When WWE and TNA Wrestling entered into a multi-year partnership in January of this year, it appeared to be mutually beneficial for both companies. WWE wrestlers would appear at TNA events, and TNA wrestlers would appear at WWE events. Both companies would promote each other. For the first few months, everything seemed to be going well. Now, however, things have begun to take a turn. Below is a look at what has evolved into a gradual takeover of TNA by WWE.
Just a couple of months before the agreement between the two companies was signed, the Motor City Machine Guns wrestled their last match in TNA. The tag team then jumped ship and signed with WWE. The duo, consisting of Chris Saban and Alex Shelley, would quickly win tag team gold in their new digs on SmackDown. This seemed like nothing at the time.
Then Jordynne Grace became the next TNA defector. Like Saban and Shelley, Grace was a multi-time champion in TNA. She made cross-promotional appearances before signing with WWE early in 2025. “The Juggernaut” is now a prominent figure in WWE’s NXT brand and is rumored to be on a fast track to WWE’s main roster.
There is already talk of another next defection on the horizon. Recent TNA World Champion Joe Hendry has made numerous appearances at WWE events and has received thunderous receptions. Hendry’s TNA contract expires late in 2025, and it is reported that he is interested in signing with WWE once it does.
On the indie wrestling circuit, wrestlers from one indie company winning gold in another indie company is not uncommon. It is infrequent at the larger companies. TNA, while not on par with AEW and WWE, is the third-largest wrestling company in the U.S. As such, it should be highly irregular for someone signed to another company to win a TNA title, yet WWE has done it twice since signing the talent-sharing agreement.
First, NXT wrestler Trick Williams defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Joe Hendry at the NXT Battleground event in May of this year. So, not only did a WWE wrestler win a TNA title, but they did it at a WWE event. It did not end there, though. On July 20, NXT wrestler Jacy Jayne won the TNA Knockouts Championship, defeating TNA’s Masha Slamovich. At least when WWE took TNA’s top women’s title, they did it at a TNA event–Slammiversary. Both WWE wrestlers still hold those titles.
In less than a year, WWE has taken TNA’s top talent and top singles titles. One has to wonder if this is what TNA thought they were getting when they signed the agreement with WWE. Was this whole deal just a talent raid? Are the two companies hiding a slow multi-year takeover/buyout of TNA by WWE? Only time will tell.
As it stands, this appears to be a very lopsided deal for TNA. No TNA wrestler has won WWE gold. No WWE wrestler has left the company to sign with TNA. WWE wrestlers have won most of the important cross-promotional matches and feuds. It is also notable that, of the current TNA champions who are not current WWE wrestlers, four were previously so. Dana Brooke (now wrestling as Ash), Steve Cutler (now Steve Maclin), Matt Hardy, and Jeff Hardy are all former WWE talents who currently hold TNA gold.
No matter what the intent of this agreement was, TNA seems to be getting the shaft. If it is an actual buyout, WWE already has two main roster brands (Raw and SmackDown) and three developmental brands (NXT, LFG, and Evolve). WWE also recently acquired Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Where would TNA fit in? Would it become just another developmental brand? Would WWE keep the film library and the wrestlers they want and scrap the rest?
A takeover storyline where TNA fights its way back from the brink of extinction could make for interesting WWE television. It would also make for great TNA television, but not until the very end of the storyline. TNA ratings, in the meantime, could suffer greatly. TNA fans are unlikely to enjoy watching their TNA favorites lose consistently for months.
Whether this whole process is real or just a storyline, it has seemingly been a bad deal for TNA. It may have gotten an early boost from the WWE agreement, but it has all gone downhill in a hurry. If this is all about money, it wouldn’t be the first bad deal that they have signed, either. AEW and TNA did this same dance a few years back. AEW poached some TNA talent, and AEW wrestlers Kenny Omega and Christian Cage both won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship during that agreement. That agreement made TNA look weak as a company. Now history appears to be repeating itself.
It does seem odd, though, that WWE would do such a similar storyline with TNA so soon after the original. That is what makes me think that maybe WWE is going to buy out TNA. I know that WWE frequently recycles storylines (like they did recently with the Bloodline), but is WWE Creative that desperate for ideas right now? Has TNA become so desperate financially again that they had no choice but to agree to it?
I truly hope that this process is not the slow dismantling of TNA. None of the above scenarios is a good look for the company. Wrestling needs a strong third company. The more competition, the more each company has to step up its game. Having more major wrestling companies means more talented wrestlers on television. Too many AEW and WWE talents are already getting paid to sit at home. If WWE does poach TNA talent and dismantle the company, there will be even more wrestlers that fans will not get to see perform.
So, let’s hope that this is just a bad story that will either end or take a turn for the better soon. TNA fans don’t want a repeat of ECW, WCW, GCW, or FCW. WWE purchased all those companies, extracted what they wanted, and discarded the rest. Agreements between wrestling companies should be about dream matches, not about talent raiding. When this agreement was signed, TNA and WWE fans wanted to see matches like the one between Moose and Oba Femi. Instead, it looks like they got TNA execs just handing over the reins to WWE for a fat paycheck. Let’s hope for TNA’s sake, it is only temporary and not permanent.
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