NXT Battleground was historic for a number of reasons — the first NXT Women’s North American Champion was crowned, Ethan Page made his WWE PLE debut, and TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace made a statement in her match against Roxanne Perez. During said title defense, a former WWE superstar, Dana Brooke (TNA’s Ash By Elegance) interfered in the festivities.
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Towards the end of a statement making match, Tatum Paxley hopped the barricade and hijacked the Knockouts Championship. Grace tried not to let it get her distracted, but then Ash appeared from behind Paxley and took her out. Jordynne showed up out of nowhere to take both of them out, but it gave Perez just enough time to recover and retain the title. Ash was let go by WWE during a round of cuts last September following the WWE-UFC merger. When her non-compete expired, she signed with TNA where she has climbing the ranks ever since.
Prior to her release, she had been heavily involved with the NXT brand and seemed like she was just finding her footing. She faced Cora Jade in a Kendo Stick match where she got to show fans a side they have never seen, something a little more hardcore. It was her first time on the brand full-time since 2016 when she was called up to the main roster.
The result makes it seem like this won’t be the last time that WWE and TNA collaborate with one another, backed up by previous reports that there could be a WWE presence on TNA sooner than later. TNA will host their next pay-per-view Against All Odds in Chicago at Cicero, Stadium on June 14th so it will be interesting to see what kind of fall out could trickle into TNA. In an interview prior to her huge title match against Grace, Perez explained she’d “love” to work with Grace in TNA. “I’ve wanted to cross paths with Jordynne Grace since I was on the independents,” Perez told Sports Illustrated. “I’d love to wrestle her in TNA.”
According to reports from Fightful Select, other stars in WWE that are interested in crossing the proverbial “forbidden door” including Natalya, and unnamed NXT talent that would love to work with former TNA World Champion Josh Alexander and 19-year-old Leon Slater. Additionally, WWE higher-ups reportedly see potential for Steve Maclin to thrive as well.
