Ash By Elegance (fka Dana Brooke) reacts to her return to WWE NXT

That there was a TNA presence in battlefield Last night (June 9) was no surprise. Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace was challenging Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship, in what we heard could be the start of a larger crossover between TNA and WWE’s third/developmental brand.

The appearance of TNA representative Ash By Elegance was a surprise – but in retrospect, it makes a lot of sense. Ashe’s decade-long WWE run as Dana Brooke almost certainly ended when the company released her last year. But she was in the midst of returning to NXT when it happened, working on a program with Kehlani Jordan.

Jordan is the first ever North American Women’s Champion after winning a ladder match at Battleground for the new belt. Something her former on-screen mentor was happy to be at the UFC Apex to witness in person:

As for her return during Perez’s win over Grace, Ashe’s past in WWE was never mentioned other than a possible slip of the tongue from NXT announcer Vic Joseph (he said, “This is Dana…” before quickly calling her by her TNA name) when she was shown wrestling With Tatum Baxley on the knockout belt which Baxley was trying to escape with before Jordyn put them both down.

But even though Joseph may have been among those surprised, it seems Ash By Elegance would never rule out a moment like the one that happened last night.

What now? Ash has yet to have a Knockouts Title match, but Grace is making an open challenge in TNA Against all enemies The streaming event took place on Friday (June 14). The promotion is looking to capitalize on the hype generated by By Elegance’s NXT return by promoting it on their regular Thursday night show this week…

Will this appearance be a follow-up to her showdown with the Knockout Champion? Or Baxley from NXT?

Tune in to AXS on June 13 to find out! That’s what TNA hopes to do anyway.