On the December 7, 2016, episode of NXT, Laith lost to Ember Moon. Later that month, it was reported that she had signed with WWE and would start with the company in January 2017. Using her real name, on January 14, she competed in a tag team match with Dori Prange losing to Aliyah and Liv Morgan. On the May 3 episode of NXT, she participated in a number one contender's battle royal for Asuka's NXT Women's Championship, where she was eliminated by Ruby Riott. In June, she was given the new ring name Abbey Laith.
On June 22, Laith was announced as one of the 32 participants competing in the Mae Young Classic. She defeated Jazzy Gabert and Rachel Evers en route to the quarterfinals, where she was eliminated by Mercedes Martinez on September 4. On the October 25 episode of NXT, Laith participated in a battle royal to gain a spot at the fatal four-way match for the vacant NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, but was unsuccessful. In March 2018, WWE released Laith from her contract.