WATCH: Former WWE Superstar Dana Brooke makes SHOCKING appearance during NXT Women’s title match at Battleground

Dana Brooke was released from WWE last year following the TKO merger.

WATCH: Former WWE Superstar Dana Brooke makes SHOCKING appearance during NXT Women’s title match at Battleground

Dana Brooke appears at NXT Battleground (via WWE and @WrestleOps/X)

The first major match of the TNA-WWE collaboration occurred on last night’s NXT Battleground PLE. Roxanne Perez defended the women’s title against Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace. During the match, however, Tatum Paxley arrived at ringside and tried to escape with Grace’s belt. In a shocking turn of events, she was stopped by Ash by Elegance fka Dana Brooke.

The former WWE Superstar rushed down the ramp to stop Paxley from stealing the title. Grace, who was enraged by all of this, laid out both women with the championship. However, this ended up costing her the match, as Perez took advantage of the distraction to pick up the win. Nonetheless, the entire bout provided a glimpse for fans as to what is to come from the partnership with TNA.

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More importantly, it laid the foundation for the next two contenders for Jordynne Grace‘s championship. After last night’s promotional crossover, fans expect WWE stars to appear on TNA shows as well. Therefore, Paxley could be the one representing the Stamford-based promotion when she squares off against the powerhouse.

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Similarly, the formerly known Dana Brooke will seemingly be challenging Grace at the July pay-per-view Slammiversary. For those unfamiliar, the 35-year-old previously competed in WWE before her release in September last year. Therefore, this marked her first appearance in the company since her departure, and after last night, it certainly won’t be the last.

CM Punk and top executives from TNA were in attendance for NXT Battleground

In addition to Ash by Elegance’s shocking appearance, there were other notable names from TNA in town for NXT Battleground. Another former WWE star and legend, Gail Kim, who works behind-the-scenes for the company, was spotted in the crowd.

CM Punk and Shawn Michaels
CM Punk and Shawn Michaels (via WWE)

Furthermore, TNA president Anthony Cicione and executive producer Ariel Shnerer were in attendance as well. On the WWE side of things, CM Punk was backstage for the event. In fact, he caught up with Roxanne Perez in a backstage interview following the show.

After Jordynne Grace showed up on NXT weeks ago, reports suggested that WWE was paying a hefty amount to the TNA Knockouts Champion. Hence, there’ll be a lot of other wrestlers from the Nashville-based promotion eyeing a brief run in the WWE.

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