Ellering made her WWE debut on NXT at the April 28, 2016, taping, in a match won by Alexa Bliss. Ellering returned to NXT on the September 14 episode under the name Rachael Fazio, losing a match to Liv Morgan, and on November 11, losing to Ember Moon. On May 3, 2017, Ellering participated in a number one contender's battle royal, but was eliminated by Aliyah. On the June 21 episode, she faced Sonya Deville in a losing effort.
On July 13, 2017, Ellering, under the ring name Rachael Evers, entered the Mae Young Classic tournament, defeating Marti Belle in her first round match. The following day, Evers was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Abbey Laith. In 2018, Evers was announced as one of the competitors in the second Mae Young Classic; she was defeated by the villainous Hiroyo Matsumoto in the opening round.
In January 2019 it was revealed that Evers signed with WWE and would start appearing on NXT. Shortly thereafter, she began appearing at NXT events under her real name, Rachael Ellering. On July 28, 2019, Ellering suffered a torn ACL at an NXT live event, sidelining her for over a year. In April 2020, Ellering was released from her WWE contract.