Indi Hartwell Vacates NXT Women's Title - Tournament Announced to Crown Champion

Indi Hartwell's tenure as NXT Women's Champion came to an abrupt end during this week's edition of the gold brand, following her call-up to the main roster.

Hartwell was selected by Raw during Night One of the WWE Draft as part of the eighth round of picks. NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were also drafted to SmackDown.

Appearing in the closing segment of this week's episode of WWE NXT, Hartwell spoke about how much being NXT Champion has meant to her. The Australian Superstar also namedropped some of her predecessors as champion, including Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Asuka. Speaking about her move to Raw, Hartwell confirmed that she has vacated the NXT Women's Championship. Hartwell, who was on crutches, was helped to the back by Dexter Lumis and gave the fans a thumbs-up in her final NXT appearance.

As a result of Hartwell vacating the championship, a tournament will begin next week to crown a new champion. That tournament will culminate with the finals at NXT Battleground on May 28. At this time, no names have been confirmed for the tournament.

Given her ankle injury, it may be some time before we see Hartwell on Monday Night Raw. During her promo, however, Hartwell spoke about how she didn't know her place in WWE until she found 'The Way.' When the WWE Draft results come into effect, almost all members of the popular faction will be on Monday Night Raw. The only exception will be Austin Theory, who was drafted to SmackDown and is taking the United States Championship with him.