diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HRegion.java b/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HRegion.java
index bb01fe84437..6401a8b957e 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HRegion.java
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/regionserver/HRegion.java
@@ -7585,7 +7585,7 @@ public class HRegion implements HeapSize, PropagatingConfigurationObserver, Regi
       }
       writeEntry = walKey.getWriteEntry();
     } catch (IOException ioe) {
-      if (walKey != null) {
+      if (walKey != null && walKey.getWriteEntry() != null) {
         mvcc.complete(walKey.getWriteEntry());
       }
       throw ioe;