’s not that I’m forgetting about that. That still is a goal of mine, but you can only be first ever one time. There’s only one first-ever champion. So if I can put myself in the history books of TNA by becoming the first Knockouts TV Champion, I think that just gives me, you know, a leg up and more motivation to eventually win the Knockouts World Title. So I can’t say I’m gonna win the TV title and go straight for Xia Brookside, but I do have my goals.
I think it’s more fun for me to know that there are other girls on the roster who can cross the line who haven’t been there before and who can learn a lot from that, so I’m also wanting to see other girls cross the line.
Soundsphere: We have TNA Lockdown returning on August 23. We’re confident you’re going to be involved, so who do you expect to be locked in a cage with?
Indi Hartwell: Ooh, other than Xia Brookside, I think it would be really cool to be locked in the cage with the personal concierge from the Elegance Brand, and I would just beat the crap out of him.
Soundsphere: So we recently saw a really cool vignette between you and your old ally Dexter Loomis, or Samuel Shaw, where you gave him a haircut. How did that moment come about, and what did you think of the overwhelmingly great fan response to it?
Indi Hartwell: So I just want to show you. I got one of the dreadlocks right here (holds up one of the cut dreads). How did it come about? Well, I mean, he just wanted to cut his hair, and we wanted to make it into something, and it all happened really fast, to be honest. It was like a Sunday night. I messaged a photographer/videographer that I know, asked him if he was available the next day, and then within 12 hours, we had this video, and it was sick. I think the response to it was really good as well because he’s like Sam Shaw / Dexter Loomis. He’s an amazing person, but also he’s an amazing artist and character. So he always has really cool ideas. So yeah, I think the video came out awesome, and the response was really good.
Image credit: Samuel Shaw
Soundsphere: Let’s imagine they did somewhat of a revival of that faction, or a new version of that faction within TNA. Would that be something you were interested in joining?
Indi Hartwell: Yeah, I’d like to do something that’s different to what I’m doing. I think especially being involved in a story that is away from wrestling in a ring, because I think there’s so much more to wrestling than just the physical side of it. I think that’s why the InDex storyline in NXT was so loved by people, because it was relatable, and also a lot of it didn’t focus on the in-ring stuff. It was outside of it, which is, you know, what drew me to wrestling when I was a kid. When I first discovered it, it wasn’t really the moves and the matches, it was the stuff that happened around the ring and backstage and all that. So I’d be down to be cast in a role like that. Yeah, let’s do it.
Soundsphere: How has TNA been as a home to you since you made your arrival there?
Indi Hartwell: It’s been good. I feel like I’ve really been finding my feet and being on my own. You know, not being in a tag team was kind of an adjustment for me, but now it’s been over a year. I think I’m comfortable there. I think the fans like me there, so yeah, it’s good. I’m just gaining more experience, you know.
Soundsphere: They’ve touched a little bit on TV about how you were a TNA fan growing up. Is there anybody you still look up to there, either in the locker room or as a previous member of the locker room?
Indi Hartwell: Well, someone that I have to mention, who I watched growing up and also have gotten to work with, is Frankie Kazarian. It’s cool that he really is the King of TNA, and he’s still there as a locker room leader, as a captain. I got to work with him in a six-man tag. I tagged with Matt Hardy, which is also crazy, and Leon Slater. I think we were up against Trick Williams, maybe Kalani, and Kazarian. It was cool. I got to do my elbow drop to Kaz, and yeah, it’s just cool to think about. I had DVDs of him, and yeah, it’s special.
TNA Wrestlingpresents Lockdown – a showcase event in which every match is contested inside a steel cage — on Sunday, August 23, broadcasting live around the world on pay-per-view from Credit Union 1 Arena in downtown Chicago. It marks TNA’s first Lockdown event since 2016, and the company’s first-ever show at the history-filled arena.