Tag: Ash By Elegance

Ash By Elegance Vacates TNA Knockouts World Title, Stepping Away From In-Ring Competition

TNA Victory Road delivered one of the most emotional moments of the year when Knockouts World Champion Ash By Elegance announced she was stepping away from the ring and relinquishing her championship.

Ash was originally advertised to defend her title against Masha Slamovich, but the match was scrapped after Slamovich was pulled from the card due to an ongoing investigation. Instead, fans were told Ash had an important announcement to make — and it proved to be a career-altering one.

Standing in the ring alongside TNA officials, Ash fought back emotion as she told the crowd:

“I am no longer able to compete and do what I love to do. So with that being said, I’m stepping away from in-ring competition. And with a heavy heart, I have to forfeit this title.”

The announcement brought an end to her reign, which began at WWE NXT’s Heatwave event when she captured the Knockouts Championship in a Triple Threat against Masha Slamovich and Jacy Jane. Fans will also remember Ash from her WWE tenure, where she competed as Dana Brooke.

To immediately address the vacancy, TNA announced a surprise Knockouts Battle Royal. The match came down to two standouts: former WWE star Léi Yǐng Lee (fka Xia Li) and NXT’s Kelani Jordan. Both women advanced to the night’s later card, where they would face off to crown a new champion.

As a result of the shake-up, the scheduled Knockouts Tag Team Championship match between The IInspiration and The Elegance Brand was shifted to this Thursday’s episode of IMPACT.

Ash By Elegance, Formerly WWE’s Dana Brooke, Officially Signs With TNA Wrestling

With the non-compete clauses from this September’s WWE releases expiring, free agents are flooding the wrestling world, and former WWE Superstars are getting a character refresh. The character makeover was a bit literal with the former Dana Brooke, who appeared at TNA’s Hard To Kill as Ash By Elegance.

TNA announced on Twitter that the former 15-time WWE 24/7 Champion has signed with the promotion following her appearance at Hard To Kill. 

The new character that she debuted over the weekend is a complete departure from her former WWE persona. She recently explained that fans can expect to see a new side of her as she feels she barely scratched the surface of her intensity and her ferocity in WWE. Ash was released by WWE in September following the finalization of the merger between WWE and UFC into TKO Group Holdings, after which she said that she was excited about her future away from WWE. Ash had been with WWE for 10 years, signing with the company in 2013.

The former WWE Women’s Tag Champion wasn’t the only former WWE Superstar to debut at Hard To Kill, as former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Nic Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler, appeared at the end of the pay-per-view to confront the new TNA World Champion, Moose. The signings and appearances take on an extra weight following the promotion’s decision to revert from “Impact Wrestling” to its original TNA Wrestling name, as the promotion looks to define its new/old image going forward in 2024.

Source: Wrestling Inc.