In the past few months, WWE and TNA have teased the potential for a partnership that nobody saw coming. It started at the Royal Rumble in January, when the then-new TNA Knockout’s Champion, Jordynne Grace, shocked the world by entering the Royal Rumble Match. Now, while Mickie James did the same thing in 2022 as their champion, nobody imagined that would continue past the one-off…until it did. A few weeks ago, Grace re-emerged in WWE as champion again, only this time on an episode of NXT, completely out of nowhere. She was named the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship, setting up a first-of-its-kind title match for NXT Battleground between her and Roxanne Perez. After Grace’s 3 total TV appearances for WWE (at the least), it has fans wondering if there could ever be a full-fledged WWE vs. TNA World’s Collide type of show with the best-of-the-best wrestlers getting to compete on the show. AEW and NJPW blew the Forbidden Door off of its hinges a few years ago, but this may be the biggest show ever. With plenty of former TNA talent in WWE, and vice versa, it could become one of the most viewed shows to ever be run. So, since it’s fitting to do so, let’s take a look at what it could be.
The Potential Card:
First and foremost, with a show like this, understanding who is eligible for a show like this. It’s always hard to narrow it down, especially when both companies have such large roster pools to draw from. WWE has two main roster brands, each with its own set of champions, in addition to NXT and all of their champions as well. There are also new signings, releases, injuries, and hiatus that all could modify the concept. For the purposes of this list, we will look at an idealistic scenario with WWE and TNA’s most recent rosters, ignoring all injuries, hiatus’, etc., so here we go.
Pre-Show:
Speedball Mountain vs. New Catch Republic
NXT North American Championship Match – Oba Femi vs. PCO
Main Show:
TNA X-Division Championship Match – Mustafa Ali vs. Sheamus
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match – Sami Zayn vs. Joe Hendry
NXT Women’s Championship Match – Roxanne Perez vs. Masha Slamovich
TNA World Tag Team Championship Match – The System vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer
WWE Women’s Championship Match – Bayley vs. Giselle Shaw
Hammerstone vs. GUNTHER
WWE Women’s World Championship Match – Liv Morgan vs. Steph de Lander
World Heavyweight Championship Match – Damian Priest vs. Steve Maclin
TNA Knockout’s Championship Match – Jordynne Grace vs. Becky Lynch
TNA World Championship Match – Moose vs. AJ Styles
Undisputed WWE Championship Match – Cody Rhodes vs. Josh Alexander
This is a massive card, but a one-night-only affair like this should go as mentally as possible. The exclusion of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns from this field was a tough decision, but they have served WWE so well in recent years that I wouldn’t try to shoehorn them into matches that didn’t fit. That said, if they do this show annually like AEW and NJPW do theirs, I need to see Seth Rollins face Josh Alexander ASAP. The titles are chosen to feature a who’s who of both WWE and TNA’s current rosters, and it allows those who were once part of the other team to re-visit some old memories, and maybe even some old friends as well. Let’s go through why for each very quickly.
On the pre-show, Speedball Mountain vs. New Catch Republic is simply a fun tag team match that also pits Trent Seven against his former NXT and NXT: UK Tag Team Championship partner Tyler Bate, as well as Pete Dunne, collectively once known as British Strong Style. On the other hand, PCO vs. Femi is a professional wrestling meat lover’s dream, as the two big men would certainly maul one another limb from limb.
Onto the main show, and recent WWE release Mustafa Ali could get the ultimate form of revenge after having been released last fall despite being booked for an NXT North American Title Match at a PLE just weeks away. A battle with Sheamus for Ali’s new gold will pit him against someone he once shared a locker room with for many years on WWE’s main roster. Zayn vs. Hendry would be a match truly built on the fan popularity of both men and raising Hendry to the main event level he seems destined for sooner rather than later. Slamovich vs. Perez would be a chance for Masha to continue breaching into the mainstream while Perez can continue to perfect a heel persona that may take her much farther in WWE than her previous one may have been able to. The System vs. Axiom and Frazer is actually a champions vs. champions match, but this one allows for TNA’s titles to continue to shine as Myers and Edwards would battle two up-and-coming high-flyers from WWE’s third brand. Bayley vs. Shaw would get one of TNA’s future women’s division stars a major match against one of WWE’s most reliable workhorses in a major title match, which only adds to both women’s current roles on TV. Rounding out the first half of the main card is the only match on that card without a title at stake, one meant to simply be the ultimate Hoss fight: GUNTHER vs. Hammerstone. This one may very well destroy half the city the show would be in, but 20 minutes for these two could very well be all that it takes to become an instant 5-star classic.
The back half of the card features some major world title matches with even more big names. Morgan and de Lander are very similar styles in many ways, and with Liv on a full-fledged heel run as champion, the clash of styles could work extremely well for the story they wish to tell. Damian Priest and Steve Maclin are two big men, but they move extremely well and are as agile as anything, so this world title match would showcase the main event stars of the here and now in a major way. Finally, a triple main event of epic proportions, starting with the biggest dream match of the two companies’ women’s divisions: Becky Lynch and the aforementioned Jordynne Grace. These two could tell the greatest story in women’s wrestling history if given the time, a match nobody would soon forget. Next up is the ultimate homecoming: AJ Styles returning to the place he truly built. From 2002-2013, Styles called TNA home, was world champion multiple times over, and dominated the company for over a decade. Now, having been a WWE guy for nearly a decade as well, the juxtaposition would be otherworldly as he tries to one last time become TNA World Champion, and he very well could. Finally, the main event would be a clash of two men who are the definition of company men. WWE’s biggest name today, “The American Nightmare”, Cody Rhodes, against the face of TNA for the last nearly 5 years, “The Walking Weapon”, Josh Alexander. Saying these two would tear the house down is a true understatement, and this would absolutely be the match of the year for both companies, without question.
All in all, the concept of this show excites many people, and for good reason. Whether or not it will ever happen, and if so to what extent, remains to be seen, but we can truly continue to dream about what is so close to a reality. We once said the Forbidden Door is no more, and WWE and TNA are joining AEW and NJPW in the party, so buckle up!
