WWE and TNA Wrestling announce multi-year partnership

Major news was announced on January 16 as WWE and TNA Wrestling announced a multi-year partnership. Two of the largest promotions in the industry are joining together to work together in ways that will further the opportunities for both businesses. This will create some interesting moments to come both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

“This historic relationship demonstrates that collaboration and competition do not have to be mutually exclusive,” said Ariel Shnerer, Senior Vice President of Content & Distribution for TNA Wrestling and Anthem Sports & Entertainment. “Our partnership allows the TNA Wrestling brand and its incredible athletes to reach a significantly wider audience while giving WWE and NXT stars an opportunity to cross the line and gain valuable experience as they join forces with one of the most talented rosters in professional wrestling today. The response to our collaboration over the past year has been tremendous and both companies have benefited, but the fans have reaped the greatest rewards from this talent crossover and working relationship.”

The growing partnership between TNA and WWE has been interesting to watch unfold. First, Mickie James was shockingly announced for the Women’s Royal Rumble in 2022 as the TNA Knockouts Champion. From there, Jordynne Grace made a surprise appearance years later. That was followed by several NXT and TNA names jumping between both shows, with Joe Hendry perhaps being the biggest name. Current TNA Knockouts Champion, Masha Slamovich was shown on camera during the January 14 edition of NXT.

There’s so much opportunity with these two companies working together. Fans have become accustomed to the idea of the “forbidden door” concept in wrestling. All Elite Wrestling has made it an annual event with New Japan and slowly involving more companies. WWE has long held an isolationist approach to the industry, but that has slowly changed over the last few years.

This announcement is especially worth keeping an eye on heading into the 2025 Royal Rumble. The matches are already feeling like a big deal in compared to previous years. Does this announcement mean that more TNA names will make an appearance at the PPV? Individuals like Josh Alexander or Alex Hammerstone would be huge. What if TNA World Champion, Nic Nemeth makes a surprise return? And speaking of returns, imagine the reaction if Gail Kim came back to take part in the Rumble. There are so many surprises that could happen fans should be especially excited for what’s to come.

Fans should be excited, but also apprehensive about TNA and WWE working so closely together. Could this mean something bad in the future? Perhaps. But the announcement on January 16 should be celebrated as collaboration at this level makes wrestling even more fun.