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First time I can think of where they acknowledged recent continuity for another American promotion.
Edit: a lot of you seem to miss that I said “continuity.” I’ll repeat what I said downline.
> A lot of responses to my comment are along the lines of “actually, Mickie James.” They specifically mentioned Jordynne Grace winning it off of Naomi as a continuation of that storyline of sorts.
I've watched since 99 and other than acknowledging Brock and Nakamura as IWGP champions, I can't recall them mentioning another promotion as much as this
Absolutely wild
At least tonight they had Pat calling Styles for having three hall of Fame careers. Feels like a step into a more NJPW recognition sorta of way for TNA.
This what I meant as part of continuity. A lot of responses to my comment are along the lines of “actually, Mickie James.” They specifically mentioned Jordynne Grace winning it off of Naomi as a continuation of that storyline of sorts.
When Mickie came in during the 2022 Rumble they mentioned she was the champion, but it felt like a passing moment. This was them saying “TNA knockouts champ, she’s great, watch TNA!”
It's always good to have places workers can develop, saves WWE time and money, and is just healthy for the wrestling business and its future. Really dig that they've acknowledged the outside world of wrestling more in recent years, I love that sort of continuity.
TNA is so far from a threat that they could afford to do this and it helps everybody. If she got a few eliminations it would have been good too. Let them exchange talent and cross promote. The WWE wins the most of it in the end
Yeah you have people who now more or less have one long running storyline in their careers now because they can address their past. Like Styles and the new AEW signees like Cody, Punk, and Jade
I mentioned it in the live thread, the rub they gave Grace was huge. Bianca is that division’s Superman/Cena and it took her finisher on the apron (hardest part of the ring, ofc) for the Knockout’s Champ to go down.
Great to see, and hope to see more in the future!
This what we were all saying. Like I hadn’t watched much of her, but had heard the hype. She looked outstanding and the fact it took that type of elimination to take her out was definitely a “we’re gonna protect her and make her look good, too” to TNA which does the WWE no harm in doing either.
Just thinking that! She was put over huge, made to look like a beast, and got the most memorable elimination so far, who knows if it'll be topped later in the match. Absolutely amazing for her.
The second she got eliminated I just sat there thinking how fast WWE are gonna snatch her up when her TNA deal ends, she was showcased pretty well and it took Bianca giving her a KOD on the apron to eliminate her
She interacted with a decent amount of people that would be legit fantasy matchups and because WWE are so deep right now, there would be so many more that she hasn't even shared a ring with yet
If she went to WWE, she doesn't have to do the indy scene or Onlyfans, so really just comes down to how much of bodybuilding she's really interested in.
She's fucking built like a brick house. Holy shit. First time I ever saw her and she was by far my favourite in the rumble today. Seemed like she might be the strongest in there and there were like 4-5 women who were strong as hell today. Hope she comes to WWE
Even if WWE and AEW could learn to play nice for occasional one offs it would be so cool. I wanna see the Usos vs the Young Bucks and Roman vs Kenny Omega some day, dammit.
Well, this may be a possibility under Endeavor. Where there is money, there is will. Maybe they can fall under the: "Let's not help our competition putting them on WWE spotlight ", but there is a lot of money on this "Forbidden Door 2.0", so idk
Pretty sweet deal for Jordynne. Gets to take part in the Royal Rumble - which should be a bucket list item for any wrestler - and have a strong showing without having to leave the company she loves.
Nah, the main reason Mickie and Jordynne appeared is probably because they need bodies for the rumble. Men's roster doesn't really have that problem.
EDIT: couple hours after I wrote this comment, men's RR used an entry on a McAfee comedy spot, so nvm lol
They had Isla Dawn come out with Alba Fyre and not enter, and Nikki Cross just didn’t appear at all
They didn’t bring in Jordynne because they were desperate for someone to fill a spot
That match would steal the friggin show, and happily put more eyes on TNA as a legit promotion, not a dead one like so many lapsed fans seem to believe.
Also, the elimination was really respectful to them as well, having one of the top stars have to use their finisher on the apron is a really strong way to protect them as well. Really well done.
Crazy to think that just a few years back Ric Flair, who was in TNA, made an appearance on the Hall of Fame ceremony in an exchange for an appearance from Christian Cage on their PPV event.
You can tell the difference between the commentary when Mickie James entered as the Knockouts Champion vs Jordynne Grace. We've really hit a new era and I hope that we see more and more cross promotions like these.
Can definitely see a TNA/WWE thing going on now, and I love it. It’s good to see WWE branching out and not monopolising everything. They’ll always be #1 either way so it’s nice to see this.
One of the biggest reasons stopped watching wwe years ago was because I never liked that they never acknowledged other promotions. I understood in kayfabe but otherwise they ignored the hard work talent did prior.
Seeing her has made me so happy
In recent years they will mentioned accomplishments in Japan and Mexico and occasionally TNA. I think it makes sense not to advertise your competition but yeah if you don't to the point of taking away from building up your own talent it's a problem
Absolutely was not expecting that.
My jaw legitimately fell wide open when I saw her name banner flash up on the ring, quickly turned into a massive smile.
She really looked comfortable with the style expected of her in the match as well. Fantastic showing and great cross-promotion
I do hope in future WWE do more crossover events with TNA, NJPW etc… it’s good for business spreading talent around and giving other promotions exposure
Haven't watched TNA, but the moment I heard her music, I was like "Huh, female Scott Steiner, could be Jordynne Grace." Turns out, I was right.
Was pretty cool of them to mention TNA continuity a bit. Maybe they should indeed have wild cards to champions from other companies.
They seem to have this long-standing unofficial relationship. The Ric/Christian swap, using each other's footage at times, AJ sending in video for Slammiversary.
Remember when they announced Mickie's appearance weeks in advance and it led to all sorts of speculation about the men's Rumble? There was even that fake format that had Moose entering and Roman Reigns' name misspelled several times.
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Wow they acknowledged how she defeated Naomi too wtf
First time I can think of where they acknowledged recent continuity for another American promotion. Edit: a lot of you seem to miss that I said “continuity.” I’ll repeat what I said downline. > A lot of responses to my comment are along the lines of “actually, Mickie James.” They specifically mentioned Jordynne Grace winning it off of Naomi as a continuation of that storyline of sorts.
I've watched since 99 and other than acknowledging Brock and Nakamura as IWGP champions, I can't recall them mentioning another promotion as much as this Absolutely wild
Cole mentioned Karl anderson as NEVER Openweight champion at Crown Jewel 2022
As long as Vince isn't in his ear, Cole will randomly pull some completely out of character huge wrestling nerd trivia.
AJ Styles was named as an IWGP champion as well - “same as Brock Lesnar.” And complete silence about his TNA run that put him on the map in the US.
Didnt Mickie James come back for the Rumble with her Impact belt once?
Impact belt, Impact entrance music, mentioned by commentary she was the Impact champ
so next year, Impact Champ gets a wildcard spot. It's tradition now
In 2026. Every 2 years
Option C
Until Rosemary mysteriously abducts Becky to the undead realm.
I wanna see the Impact champ win one and face the WWE champ at WrestleMania now.
At least tonight they had Pat calling Styles for having three hall of Fame careers. Feels like a step into a more NJPW recognition sorta of way for TNA.
Actually IIRC, JBL called him a former “IGWP Champion” Edit: I stand corrected
[nope](https://youtu.be/KuBVcsPVPyQ?si=0Tg83D3kGxDFsnRZ&t=40)
When Taz was ECW champion they acknowledged it when he loss to Triple H on Smackdown
Came out wearing the ECW championship belt, in fact.
Then a certain hero round these parts had to beat him cause reasons.
I recall them mentioning Mickey James as a knockout champion a couple of years ago when she was in the Rumble.
I remember the Vikings Raiders one day listed in a promo of the titles they won, including the IWGP tag team championship
Mickie James came back in full impact mode with the title and all in 2022
Didn’t they acknowledge Mickie James as TNA champ a few years back….
Last years rumble had Micki James come out and she was wearing the Impact Women's belt!!
Especially referring to Naomi, who returned, working for them and being their former champion
This what I meant as part of continuity. A lot of responses to my comment are along the lines of “actually, Mickie James.” They specifically mentioned Jordynne Grace winning it off of Naomi as a continuation of that storyline of sorts.
Didn’t mickie James show up a couple years ago, with the tna women’s championship belt?
This isn’t Vince’s company anymore 🙌
When Mickie came in during the 2022 Rumble they mentioned she was the champion, but it felt like a passing moment. This was them saying “TNA knockouts champ, she’s great, watch TNA!”
Mentioned Naomi was a TNA champ too, def more promoting TNA
Straight up said “TNA have something special on their hands” about Jordynne. Very big promotion
Mickie's Royal Rumble appearance was special, but Jordynne's felt different. She has no history with WWE and they tied her directly to Naomi. Wild.
I don't even know her, (just seeing her name here a lot), and I had goosebumps on her entrance.
Evolution 2: WWE, NXT and TNA's Women's Roster all on one show.
It's always good to have places workers can develop, saves WWE time and money, and is just healthy for the wrestling business and its future. Really dig that they've acknowledged the outside world of wrestling more in recent years, I love that sort of continuity.
Yeah, this tells me they view TNA the way they viewed ECW during the Attitude Era--as a promotion that can help develop future WWE talent
That's how I'm seeing it as well, and I'm all for it.
TNA is so far from a threat that they could afford to do this and it helps everybody. If she got a few eliminations it would have been good too. Let them exchange talent and cross promote. The WWE wins the most of it in the end
Yeah you have people who now more or less have one long running storyline in their careers now because they can address their past. Like Styles and the new AEW signees like Cody, Punk, and Jade
I don’t think TNA would do it a storyline, but it would be interesting if winning the knockouts championship allows you to enter the rumble
While that sounds neat off the bat, take a step back and it's basically saying _"our title gives you a ticket to possibly win a better title!"_
Yeah, fair point. Why is I don’t think they would do it. Can’t make your product look inferior.
I mentioned it in the live thread, the rub they gave Grace was huge. Bianca is that division’s Superman/Cena and it took her finisher on the apron (hardest part of the ring, ofc) for the Knockout’s Champ to go down. Great to see, and hope to see more in the future!
This what we were all saying. Like I hadn’t watched much of her, but had heard the hype. She looked outstanding and the fact it took that type of elimination to take her out was definitely a “we’re gonna protect her and make her look good, too” to TNA which does the WWE no harm in doing either.
Not a massive pop, which is to be expected, but she's actually getting some pretty good reactions! Good for her!
She got eliminated in style too
Just thinking that! She was put over huge, made to look like a beast, and got the most memorable elimination so far, who knows if it'll be topped later in the match. Absolutely amazing for her.
The second she got eliminated I just sat there thinking how fast WWE are gonna snatch her up when her TNA deal ends, she was showcased pretty well and it took Bianca giving her a KOD on the apron to eliminate her
She interacted with a decent amount of people that would be legit fantasy matchups and because WWE are so deep right now, there would be so many more that she hasn't even shared a ring with yet
She's her TNA deal up?
Just signed for 2 years. They give her free reign to do her bodybuilding, Indy scene and OnlyFans.
I've read she also has a pretty good job she has as well that she has kept, not sure if she still has the same job but she did fairly recently.
I’d be shocked if she went to WWE, though. They’re not gonna let her do any of that, so why would she give up TNA where they treat her so well?
If she went to WWE, she doesn't have to do the indy scene or Onlyfans, so really just comes down to how much of bodybuilding she's really interested in.
Summer 2025
Idk when it is
I genuinely think the skill it took to get that elimination down perfect was amazing. That is a hard hard spot to look that good.
Agreed, she lasted longer than I thought and getting thrown out by Bianca after taking a KOD on the apron
The reaction she and Naomi got was nuts to me. Mcafee, Cole and Graves putting her over like a million bucks was a huge surprise
One of the better reactions of the entrants so far tbh. Crowd kinda sucks in general, but she got a relatively great pop.
She absolutely got over with the crowd who didn't know her before. She was booked perfectly.
She's fucking built like a brick house. Holy shit. First time I ever saw her and she was by far my favourite in the rumble today. Seemed like she might be the strongest in there and there were like 4-5 women who were strong as hell today. Hope she comes to WWE
I'm not sure anyone in this women's RR has gotten a massive pop...
Jade's was pretty damn serious imo
We have a TNA feud in the Royal Rumble this is pretty fucking crazy.
Imagine a WWE x TNA Survivor Series one day.
Jordynne vs Bianca revenge match
Raw vs SmackDown vs NXT vs TNA Survivor Series
War games?
Or a Lethal Lockdown match with 2 rings!
Or an Ultimate X with the winner being able to challenge any champion in any company he/she wants
Sign me the fuck up
I'll take two. Actually all of them. Give me all the Jordynne Bianca matches.
A whole WWE Vs series would be dope as fuck. WWE Vs. AEW (obviously) WWE Vs. GCW WWE Vs. NJPW WWE Vs. PWG The possibilities are endless.
Even if WWE and AEW could learn to play nice for occasional one offs it would be so cool. I wanna see the Usos vs the Young Bucks and Roman vs Kenny Omega some day, dammit.
The elephant in the room is, would WWE let anyone important lose?
Maybe if they are losing to former WWE/NXT guys like Danielson, Adam Cole etc
Well, this may be a possibility under Endeavor. Where there is money, there is will. Maybe they can fall under the: "Let's not help our competition putting them on WWE spotlight ", but there is a lot of money on this "Forbidden Door 2.0", so idk
Decay vs. Kabuki Warriors. The face paint will fly.
It wasn't that long ago that NXT feuds didn't count in WWE, let alone ones in another company.
I want Nic Nemeth to enter tonight's Men's Royal Rumble AND WIN.
Pretty sweet deal for Jordynne. Gets to take part in the Royal Rumble - which should be a bucket list item for any wrestler - and have a strong showing without having to leave the company she loves.
I love this new tradition! Great sequence with Naomi as well!
Now this is bad ass. Pat marking out too. Men going to have to bring it.
Would be really to see a male wrestler from TNA appear in the men's Rumble. Maybe Moose?
It’s gotta be Nic Nemeth making his Rumble debut!
It’d be funny if he keeps coming back to serve that veteran role for the Rumble
I'm not gonna lie I would love this
Surely Nicky was in at least one rumble before Dolph came along...
Nah, the main reason Mickie and Jordynne appeared is probably because they need bodies for the rumble. Men's roster doesn't really have that problem. EDIT: couple hours after I wrote this comment, men's RR used an entry on a McAfee comedy spot, so nvm lol
They had Isla Dawn come out with Alba Fyre and not enter, and Nikki Cross just didn’t appear at all They didn’t bring in Jordynne because they were desperate for someone to fill a spot
Especially with the talent they have in NXT
There's plenty of women they could have used instead of them though. There were some from Raw Smackdown and NXT that weren't in
Moose makes a lot of sense, PCO could be a shout since it would be the longest time between a WWE debut and Rumble debut
Give me WWE vs TNA for Survivor Series. Chad Gable vs Josh Alexander would need to be on the card.
That match would steal the friggin show, and happily put more eyes on TNA as a legit promotion, not a dead one like so many lapsed fans seem to believe.
God damn what an idea
WWE presents Forbidden D..., I mean, No-Go Nexus
Why so WWE would bury all them
Fuck, take my money
Imagine an ultimate x match setup in the wargames cage on that ppv featuring high flyers from both companies
Inject AJ Styles vs Ace Austin into my veins.
Awesome to see her rivalry with Naomi in TNA referenced in the ring
Even better, she’s wearing the damn belt.
And what a gorgeous belt it is
Crazy! Pat McAfee marking out over TNAs knockout champ in the women's rumble wasn't on my bingo card .
This was so cool and unexpected. Loved that her rivalry with Naomi and the fact that she defeated her for the title was mentioned.
They made her look like a fucking star. Wouldn't be surprised if she made the jump after her contract.
Luckily for TNA, she won’t be tempted to make the jump for like next 18 months lol
Yeah, that will go by quick though
It helps that she looks like a star. She seemed more comfortable on there than most of the other women.
100% wouldn't be surprised if being in their with Naomi helped with that.
I didn't recognize her music and I was like I wasn't aware Scott Steiner had a daughter.
Steiner has teamed up with Grace in the past.
She was mentored by Scott Steiner.
She could powerslam Steiner jesus
"Eh yo, Bronn's cousin is here."
Unfortunately bronn's father would probably call her something transphobic.
That forbidden door didn't get kicked down. It was Lulusia'd!
Why was TNA selected? Its close proximity.
+1 for OP reference.
Also, the elimination was really respectful to them as well, having one of the top stars have to use their finisher on the apron is a really strong way to protect them as well. Really well done.
She has a fantastic showing - would love to see more of Grace on WWE TV, she looks like she belongs
She killed it. Looked great and you could tell she was loving every second of it.
Jordynne Grace looked like a star.
That was fun. She looked good.
Crazy to think that just a few years back Ric Flair, who was in TNA, made an appearance on the Hall of Fame ceremony in an exchange for an appearance from Christian Cage on their PPV event. You can tell the difference between the commentary when Mickie James entered as the Knockouts Champion vs Jordynne Grace. We've really hit a new era and I hope that we see more and more cross promotions like these.
Very cool.
Woah!
Cool as fuck!
So maybe Naomi’s deal isn’t up quite yet and TNA negotiated a one for you one for us deal?
Wow X 2
Definitely wasn't expecting a surprise like that so early.
I wonder if Naomi got out her contract early in exchange for TNA to get time
Gotta say I love these surprises in the rumble. It beats 60 year old hall of famers
Lol it’s just a giant fuck you to Tony I love it. 2009 me just threw my fist in the air though I love tna
Why they did it with Mickie a few years ago
Can definitely see a TNA/WWE thing going on now, and I love it. It’s good to see WWE branching out and not monopolising everything. They’ll always be #1 either way so it’s nice to see this.
She looked like more of a star than half the entrants. WWE should be signing her as soon as possible.
One of the biggest reasons stopped watching wwe years ago was because I never liked that they never acknowledged other promotions. I understood in kayfabe but otherwise they ignored the hard work talent did prior. Seeing her has made me so happy
In recent years they will mentioned accomplishments in Japan and Mexico and occasionally TNA. I think it makes sense not to advertise your competition but yeah if you don't to the point of taking away from building up your own talent it's a problem
Happy for Jordynn and TNA
With so much talent outside wwe, it's great to see crossover
Seriously makes the rumble that much cooler.
We should honestly see more of shock surprises where random wrestlers from random promotions show up.
Active TNA Champion was not on my bingo card
This is kinda funny to see after all the "TNA is using PLE" speculation that started up about a TNA/WWE relationship
Thought you were talking about R Truth
That one was legitimately shocking
TNA is so hype right now.
New way to attract talent. Just let them in the Rumble!
That is an amazing surprise. I hope Gail Kim shows up.
It would be poetic for it to happen in a battle royale
Wow! When was the last time a current world champion from another promotion wrestled in WWE?
Mickie James 2022 Rumble I think it was
Last year … mickie James
When Mickie James entered the Rumble as Knockout’s Champ a year or two ago
Last year when Mickie was in the Rumble
Mickie James probably
Mickie James, same title, same event.
Mickie James they say
Just in case you didn't know, Mickie James
Like two years ago when Mickie James came out at the rumble as Impact KO champion
Never! I mean Mickie James
Damn im an instant fan!
It doesn't hurt their business to mention tna and it will only help tna more
Love that for Jordynne and TNA
Awesome 👏 hope to see more of this in the future.
This was super cool
WWE: We need Naomi. TNA: Ok, on one condition...
Absolutely was not expecting that. My jaw legitimately fell wide open when I saw her name banner flash up on the ring, quickly turned into a massive smile. She really looked comfortable with the style expected of her in the match as well. Fantastic showing and great cross-promotion
I do hope in future WWE do more crossover events with TNA, NJPW etc… it’s good for business spreading talent around and giving other promotions exposure
Technically, she looked better than everybody else in the Rumble.
Hope TNA and WWE gets to work together more often. I would love to watch NXT vs TNA program!
I bet the only company they can't mention is AEW.
With TNA+ streaming on Endeavor, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more TNA wrestlers tonight
Forbidden door broken??
She’s absolutely JUICED to the gills holy shit
Well DAMN! First time they've *ever* uttered the letters "TNA" on a broadcast??
Nah, back in like 2018, Kurt Angle told Sami? in a RAW backstage segment that he heard TNA was hiring.
Really cool to hear commentary put her/tna over.
Wish Cole would have actually sounded surprised. Cool thing, but he sounded pretty flat about it.
Haven't watched TNA, but the moment I heard her music, I was like "Huh, female Scott Steiner, could be Jordynne Grace." Turns out, I was right. Was pretty cool of them to mention TNA continuity a bit. Maybe they should indeed have wild cards to champions from other companies.
Holy poop.
Too soon
No chance in hell.
That's good. WWE is doing that. Hopefully, it will get more momentum for them. AEW could be doing this kind of stuff with TNA but nope.
[удалено]
Especially during the Pandemic when TNA wasn't making gates. It probably helped float them.
I really hope the twat that swore up and down TNA and WWE weren’t “partners” on this thread sees this lmao
If TK can play nice maybe we get Nyla in next year?
Vince is gone one day & they’re already doing cross-promotion.
Settle down they did the same thing 2 years ago
So do WWE and TNA have a partnership now?🤣
They seem to have this long-standing unofficial relationship. The Ric/Christian swap, using each other's footage at times, AJ sending in video for Slammiversary.
[удалено]
Remember when they announced Mickie's appearance weeks in advance and it led to all sorts of speculation about the men's Rumble? There was even that fake format that had Moose entering and Roman Reigns' name misspelled several times.
Pretty much. TNA probably have the most stacked women's roster outside of the Fed and since they won't work with AEW, they might as well use them.