Thea Hail looks back on her path to Chase U.
At just 18 years old, Thea Hail emerged as one of WWE‘s youngest signees ever. The same year as her official WWE onboarding, Hail graduated from Plum Senior High School. This series of events later translated into a storyline, with Hail selecting WWE’s fictional Chase University as her college destination.
“‘We’re gonna have you graduate, and then you’re gonna pick a college, but you’re going to pick Chase U as your college,'” Hail recently told Antonio Rossetti of the Pittsburgh City Paper, recalling a previous conversation she had with WWE officials.
“And I don’t know why, but I never put one and two together. I’m graduating high school. Let me go to the wrestling college we have here. It was the most wonderful idea I’ve ever heard. This is the most creative thing and it’s straightforward.”
Featuring the likes of Hail, Duke Hudson, Riley Osborne, Ridge Holland and leader Andre Chase, Chase U remains one of the top, and most spirited, factions in NXT. Together, Hudson and Chase boasted one reign as NXT Tag Team Champions. Meanwhile, Hail has notably chased after the NXT Women’s Championship. Her latest quest, however, proved unsuccessful yet again, as the current titleholder, Roxanne Perez, defeated her during night one of the 2024 Great American Bash.
Thea Hail on Thunder Rosa
Thea Hail credits Thunder Rosa for being a big part of her journey to WWE.
The pair faced off at an AEW Dark taping in September 2021 when Hail was still only 18 years old. Shortly thereafter, Hail was invited to a tryout at the WWE Performance Center in December.
Hail told Rossetti that Rosa helped her get in contact with a WWE recruiter.
“I ended up landing a dark [non-televised] match for AEW after having a seminar with QT Marshall,” Thea Hail said. “I wrestled Thunder Rosa, and she got me in contact with a recruiter from WWE.”
“That was the first time I was by myself for that long and in a hotel,” she tells CP. “I was 18. I barely could check into the hotel … It was very crazy for me, but the coaches were just so encouraging. I think we have the best set of coaches ever here. But it was such a cool atmosphere, because we had a mix of indie workers and athletes, and I think each person brought a different energy to that building.”
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