Naomi made her return, plus TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace & Jade Cargill made their in-ring WWE debuts in Saturday’s women’s Royal Rumble match.
After walking out of the company in May 2022 over creative issues, Naomi made her return as a surprise third entrant in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match on Saturday, lasting until the final six competitors of the match ultimately won by Bayley.
WWE posted a link on social media to new Naomi merchandise available on WWE Shop, indicating that she has returned on a full-time basis.
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace entered fifth for the women’s Rumble, wearing the TNA title belt to the ring just as Mickie James did while Knockouts Champion at the 2022 Royal Rumble. Commentary mentioned TNA by name several times. Grace was eliminated before the 15th entrant to the match.
Jade Cargill made her in-ring WWE debut in the Rumble as the 28th entrant. Cargill lasted until the final three of the contest and eliminated Becky Lynch and Nia Jax before being eliminated in a tussle on the apron with the final two competitors, Liv Morgan & Bayley. Cargill is a former TBS Champion in AEW and was a heralded free agent acquisition by WWE in September 2023.
Morgan made her return from injury in the Rumble as the 30th entrant, and was the final elimination. Morgan had been sidelined since July with a shoulder injury.
NXT’s Roxanne Perez & Tiffany Stratton were the only other Rumble entries of note not part of WWE’s main roster.
Steve Khan’s Royal Rumble live play-by-play post is here.
TNA has unveiled the new Knockouts World Championship title belt.
With the company reverting to TNA branding beginning with Saturday’s Hard to Kill, new belts are being designed to reflect the change.
On Thursday, Scott D’Amore presented champion Trinity with the new TNA Knockouts title.
D’Amore said:
Trinity, it’s been so great having you join us here in Impact Wrestling but things are about to change a little bit as we return to TNA Wrestling. You’ve been an amazing face for the Knockouts division and I think it’s time we give that championship a bit of a facelift and I present you with the new TNA Knockouts World Championship.
Trinity might not hold that new Knockouts World title for long, however. It has been reported that she is expected to return to WWE shortly and she has a title defense scheduled for Saturday against Jordynne Grace.
TNA Hard to Kill 2024 lineup:
TNA World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Moose
Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Jordynne Grace
Three-way match: X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo
Four-way match: TNA Tag Team Champions Ace Austin & Chris Bey defend against The Rascalz, The Grizzled Young Veterans, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Trent Seven
Knockouts Ultimate X match: Gisele Shaw vs. Xia Brookside vs. Jody Threat vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Alisha Edwards vs. Dani Luna
Josh Alexander vs. Alex Hammerstone
PCO vs. Dirty Dango
Pre-show match: Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin
Pre-show match: Eric Young & Frankie Kazarian vs. Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards
Pre-show match: Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer defends against Crazzy Steve
Fightful is reporting that sources within both WWE and Impact Wrestling expect her to return to the company, with some saying it could happen “sooner rather than later.”
One source noted there would have to be a major development for her not to be back in WWE soon.
Sources within WWE and IMPACT tell Fightful Select they expect Trinity Fatu aka Naomi to return to WWE, barring unforeseen circumstances.
WWE has long had major interest in bringing her back.
— FightfulSelect.com! Exclusive Pro Wrestling News (@FightfulSelect) January 2, 2024
As Trinity, she is the current Knockouts Champion in Impact Wrestling and is scheduled to defend her title against Jordynne Grace at TNA Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. Trinity debuted with the promotion in April and won the Knockouts title from Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary in July.
Naomi has been gone from WWE since walking out of the May 16, 2022 episode of Raw along with her then-tag team partner, Mercedes Mone/Sasha Banks. Mone was also in talks with WWE for a return but the two sides were too far apart on money. She is now expected to debut somewhere other than WWE “imminently.”
WWE has announced two new additions to the lineup for Monday’s episode of Raw.
On Saturday morning, Raw general manager Adam Pearce revealed that Xia Li vs. Indi Hartwell and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ludwig Kaiser are both set for this Monday (November 13). The episode is taking place from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
đ¨đ¨đ¨
BREAKING: Iâve just finalized two big attractions for #WWERaw this Monday.
Li is currently feuding with Becky Lynch. On Raw last Monday, Li attacked Lynch before a Women’s World Championship number one contender’s battle royal. Lynch wasn’t able to compete following the attack. Pearce wouldn’t allow Li to participate in the battle royal after what she did to Lynch.
Li then showed up on Tuesday’s NXT and confronted NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria. Li said she plans to take the NXT Women’s title from Valkyria.
Ciampa & Johnny Gargano defeated Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci on the October 30 episode of Raw. Interference by Kaiser then caused Ciampa & Gargano to lose a match against The Creed Brothers last Monday.
The updated card for Monday’s Raw is listed below:
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Balor & Damian Priest defend against Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso
This Friday, âThe Real Chiefâ Jey Uso will be live on SmackDown as he prepares for his monumental clash with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title.
How will Jey prepare for Tribal Combat with The Head of the Table just one night before SummerSlam? Find out this Friday at 8/7 C on FOX!
WWE has also announced that one night before they wrestle in a triple threat for the WWE Women’s Championship, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, and Bianca Belair will also be on SmackDown.
With just one night to go before The Biggest Party of the Summer, each of the three Superstars will be preparing for their almighty clash.
How will The Empress of Tomorrow, The EST and The Queen of WWE get ready for SummerSlam? Donât miss SmackDown this Friday at 8/7 C on FOX!
Only one match has been announced for SmackDown this week. LA Knight is scheduled to wrestle Sheamus on the show. Both wrestlers will be entered into the SummerSlam Battle Royal the following night.
The 8/4 edition of WWE SmackDown is scheduled for the Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. According to WrestleTix, 7,646 tickets have been distributed to the show.
WWE SmackDown lineup 8/4:
LA Knight vs. Sheamus
Asuka, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair’s one stop before SummerSlam
Trinity opened up about her friendship with Mercedes Mone and exit from WWE in a new interview.
The 35-year-old spoke to the NY Post ahead of her Knockouts title match at Slammiversary on Saturday. During the interview, she talked about the day she and Mone walked out on WWE and left a Raw taping on May 16, 2022.
âThere was a lot that happened,â she said. âThere was a lot that was said that ultimately led to me being put in a position and feeling like that was the best for me and what I needed to do. I still believe that. I still stand on that and thatâs just what it is.â
âI just hope that through all of the drama and the rumors and the messiness that the one thing people do know about us is how much we care about womenâs wrestling,â Fatu continued.
Trinity continued to say that it felt like she and Mone only had each other during that time.
âMe and her, we just had each other it felt like,â Fatu said. âOther than Tamina, Bayley checking in on us regularly, that was it. We just had each other going through that.
âNobody understands the magnitude of what happened and what really went on and why we feel the way we feel and where we are but me and her and the people that were involved that day. It just goes to show how real our friendship is and how real all of this is.â
Since the pair left WWE, Mone has continued her wrestling career in NJPW and Stardom, while Trinity signed with Impact Wrestling. They’ve both traveled to watch the other perform but have not worked with each other in the ring since they were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. However, Trinity said she’d love to work with Mone again sometime down the road.
âI wouldnât want to do it with anyone else other than her, whatever that is,â she said. âIâll always do whatâs best for her, whatâs best for me, and whatâs best for the business. And if itâs something that comes up that makes sense for the both of us, hell yeah!â
The Impact tapings this weekend will be Trinity’s fifth with the company. She debuted in April when the promotion was in Chicago. In May, she wrestled twice during a set of Impact TV tapings in London, ON, Canada. She took part in Impact’s tapings from Columbus, Ohio on June 9 & 10 as well and also traveled to Atlanta for a show from Center Stage on June 24. Trinity is undefeated in the promotion thus far, with a 4-0 record in singles matches and a 2-0 record in tag matches.
In a rare interview, Jimmy & Jey Uso opened up to Ariel Helwani ahead of their highly-anticipated match against Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa at Saturday’s WWE Money in the Bank, talking about Trinity Fatu leaving, Jimmy’s DUI arrest, and more.
While the two have made tag team wrestling their priority, Jey said his dream is to face Jimmy at WrestleMania “like back in the living room, uce.” He would want his family to be involved like their father, Rikishi, as referee.
Jimmy said they never pitched a split of their team, but would be supportive of each other if that was best for their careers as they could always come back to the team. Earlier in the interview, he said he was inspired by how Jey was performing during the pandemic era while he was recovering from his own injury.
The two agreed the injury was “a blessing in disguise” and weren’t sure where they would be today if that didn’t happen.
“We’re having the most fun in our careers. We have tapped into something different in our careers…revamped us and we’ve leveled up,” Jimmy said.
Trinity’s departure
Jimmy was asked about last year’s situation that saw his wife, Trinity Fatu, leave WWE along with Mercedes Money (Sasha Banks). He said “it’s been weird” after being on the road together for 12 years and that’s it been an adjustment, but they are making it work as she’s enjoying her time in Impact.
He said the night they left, he had a match and when he came to the back, she left and he knew something was happening. He would like for her to eventually come back in a perfect world so they could end their careers in the place they both started.
Jey joked he wants her back on the road so she can be the middleman between the two brothers so they don’t have to be around each other so much.
The DUI arrest
Asked about his DUI arrest last year, Jimmy said he wasn’t concerned about the situation.
“Everyone has their issues outside work, everyone’s human. everyone makes mistakes and go through it. As long as you face the noise, even if we got in trouble, we always stood right in front of our mess, our noise, we push through it, learn from it, keep it moving” he said.
Jey said they were initially against having Sami Zayn involved in The Bloodline angle as part of the family but was wrong. Jey joked that he needed to be more professional when he was legitimately cracking up during some of the live promos.
Asked about The Rock being involved, the two joked about it and said there are layers to his Bloodline storyline that they haven’t even got to yet.
The two also talked about Rikishi’s influence in their life, and how their own kids don’t know what’s going on in WWE and think they are “lame.”
After getting physical on last Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV, Trinity will have her first match in her new home on this Thursday’s show.
The former Naomi will take on KiLynn King in her first in-ring action since last May in WWE. She and Sasha Banks walked out of the company due to a dispute over creative direction.
Trinity came out to aid Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace following their Thursday loss to Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (King & Taylor Wilde). She hit King with the Rearview to help put this into motion.
Trinity will also compete at this month’s Under Siege streaming special in an open challenge.
King will be looking for her first singles win in Impact (0-3).
Here’s the current lineup for Thursday:
Trinity vs. KiLynn King
Moose, Eddie Edwards & Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley, Jonathan Gresham & Yuya Uemura
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid in a non-title match
Trinity will be in Impact Wrestling through at least July of this year.
The former WWE star, who made her debut on last Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV in a promo segment, shared her schedule on social media Tuesday, revealing dates through the post-Slammiversary TV taping in July.
To no surprise, she will be part of their monthly streaming specials which includes this month’s Under Siege, June’s Against All Odds, and July’s Slammiversary pay-per-view. Additionally, she will be at five TV tapings throughout the summer.
Trinity, the former Naomi in WWE, issued an open challenge for Under Siege on May 26th in London, Ontario, Canada.
It is still unknown how long her contract with Impact Wrestling is for as some wrestlers have shorter deals while others sign multi-year pacts. This, however, doesn’t confirm her deal only runs through late-July.
In last Thursday’s promo, she made her intentions known that she is coming for the Knockouts title. Current champion Deonna Purrazzo came out to confront her which also brought out former champion and Purrazzo’s next title challenger Jordynne Grace.
Trinity will have her debut match on Impact on AXS in the next few weeks.
For the first time in a year, Trinity will appear on national TV as she makes her Impact Wrestling debut Thursday on AXS TV.
The former Naomi in WWE, she will be on hand to cut an in-ring promo to announce her intentions.
The build to Impact World Champion Steve Maclin and PCO’s match at Under Siege continues as Maclin teams with Champagne Singh and Shera against PCO and two mystery partners.
Jonathan Gresham and “Speedball” Mike Bailey will lock horns for the fourth time in Impact as their friendly rivalry continues.
Jody Threat will look to remain unbeaten in Impact as she faces Alisha Edwards while Sami Callihan and Deaner are expected to have an in-ring confrontation.
As part of the fallout from Hardcore War last month, Moose and Brian Myers will team up to take on Yuya Uemura and Bhupinder Gujjar.
Laredo Kid vs. Jack Price will be on the BTI pre-show.
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Laredo Kid defeated Jack Price
Itâs nice to see Kid back doing well after the serious injury he had awhile back. Kid looked fantastic, and Price worked very hard to make him look good too. Solid match for the preshow.
Moose & Brian Myers defeated Bhupinder Gujjar & Yuya Uemura
This was a good opening tag that saw Moose and Myers give a lot to Uemura and Gujjar, before getting the clean win. Gujjar is slowly improving, though still quite green.
Uemura and Gujjar had a good start to this match, sending Myers flying over the top rope into a flip dive on his own partner, and then hit stereo topes to the floor on Moose and Myers. Uemura hit a nice bulldog off the middle ropes on Moose. Gujjar and Uemura showed some great offence, almost beating the two more experienced wrestlers, but after Gujjar managed to send Myers to the floor, Moose hit a spear out of nowhere for the win.
–Steve Maclin was backstage with Champagne Singh and Sheera, as Gia Miller walked up and asked about their upcoming 6-man tag against PCO. Maclin said that PCO wouldnât be able to find partners, while he is establishing alliances.
–Dango was backstage with a murder board trying to figure out who attacked Santino last week. This included images of Tyler Breeze with âDirty cop?â written underneath it, Tomko, and Dangoâs belief that Mike Tenay was responsible. Joe Hendry showed up and said that the likely candidate was Trey Miguel given he hasnât been getting along with Santino lately. Dango called Hendry his best friend while side eyeing the picture of Tyler Breeze. A hint? Or just wackiness? Or both? Time will tell.
–The Design entered after Callihan and informed Callihan that the match would not be against Deaner, but against Kon. Kon attacked Callihan before the bell, chokeslaming him.
Sami Callihan defeated Kon (w/ The Design) via DQ
This was a poor match, but not due to Callihan.
Callihan quickly got back in the fight, low bridging Kon and then hitting a kick from the apron. Kon caught a second kick and pulled Callihanâs leg out from under him causing him to crash into the apron. As the came back from break, Kon was hitting a legdrop on Callihan for a 2-count. Kon did WWE big man offence, with bear hugs and rest holds, which slowed the match down considerably.
Callihan turned around in the bear hug and punched Kon in the face, ripped Konâs shirt off, hit some hard chops, and then hit an impressive Death Valley Driver on Kon. Angels tried to distract Callihan, but Callihan brought him into the ring to distract the referee. As the referee was dealing with Angels, Callihan low blowed Kon before smiling and inviting Deaner to come into the ring. Deaner signaled and a ton of men in yellow sweaters, the Army of Violence, to attack Callihan.
–Dango and Hendry interviewed Trey Miguel, who insisted he was innocent. Hendry examined his head for missing hair and determined it couldnât be him. Dango was conspicuously wearing a hat, and Miguel pointed out Dango had the most motivation to attack Santino as it elevated him to director of authority, which I donât think it is how it works.
–Jimmy Jacobs was with Nick Aldis, and Aldis talked about wanting to climb the ladder up to face Steve Maclin. Kenny King walked in and was skeptical. Aldis said King was acting like a gatekeeper, so Aldis challenged him to a match. King said that Aldis needed to work his way up to him, denying the match for now.
Jody Threat defeated Alisha Edwards
Edwards immediately slapped Threat. Threat responded with knees and a hard kick. Threat hit a shoulder tackle and a slap, in a bit of revenge. Threat dumped Edwards onto the middle rope and went for double knees to the back, but Edwards moved, sending Threat into the ropes. After a brief time of offense, Threat went back to the double knees before hitting the F416 for the pinfall.
–The Motor City Machine Guns were backstage with Gia Miller, and Sabin talked about how he has done it all in Impact, and he wanted to win the X-Division title for a 9th time, hopefully dethroning Treg Miguel. Alex Shelley said folks were asking him what was next since Sabin was chasing the X-Division title, and Shelley said, âI guess Iâll go win the World title.â Shelley heading back into the world title picture would be a delight. This is a good answer to the injuries in the main event scene, since Shelley is a good promo, great worker, and guy that can always main event a show when called upon.
–The second part of the in depth interview with Frankie Kazarian continued, as he talked about his time in ROH and how he helped found AEW with the Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels, and Cody, before returning to Impact and taking a chance on himself. I am not sure you can keep doing interviews like this and not make Kazarian champion at some point. It is the perfect story, and as his last major run, it would be fantastic to see him get a World title run.
PCO, Rhino, & Heath defeated Steve Maclin, Champagne Singh, and Sheera
This was a fun 6-man tag. The crowd was into everything that the babyface did.
PCO was prepared to fight all 3 men himself, but Rhino and Heath came out to join him, since they have their own issues with Singh and Sheera lately. Singh tried to overpower Rhino. This did not go well. Rhino tagged in Heath, who hit an axe handle to the arm on Singh. Maclin tagged in and beat on Heath for a bit before Heath was able to hit a powerslam on Maclin, leading to the hot tag to PCO.
PCO took everyone out as Maclin rolled to the floor to get away. PCO hit a DDT on Singh before hitting a cannonball through the middle ropes on Singh. PCO hit the Deanimator off the top rope onto the apron, crushing Singh like he did last week. Sheera and Maclin mauled PCO, and Maclin called the shots, getting Singh and Sheera to put PCO on the top rope. As they tried to attack, PCO slipped off the turnbuckle, took them both out, and faced off with Maclin. Maclin fled to the outside and ate a gore from Rhino. Heath hit the wake up call on Singh as he tried to buy off PCO, sending money flying everywhere. PCO then hit a moonsault on Singh for the pinfall.
–The Coven were in an unknown area, with Taylor Wilde carving something into a candle. She said that when the candle disappeared, so would Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo. I somehow doubt that will happen.
–Rosemary & Jessicka were backstage, and they summoned James Mitchell. Mitchell said The Coven was not powerful enough to keep Rosemary from the dark realm, but he could guide her directly into it. Rosemary didnât trust him, but believed she didnât have any other options. Jessicak wanted to come along, but Rosemary said that the last thing they needed was for her to get kidnapped. Rosemary gave Jessicka an hourglass and then said by the time it ran out, they would be back.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Mike Bailey
What a match. These guys could be generational rivals given how well they work together. Gresham and Bailey looked great throughout their series of matches, with Gresham getting the win to take the lead in the series for now. I suspect weâll see them clash again down the line in another classic. One of the best parts of these matches was that every one of them were different.
The fans gave a huge ovation for Bailey and Gresham, showing that the series of great matches they had thus far have been appreciated. Gresham and Bailey quickly picked up where they left off with Miguel causing a no contest in their last one, with Gresham getting a headscissors locked on Bailey. After a stalemate, but men locked up and got caught in the ropes.
As they came back from break both men were exchanging shoulder tackles before Bailey hit a kick to drop Gresham. Gresham targeted the left arm of Bailey in this match, changing tactics from targeting the knee previously. Gresham did have to face some kicks, and then an unexpected armbar from Bailey that almost got the submission.
Bailey kept up with the submission before getting back to his feet, hitting a moonsault double knees, and then transitioning immediately back to an armbar that Gresham countered into a pinfall attempt. Bailey hit a series of kicks and then went over the top rope to hit double knees on Gresham, who was on the apron. Bailey then hit a triangle moonsault to the floor that Kota Ibushi would be proud of.
Gresham went back to the arm back in the ring, but Bailey continued his assault with a pump kick and standing Spanish fly. Bailey went for Ultima Weapon, but Gresham moved and countered into the Octopus stretch on Bailey to get a quick submission due to the arm submission.
–Sami Callihan was backstage admitting that he did the stupid thing trying to take on The Design on his own. He was asking for help from Rich Swann, saying that they have been family for years, and Swann was saying that this isnât the first time that Callihan got him in trouble. Callihan left Swann with some things to think about, asking clearly for help, which is not something he usually does.
–Steve Maclin was backstage with Scott DâAmore, and he demanded DâAmore handle what Rhino did to him. DâAmore handled it by booking him against Rhino next week for the Impact World Championship.
–Trinty made her Impact debut to close the show to a fantastic reaction from the audience. Impact did a great job making this feel like a huge deal, and having her close the show also puts a lot of trust in her, showing they see her as a huge star. This was awesome. Trinity put over the Impact Knockouts division, and said she has wanted to be a part of it for years. Trinity said she was looking forward to fighting all the women the division had to offer, and that she was coming for the Knockouts Championship.
Deonna Purrazzo made her entrance, and welcomed Trinity to Impact. Purrazzo said that when they stepped into the ring together, Trinity wouldnât be able to walk out on it. Trinity fired back, saying that Purrazzo would wish she got fired again. Jordynne Grace came down to the ring, and said it was feeling hot out there because of the heat between those two.
Grace indicated that everyone wanted to see them wrestle, but Grace was still in line first for the Knockouts title. Grace said the title was hers, so Trinity would have to face Grace first. Trinity made it very clear that no matter who was champion, they would have to face her next. The dialogue was a bit forced at points, but this was an excellent segment that immediately positioned Trinity as a main event star. That is how its done.
Final Thoughts
This episode felt like a lot of important things happened in terms of storyline development. From the debut of Trinity, to the Motor City Machine Guns chasing singles titles, to advancing Purrazzo and Grace while tying Trinity into it, a lot of what was on this show was good. The Bailey/Gresham match delivered, as those two always do. A good show, despite the wacky Dango/Hendry, Undead Realm, and Coven stuff.
Impact Wrestling â May 11, 2023 Card
¡ Nick Aldis vs. Sheldon Jean
¡ Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly
¡ Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: The Coven (c) vs. Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo
¡ Impact World Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs. Rhino
Along with Mercedes Mone, Trinity Fatu was all over the wrestling headlines throughout the last year after both women walked out prior to an episode of WWE Raw in May 2022.
Since then, Mone has been part of the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom rosters, even becoming the IWGP Women’s Champion. However, a lot of speculation still surrounded Fatu and what she would be doing next.
That was answered when she made her Impact Wrestling debut at the promotion’s TV tapings this past weekend in Chicago. Her debut promo from last Friday will air on tonight’s Impact on AXS.
I spoke with Trinity about the time she spent away from wrestling, her friendship with Mone, and how she’s feeling embarking on this new journey.
Making Her Impact debut
Trinity hasn’t been seen on wrestling television since May 2022. She explained that all the speculation about her future made the debut “nerve racking,” but that it also felt good to be a in a “new good home.”
However, she will never forget what she called her first home: WWE.
“WWE will always be my first home. My family is still there. My friends are still there. They are still my girls over there in that locker room, but I’m really looking forward to this space in this chapter, in this experience with Impact. I already I feel so welcomed and at home,” she said. “That’s been really cool. I just got so much love and support there. I know I’m going to be okay.”
She went on to say that joining Impact is only going to make her better at what she does.
“I think this is going to allow me to become even better at what I do at wrestling and just the just the connections already that I have made with people. There’s so much support that I have that I know I’m on the I’m on the right path. This is this is going to be a good experience: not just for me, but I just think for for women, women in wrestling period.
Being gone from wrestling
While we did see her walk in a fashion show and attend several movie premieres in Hollywood with Mone, she explained what a tough time it was for her to be away from wrestling.
“Initially, it was tough, really tough. You know, just feeling like my whole world, everything…it all kind of just being cut off, that was tough.”
She explained how she had to reflect on her life and see what the next chapter would look like.
“I asked myself, ‘What do I want in this next season of my life? What have I been missing? What led me or what made me feel this way? What is it going to take for me to to feel better?’ Being in a happier place and also to feel fulfilled, not just make money, not just be on TV, not just, you know, have this the fame and all that, but like really be fulfilled. ”
Because to me, if you’re not happy having doing all these things, then that doesn’t work for me. So just finding balance in my life and really tapping into to myself and what Trinity needs, what we want in this next this next phase. And it took me a little time to figure out if I still wanted to wrestle, because….the whole situation was just a lot.”
But once I had the time away and realize how much I missed it and how much the fans that were still supporting me, yeah. That was it. It was easy to make that decision to give it give it one more go.”
Wanting to have fun
She is stepping into a new environment with with Impact so I was curious if she felt any pressure to prove herself.
“Absolutely. I think there’s always a pressure when you’re in the ring wrestling. You take a risk every time you step into that ring. You just never know what could go wrong or if something’s going to go wrong, with what we do. And just the pressure of just being in a new company, in a new place and being able to pretty much just start all over and do well here and grow here and just showcase more of me.”
That’s pressure in itself. But I just want to make sure I have nonstop fun this time. I don’t feel like I have to, like, prove anything because I’ve had a great career in WWE. I really have. And I’m thankful for all of that and what I have done there and what they have been able to allow me to have there. I just I really just want to continue to grow and just have fun. I think that will happen organically. There’s not anything I got to prove and show and I don’t feel that way.”
“I just want to prove to myself that I can still go and that I can continue on with this wrestling career because I love it and I just want to have fun while I’m doing it. And I feel that right now with all that’s going on in the world of wrestling, women’s wrestling, I feel that it’s the place where I could be most useful.”
Intergender wrestling
Impact is known for not shying away from intergender wrestling and it turns out that is something she is interested in.
“I would love to get into some intergender matches. I know they have those matches. I’m excited for all of the possibilities.”
Friendship with Mercedes Mone
Both Trinity and Mone walked out of WWE together and appeared at many social events together. She explained the bond they both share with one another.
“That’s something that she and I both really bond over is just our dreams. We have kind of always had that and done that and talked about doing just all these things. Like, she wanted to have this dream of Japan and I had this dream of doing Broadway. But now we are like, ‘Okay. If we’re going to do it, now’s the time to do it.”
And just being able to support each other in that way, it’s been like the greatest, greatest gift to me, being able to go through it with my sister and also just sitting back watching her accomplish this dream, going all the way to Japan and being a success, it inspired me. It motivated me.”
Everyone is just watching us in real time live out these these dreams and try different things and explore different things and then find ourselves in a whole new way. We pretty much came into this wrestling business as kids almost. I was 21. I’m older now. So, the things you want and the things that you value change as you evolve through life.”
“I think that’s just where we where we are right now. And yeah, the last year has been life changing. I think it’s been good. And in the end, it was going to make us all stronger and better. She and I both I love that.”
You can see her debut Thursday at 8 PM Eastern on AXS TV.
Trinity has opened up about her departure from WWE last year.
The former Naomi appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio and said that she chose to leave because of the way she was talked to and handled on her final day with the company. Trinity also mentioned that she signed with Impact recently because she feels that’s where she will be happiest.
Trinity said:
The doors are open for me everywhere, literally everywhere, but I truly feel that Impact is the best choice for me at this point in my life right now with what I want to do. To just be able to work with the talent there, I feel that it’s where I”ll be happiest and most utlizied and really get to grow in the ways that I feel I need to right now on this wrestling journey.
Trinity then spoke about her departure from WWE:
Ultimately, I left that day because of the way I was talked to and handled. Everything kind of just broke me that day. It had nothing to do with anything else, anybody else. That was just it, I had to.
To go through all the backlash and the negativity and the lies and the rumors and then to also just kind of feel lost, it broke me. It was probably the lowest I’ve ever felt in my life. But going through that, it made me reset and face it head on and figure out how to learn from this experience, grow from it, just find myself again in all of it.
Trinity made her Impact Wrestling debut at the promotion’s tapings this weekend in Chicago. Impact is advertising that a segment featuring Trinity with a live microphone will air on Thursday’s show.
Up until signing with Impact, Trinity had spent her entire career with WWE. She started in the promotion’s developmental program with FCW in 2009. During her WWE career, she was a former two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, one-time FCW Women’s Champion, and won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles once along with Sasha Banks.
Trinity (former WWE wrestler Naomi) is excited to step into her new chapter with Impact Wrestling.
After making her Impact debut at a set of television tapings on Friday night, Trinity was interviewed by NBC Chicago. Trinity called her Impact debut “very, very overwhelming” and said she wasn’t able to hide her emotions during the appearance:
I was trying to hold back the tears. It just felt so good being back in wrestling and being with Impact in a place where I feel so welcome and just for the opportunity and just receiving all the love, it was very, very overwhelming. And I really felt it in my heart, like I really did. I couldn’t even hide the emotion.
Friday night was Trinity’s first time back in pro wrestling since she and Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) walked out of an episode of Raw in May 2022. In her interview with NBC Chicago, Trinity said she chose to join Impact Wrestling because of the strength of the company’s women’s division:
I’ve been wrestling 14 years now, and then one day everything, everything just changed. And I felt like my whole world was turned upside down and things were shuffled around. It took a little time to just process everything and really sort out what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be. I chose Impact because I really truly believe that it is one of the best women’s divisions. The history of it — I’ve been watching these women for years from afar and always admired the talent here. Once I made that decision, that’s what I wanted to do, I went after it. And now I’m here.
Trinity told NBC Chicago that she believes everything happens for a reason and feels like her WWE departure was a blessing in disguise:
At the time, it was very scary. But I feel like everything happens for a reason. I feel like it was a blessing in disguise. I feel that it’s allowed me to grow and become better in every way, in every aspect. Show me how strong I really am. And now I’ve got this new journey ahead of me, these new goals. And I’m excited and ready to step into this new chapter.
Trinity’s first appearance for Impact will air next Thursday (May 4). There will be a promo segment with Trinity on the episode.
A match with Trinity facing KiLynn King is being filmed at Saturday’s Impact TV tapings.
Trinity, the former Naomi in WWE, will officially make her debut on this Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV with an in-ring promo.
The promotion announced the news Friday night, shortly after she made her debut at their TV taping in Chicago. The promo segment she taped tonight will be what airs this Thursday.
They also wasted no time announcing her first match as she will take on KiLynn King, one half of the current Knockouts Tag Team Champions. That match will take place during Saturday’s taping and will likely air a week from this Thursday.
Earlier this week after Impact announced a major surprise for Friday’s TV taping, PWInsider reported that Trinity would make her debut this weekend.
The match will be Trinity’s first since May 2022 as she and Sasha Banks walked out of WWE prior to an episode of Raw due to creative differences. They never wrestled for the promotion again and eventually both became free agents.
Here’s the rest of what’s being taped Saturday:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin vs. Rhino
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Killer Kelly
Alex Shelley, Jonathan Gresham & Yuya Uemura vs. Eddie Edwards, Moose & Kazarian
Former WWE star Naomi is reportedly making her debut for Impact Wrestling.
PWInsider and Fightful are reporting that Naomi, real name Trinity Fatu, is expected to appear for Impact Wrestling soon. PWInsider reported that she will make her debut for the company this Friday at Impactâs Spring Slugfest television tapings.
Earlier this week, Impact Wrestling on social media teased a âmajor surpriseâ for their tapings, which take place Friday and Saturday in Chicago.
Naomi last wrestled for WWE back in May of last year. She and Sasha Banks (Mercedes Mone) walked out of a Raw event due to creative differences. As a result, they were suspended indefinitely from the company and were stripped of the WWE Womenâs Tag Team titles. Mone has since signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom, where she is a former IWGP Womenâs Champion.
Last month, Naomi confirmed on Instagram that she is no longer under WWE contract. On March 20, she filed a trademark for the name âTrinity Starrâ.
