5 former TNA World Heavyweight Champions who could appear in WWE after Cody Rhodes’ announcement
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently announced that the number one contender for the NXT Championship would be revealed next week. Rhodes is scheduled to defend his championship at Clash at the Castle: Scotland this Saturday.
On the upcoming episode of the white-and-gold brand, WWE has scheduled a 25-man Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for Trick Williams' NXT Championship at Heatwave 2024. This opens the door for further TNA surprises during June and beyond.
Rhodes said that some of the participants in next week's over-the-top-rope Battle Royal "might be from different locker rooms," which suggests that in-ring competitors from non-WWE wrestling promotions may show up to compete on June 18.
NXT Battleground: Las Vegas featured a surprising return as well as a top TNA star battling for the NXT Women's Championship, which is currently held by Roxanne Perez. Reports indicate that the partnership between both companies will extend beyond last Sunday's premium live event. Many fans and wrestling journalists are guessing which TNA stars will follow "The Juggernaut" Jordynne Grace into WWE.
Sunday's NXT PLE featured the return of the former Dana Brooke to WWE, a wrestler now known as 'Ash by Elegance' in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Ash arrived during Grace's match with Perez at Battleground: Las Vegas. The former Dana Brooke tried to prevent Tatum Paxley from stealing Grace's Knockouts Championship, but Paxley and Elegance would end up being laid out by The Juggernaut.
Jordynne Grace has laid out an open challenge for her Knockouts World Championship at TNA Against All Odds this Friday, which opens the door for WWE-contracted talent to cross over to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
On the June 18 episode of NXT, could WWE see one or more TNA wrestlers make an appearance during the 25-man Battle Royal? Without further ado, let's look at five former TNA World Heavyweight Champions who might make their way to World Wrestling Entertainment following The American Nightmare's announcement.
#5. Will 'Broken' Matt Hardy return to WWE?
The former two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion quote tweeted a video of Cody Rhodes' recent announcement from WWE's official X (formerly Twitter) account. The Broken One captioned this tweet by writing the following:
"After I PROCURE the TNA Title of the World on Friday, I might just DELETE 24 OBNOXIOUS ANTS & also become the NXT Champion."
Matt Hardy is set to challenge Moose for the TNA World Championship at Against All Odds PPV on June 14. Hardy predicted that he'll emerge from Friday's match victorious and then set his sights on the NXT Championship. The former ECW Champion teased that he'll be a participant in the 25-man Battle Royal while referencing "24 OBNOXIOUS ANTS," before becoming the champion.
There are plenty of wrestling fans who'd like to see Matt Hardy have one last run in WWE. It's possible that the wrestling world could witness The Broken One cross the line to NXT as part of a crossbranded talent exchange.
#4. Is two-time TNA World Champion Josh Alexander coming to WWE? And will The Walking Weapon debut with NXT?
'The Walking Weapon' Josh Alexander is contractually tied to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling until at least February 14, 2025, according to a report from Fightful Select. During the early months of 2024, TNA decided to exercise their optional extension on Alexander's contract, ensuring that he'll be under the Anthem umbrella for one more year.
Josh would have been a free agent last February, had the extension not been triggered. Although Alexander had seemingly requested the company not to exercise that option, as he wanted to explore other opportunities outside of the Impact Zone, yet he stood behind TNA's decision to go ahead and exercise the extension.
The Walking Weapon achieved immense success and critical acclaim during his time with the promotion formerly known as IMPACT Wrestling. As a singles competitor and a tag team wrestler with the company, he became the longest-reigning World Champion in the history of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
He held two reigns with the TNA World Championship, and his second reign was noted as being the longest in the title's history, lasting 335 days. Inversely, Alexander's first World Championship reign was noted as being the shortest in the title's 17-year history. His first reign ended quickly as a result of Moose's main event ambitions, and he had to relinquish the title during his second reign due to injury.
Alexander first made an impact in TNA as a tag team competitor alongside Ethan Page, collectively known as The North. Together, they held the IMPACT World Tag Team Titles on two occasions. Many fans are now wondering if Josh will join his former partner on the white-and-gold brand. All Ego is already booked for next week's NXT battle royal, but will his ex-brethren from The North join him?
WWE reportedly has its eye on The Walking Weapon and reports suggest that they're interested in using him in a future TNA-NXT crossover. Josh Alexander could potentially make a surprise appearance in the 25-man battle royal on June 18th. If that happens, there's a decent chance that Alexander will win the bout and go on to challenge Trick Williams for the NXT Championship at Heatwave.
Alexander last wrestled in a TNA ring at Under Siege earlier in May this year. His most recent official match to date happened on the first day of June 2024 for the event Gone Rogue presented by Pro Wrestling Ontario. Alexander is set to return to a TNA ring at the Against All Odds event, teaming up with Eric Young against ABC (Ace Austin and Chris Bey).
#3. Is the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion EC3 on his way back to WWE?
Ethan Carter the Third became a standout star in TNA during his run with the company from 2013 to 2018. EC3 went on a two-and-a-half-year winning streak that led him to two reigns as TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
He had two runs with WWE but didn't come close to achieving the level of success that he had in TNA. Since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment in 2020, Carter has continued to remain relevant in the wrestling world, whether that's with NWA or experimenting with CYN. He's currently the reigning NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, defending his legendary 10 Pounds of Gold across multiple wrestling promotions.
Cody Rhodes mentioned that wrestlers from different locker rooms could be present in next Tuesday's over-the-top-rope battle royal, which could potentially include Billy Corgan's National Wrestling Alliance. If that turns out to be the case, EC3 would arguably be a perfect representative from NWA to showcase in NXT.
RAW headliner Drew McIntyre recently appeared in a viral video on X with Billy Corgan, paying homage to a scene from the legendary cartoon series The Simpsons. Was this a sign of things to come between NWA and WWE as it pertains to crossover promotion?
EC3 is a double champion, holding the top title of the NWA as well as the OVW National Heavyweight Championship. If he wins the 25-man NXT battle royal this Tuesday, Carter will have the chance to become a triple champion.
#2. Two-time former TNA World Champion Eddie Edwards - Will the Moose-led stable known as The System show up on WWE RAW or NXT?
Eddie Edwards is currently one-half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions alongside Brian Myers as part of The System. In total, he's won the tag straps of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on six separate occasions, with five of those reigns happening alongside Davey Richards as part of The Wolves.
Edwards is also a success when it comes to TNA's singles division. The Boston-born star has held two reigns apiece with the X Division Championship and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
The System hasn't yet crossed the line to WWE programming, but that could all change very soon. Brian Myers, Moose, and/or Eddie Edwards may find themselves competing in next week's 25-man Battle Royal to determine the challenger for the NXT Championship at Heatwave.
There's also the chance that The System will move to Monday Night RAW, considering the conflict teased between Moose and Drew McIntyre on X.
#1. Is former one-time IMPACT World Champion Sami Callihan heading to WWE?
'The Death Machine' Sami Callihan is currently appearing as a free agent in the wrestling business. He's also busy running his indie promotion known as The Wrestling REVOLVER. Callihan returned to TNA Wrestling in April 2024 during the Rebellion pay-per-view.
Sami can be seen on TNA programming with his DMTV vignette, abbreviated from Death Machine TV. His most recent match with TNA was a loss to Jonathan Gresham on an episode of iMPACT that aired on May 30. Sami is scheduled to fight Gresham in a rematch at Countdown to Against All Odds this upcoming Friday. According to Cagematch.net, he last wrestled at MLW Battle Riot VI on the first day of June 2024 in a 40-man battle royal, which was won by Matt Riddle.
Callihan found his greatest success with Total Nonstop Action when he won the IMPACT World Championship by defeating Brian Cage in a steel cage match in October 2019. He'd win that title during the debut of IMPACT on AXS TV. In 2018, Callihan was named the Wrestler of the Year during the Impact Year-End Awards.
The Death Machine also won the Match of the Year and Moment of the Year during the 2018 and 2019 editions of TNA's homebrewed award-show segment.
Before he left his mark in the company formerly known as IMPACT Wrestling, Sami Callihan was known as Solomon Crowe on WWE's black-and-gold brand. He signed with WWE in 2013 and was sent to the development system in Florida. Crowe parted ways with World Wrestling Entertainment in November 2015 after requesting his release.
Considering the recent crossover promotion between WWE and TNA, it's possible that Sami Callihan could be making an appearance on the white-and-gold brand.
NXT has previously featured the talents of Solomon Crowe, but they've never truly unleashed The Death Machine on their audience. While it would technically be considered a return if Callihan showed up in NXT because of his past as Solomon Crowe, it'd also be a debut because he's never wrestled as 'Sami Callihan' in a televised WWE match.