Mariah May—now known as Blake Monroe— signed with AEW in November 2023 and, despite having already made a name for herself in Stardom, was widely hailed as one of the first "homegrown" talents to have emerged from Tony Khan's company.
Monroe received widespread acclaim for her memorable feud with Toni Storm in 2024, and later won the AEW Women's Championship at All In before Storm managed to recapture the title. Their feud concluded at the AEW Revolution PPV in March, and that was it for her in AEW.
In an emotional video recorded just hours before her official WWE debut in NXT (and published this week), Monroe opened up on the nerves and gratification she was feeling, having finally achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a WWE Superstar.
"I can’t believe I’m making this vlog," she shared. "I am making my NXT debut in about five hours. To actually be able to sit here today at 26 years old and say I am a WWE superstar is the greatest achievement of my life."
Reflecting on the start of her in-ring career in England and her accomplishments in Europe and Japan, Monroe added, "I feel like you guys saw something in me that I still struggle to kind of see in myself. And I’m so grateful."
She continued, "I felt a little dejected at the end of last year, and I didn’t know [a WWE debut] was an option for me. I just fell in love with wrestling again. I felt like I was back in the game, and I want to do so much more...I believe in myself again."
"My dad said, 'Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. You get one go. This is your dream since you were a little kid.' And so everything happened really quickly, and I’m doing it," a tearful Monroe said. "I didn’t think I was gonna be in WWE, and it still doesn’t really feel real to me. This is maybe, thus far, the greatest achievement of my life, to be a part of WWE. I feel like a great chapter has finished, and now I’m ready for the biggest chapter of my life."
Monroe is currently feuding with Fatal Influence, the faction consisting of NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Jazmyn Nyx. Chances are she'll soon hold that title, though we'd bet on a main roster debut being around the corner for the former AEW star too.
You can hear more from Monroe in the player below.