Published: 4 minutes ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 8 hours ago by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
WWE/TNA Wresting
With questions about the status of the relationship between both companies, an update has emerged on the WWE & TNA Wrestling relationship.
A partnership between WWE and TNA Wrestling was announced early last year, with TNA President Carlos Silva commenting on the relationship in October 2025, saying:
“I think it continues to build, we’re not looking at short-term stuff. We’re playing the long game here, and the long game is being a good partner, understanding where we go and how we build the product for the audience.”
While the partnership has some standout moments, from Joe Hendry’s debut, Leon Slater getting a WWE main roster debut and NXT stars holding TNA Wrestling titles, there’s an argument that it has something cooled since Silva’s comments last year.
An update has emerged on the status of the partnership, via the recent episode of WWE NXT, with the possibility of more crossover:
TNA Wrestling stars to compete in number one contendership match
In the hands of Kelani Jordan, the NXT Women’s Champion will not see title matches open to anyone who fancies a shot, referring to herself as “the standout, not the handout”.
NXT general manager Robert Stone would interrupt the star, revealing a twenty-woman battle royal to determine her challenger at Halloween Havoc, going on to reveal stars from Raw, SmackDown, AAA, Evolve and TNA Wrestling would be involved.
Before Jordan could respond, Reina Volcan would make an attack the champion, stating she was in the battle royal.
Which TNA Wrestling stars are in the battle royal?
Over on Twitter, Robert Stone shared a graphic revealing which members of TNA Wrestling, along with the WWE brands, would be competing.
Xia Brookside, The Elegance Brand and Indi Hartwell are all featured, alongside Arianna Grace, Layla Diggs, Ivy Nile, Kiana James, Adelicious, Lady Shani, Lizzy Rain, Thea Hail, Skylar Rae, Zaria, Izzi Dame, Kali Armstrong, Reina Volcan, Nikkita Lyons, Chantel Monroe, and La Catalina.
Four TNA Wrestling stars in a crop of twenty names means that a fifth of the field is made up of those not signed to a WWE/AAA contract.
Some familiar names for WWE fans?
Xia Brookside is the daughter of WWE coach Robbie Brookside and a former NXT UK star. She was released from her contract in August 2022.
Indi Hartwell was also released from her WWE contract in November 2024, with the star having been called up to the main roster the year before.
Partnership criticisms
Addressing the partnership between WWE and TNA Wrestling in a recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote:
“Notable there is nothing from TNA, and with Bound for Glory coming, and no WWE talent appearing with TNA any longer, it does appear that relationship is nothing close to what it was. It’s a bad situation. This always happens when you work with WWE historically.”
TNA Bound for Glory takes place on October 11, with NXT Halloween Havoc set for October 31.
Speaking to Adrian Hernandez on Unlikely, Nic Nemeth would share his hope that moments like TNA stars appearing on Raw and SmackDown, along with Leon Slater and Joe Hendry doing “cool stuff” could still happen through the partnership.
By contrast, Stevie Richards would be less hopeful on his own show, saying that he thought TNA Wrestling would “on the level of NXT or Evolve” in the relationship, with WWE trying “to create a feeder league” from the company’s roster.
Can the relationship prosper?
It’s almost a year since the chaos of the Showdown Summit that saw NXT and TNA stars collide in the ring.
While IMPACT Wrestling and NXT both have their own stories to tell, a well-executed crossover can (and has) seen events develop on both programs, with the creative in TNA and WWE well aware of how to keep fans who may not have watched the opposing show up to date.
There are certainly arguments to be made that WWE has benefited, signing Joe Hendry, Cruz Montana (previously Mike Santana) and Jordynne Grace. WWE are also likely to have their eyes on more TNA Wrestling talent as contracts come up, although there’s every chance they would have snagged them without the partnership.
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