Ash By Elegance feels validated by her recent title win and having the right people in her corner.
The new TNA Knockouts Champion spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard to promote Thursday’s live TNA Impact broadcast in Minnesota. Ash will be on this week’s show to participate in an Elegance Brand Knockouts Championship celebration to commemorate her big title win at WWE NXT Heatwave.
The former Dana Brooke says she takes so much pride in being champion, but also wants people to know how much work she put in to get here. Ash was released by WWE in 2023, but felt like she was capable of a run like this back then.
“I was very capable of doing this when I was in WWE and NXT, I just never felt as though I was given the proper opportunity or chance. I was always trying to crawl and grab it and make my way to the top, I just felt like I kept falling short. Maybe they just didn’t believe in me, and that’s okay,” she explained. “But I went to a company that took a chance on me. I took a chance on myself because going into to TNA I told them ‘I want to do this, I want to do that, I can do this and I can do that.’ They’re like okay let’s do it.”
She credited the Knockouts roster for helping her get here, citing her work with names like Rosemary and Jordynne Grace for bringing out a new side of her. Ash said she knew it was in there all along, but needed someone to act as the catalyst.
“I knew I had it in me, I just needed somebody to bring it out of me and [Jordynne] definitely did. So, I just feel so validated all around,” Ash By Elegance added. “I didn’t need to prove it to anyone besides myself. And I feel very satisfied.”
Ash By Elegance explains how she approached her TNA debut
Dana Brooke made her television debut at the February 18, 2015, NXT television taping against Blue Pants (Leva Bates). She compared that situation to her TNA debut, noting how she knew nothing about pro wrestling outside of WWE back then. Now, she wanted to eliminate everyone’s preconceived notions about “Dana Brooke,” seeing her TNA debut as a refresh.
Ash says her WWE release made her question her place in the wrestling business. However, she told herself she couldn’t quit now and needed to reinvent herself into something totally different. Today, she’s having more fun in TNA and says it also made her fall in love with wrestling again.
“Dana Brooke always walked a fine line, super straight. I was always very nervous with performing my best, doing my best, reading exactly what the script said, doing exactly what was asked of me, which is great. That’s how I am in real life. Going into TNA, I just wanted to have fun,” she explained. “I wanted to go out there and make people just invest in, digest my character if they’ve never watched wrestling before, and just know that the moment I go through those curtains, they don’t like me. I’m having so much fun.
“TNA has just been a breath of fresh air. It’s not a redo. It was a restart. I needed to, in my soul, fall in love with wrestling again, and I have. Two years now, it’s just been so amazing. It’s the craziest story, I must say. I couldn’t make it up in my wildest dreams.”
Ash By Elegance shares what Shawn Michaels told her before and after her title win
Ash said her WWE release caught her off-guard, which was a sentiment also shared by Shawn Michaels. When asked if Michaels shared any words of encouragement after her title win, Ash shared her two emotional interactions with the WWE legend that took place before and after the title win at NXT Heatwave.
“Yes. Actually, the week prior to my title victory, we had the six woman [tag match]. I’m going to get emotional. He looked at me, I was sitting, and he goes, ‘See, I told you it wouldn’t be long until you’re back.’ And it meant everything. I was like, ‘Man, you were right.’ He was just always so supportive. He told me before I went out there because I was nervous at Heatwave,” she explained. “There’s just so many emotions and I was so nervous.
“Shawn looks at me and he’s like, ‘You ready to go?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He goes, ‘Relax,’ and he gives me a hug. He goes, ‘Just smile. Soak it in.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, alright.’ So, when I came back, he gave me a hug and I was like, ‘Hey, can I have my Shawn Michaels picture with the point and stuff?’ So it was just such a full circle moment. My personal concierge was star struck when he had met Shawn. And those words from Shawn, I’ll never forget them ever.”
Ash By Elegance called Michaels one of the best performers in the world. She also took time to praise Matt Bloom, whom she called one of her biggest advocates.
“When I was released from WWE, he had asked me, ‘Please don’t stop here. If you need somebody to be in your corner to speak on your behalf, I will do it. Do not stop here.’ And going back and winning this, I was just like, ‘Wow, this is unreal and just such a full circle moment.’”
Read More: Ash By Elegance Explains Why She’s Never Trash Talked WWE After Her Release
