Nixon Newell Explains Why 2026 Will Be Her Last Year In the Ring

Nixon Newell still plans to retire from the ring at the end of the year, and she spoke about why in a recent interview. The WWE alumina said in February that she plans to have 2026 be her last as an active wrestler, reiterating a point she had made last November.

Newell was asked in her interview with CryptoCasinos.com’s CC Clubhouse Podcast if that was still the case and confirmed it was. She noted that she has her “fire” back for wrestling, but specifically as a teacher. She also noted some matches she’d like to have before that point and more. You can see highlights below:

On Still Planning To Retire After This Year:

“Yeah, I think so. I find wrestling a job now more than pure enjoyment. That’s not a dig on any promoter or any wrestler I work with; I still have a great time in the matches themselves. But I’d rather leave wrestling before it leaves me and go out while I can still have fun with it, instead of turning it into a nine-to-five. I’d rather end on a high than need to retire.”

On Still Loving Wrestling:

“Yeah, and it’s a shame, because I do love wrestling. But I prefer the teaching aspect now. It’s not a case of like; I have to retire because of an issue. It’s more that I want to retire ‘well’. I just enjoy teaching people more. The fire struck back up when I started teaching. That’s why I was like, I’m definitely ‘done’ full-time this year.”

On Getting Her Fire Back As a Teacher:

“After I got released from WWE the second time, I gave myself a rough two-year window to see how it felt. This year hasn’t been busy, which isn’t down to any one reason, there’s just a lot of indies and a lot of wrestlers, and only so many spots. But the fire really came back when I started teaching. That’s when it clicked: I’m done full-time after this year, and I’m going to be a lot pickier and more specific about what I take next year. If ATTACK! asks, I’ll do ATTACK! If CZW asks, I’ll do CZW. ATTACK! will always be my home no matter what. That’s why I said ATTACK! is one of the few promotions where if they asked me to work for them a hundred percent, the answer is ‘yes’. No matter who it is, what type of match, no matter how long, ATTACK! is always going to get a yes.”

On Matches She Still Wants To Have:

“Match-type wise, I’m done, I got to wrestle Ricky Shane Page in a death match at CZW. Now it’s really about people. I want to wrestle Charlie again, Shayna Bazler again, I’d love to wrestle Kay Lee Ray again. There are people I haven’t faced yet who I really want to, James Ellis, in particular, I think he’s fantastic. Kanji’s someone I’d love to wrestle too.

“Beyond that it’s mostly wanting to go somewhere I haven’t been, like Australia.”