TNA Invades WWE! Impact Stars Take Over NXT... (WWE News)

Issues come to an explosive head between TNA and NXT.

by Andrew Pollard
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WWE

After much hype and speculation, TNA invaded last night's NXT taping, as the working relationship between the Anthem promotion and WWE was taken to a whole new level.

The main event of that NXT show was TNA Champion Trick Williams vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi, in a winner-takes-all match, where the winner would defend both titles against Ricky Saints at NXT No Mercy this Saturday. Of course, all of this came on the back of various TNA stars taking to social media across the past week, unhappy that NXT was making decisions about TNA and, specifically, the TNA World Championship.

Throughout this latest NXT broadcast, various members of the TNA roster were seen, setting the stage for what eventually turned into a chaotic brawl during the Williams vs. Femi main event.

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First up, Eric Young, Moose, and Matt Cardona could be seen lurking in the parking lot during the show's opening moments as Trick and Oba made their way to the building. Next, Mance Warner and Steph De Lander were glimpsed behind Ethan Page in a backstage segment, and then Xia Brookside and Lei Ying Lee were seen during the Candice LeRae vs. Lainey Reed match.

A moment between Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley was disrupted when Steve Maclin and Victoria Crawford were spotted, and a Joe Hendry segment with NASCAR driver Sam Mayer was interrupted by Zachary Wentz and Cedric Alexander. Likely the most impactful TNA arrival of the night came when Mike Santana turned up to join the commentary team for the NXT main event. Not just was Santana now in the building, but Frankie Kazarian, Heather by Elegence, and the IInspiration were other TNA names now seen at the WWE Performance Center.

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So, with various TNA wrestlers on site, this all exploded when, during the main event, Trick Williams jaw-jacked at Santana before slapping him. Santana retaliated, and with that, the ring and ringside area were quickly flooded with a whole bunch of TNA and NXT talents brawling with each other. Away from this chaos, Ricky Saints and Oba Femi had a staredown over the NXT Title as the show went off the air.

Ever since the working relationship between WWE and TNA became a thing, fans have long speculated over some sort of full-on invasion involving TNA and NXT. And now, it looks like that's exactly what we're going to get, as these two brands look set to go to war.

With TNA Victory Road taking place this Friday, and NXT No Mercy taking place this Saturday, those events both now have a whole other level of intrigue to them.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.