00:00Is WWE dropping their Solo Sakoa push? I love you, Solo Sakoa!
00:05A wrestler's TNA contract runs out, and is likely going to WWE. I guess TNA is WWE's
00:12new developmental system in their new relationship. Another wrestler quits TNA, and is also likely
00:18going to WWE. Again, it's probably just a kayfabe way to get them over to WWE. Corporate
00:23partnerships and all that. And another wrestler leaves TNA, but smashes
00:28up the TNA title they still had on an indie show and tried to cut a shoot promo on how
00:32bad TNA is. There we are! That's my TNA! I know you've still got a carny heart, and
00:38I love you for it! I'm Oli Davis, and this is the WrestleTalk
00:41News. Sunday 19th January saw TNA's first premium
00:52live event of the year, Genesis. And it really was a case of New Year, New Me.
00:58As several days before, after working together for most of 2024, TNA and WWE had officially
01:04announced they had entered a multi-year partnership, which will mostly involve sharing talent across
01:10TNA, NXT and sometimes even main roster WWE peer leads.
01:15First, a historical warning. No wrestling promotion has ever entered a working relationship
01:19with WWE and come out better off it. ECW, Evolve, Progress, WWE often end up taking
01:27all the smaller promotions' best talent and then ditch them for the next hot company.
01:32This is a new era of WWE, though, under Paul Levesque's leadership instead of the far
01:36more difficult to play with Vince McMahon. And even if WWE went back to their absolute
01:41worst, good luck trying to kill TNA, that place will never die!
01:45The relationship has started very well, with PWInsider reporting there was a strong spike
01:51in ticket sales for the Genesis show off the back of the official TNA-WWE relationship
01:56announcement. John Cena even promoted his new corporate partnership with a post on his
02:01super weird Instagram account, and Triple H shared…
02:04Huge night ahead for our friends TNA. Excited to watch TNA Genesis tonight, live on pay-per-view.
02:12Despite having no WWE or NXT wrestlers announced for the show, the expectation was that something
02:17would happen, and TNA didn't disappoint. With NXT's Ashante V Adonis first appearing
02:23to issue an open challenge on the pre-show, Jake Something answered and beat him.
02:27Next was a very exciting tease when the NXT Tag Team Champions and arguably the best tag
02:34team of 2024 Fraxiums Nathan Frazier and Axiom took seats on the entrance ramp to watch the
02:40TNA Tag Team Champions, the Hardy Boyz, defend against the Rascals.
02:45Trey Maguirel accidentally hit a suicide dive onto Fraxium, and they had to be escorted
02:49to the back, but this is very likely setting up a Fraxium vs Hardy's TNA vs NXT Tag Team
02:57Champion match. With Matt posting a photo of the two teams
03:00on Twitter. Afterwards, it was announced Fraxium will defend their NXT tag titles against the
03:05Rascals on this Thursday's IMPACT. And former NXT Women's Champion Cora Jade
03:10also turned up to confront TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich, continuing their programme
03:16from NXT. So with all those NXT contracted wrestlers
03:19appearing in TNA, it's only fair that some TNA contracted wrestlers would ditch their
03:24TNA contracts to fully sign with WWE. Also on the show was former TNA World Champion
03:30Josh Alexander, taking on former AEW wrestler Mike Santana in an I Quit match. Alexander
03:36lost and took it literally, announcing afterwards that he's quitting TNA.
03:42Alexander himself had previously told Chris Van Vliet that his contract would be expiring
03:47on the 15th February. If that's still the case, he wouldn't be available for a surprise
03:51Men's Royal Rumble spot, unless TNA greenlight that with their working relationship with
03:57It's far more likely he'll end up in NXT, where his former North tag team partner Ethan
04:02Page currently is. For ex-TNA wrestlers appearing in a Rumble, the women's match is far more
04:07likely. Because after then-Knockouts Champion Jordan
04:10Grace was the surprise fifth entrant last year, Grace has reportedly finished up with
04:15TNA, after losing to Tessa Blanchard at Genesis. Fightful Select is reporting WWE were the
04:21heavy favourites to sign her, as she also frequently appeared on NXT throughout 2024.
04:26And now PWInsider is reporting Genesis was Grace's last TNA date, and she is now WWE
04:33bound. You'd guess she'll debut, again kinda,
04:37in the Women's Rumble on February 1st. But while TNA have lost two of their biggest
04:41stars of the 2020s, they used their extra eyes on Genesis to finally get behind the
04:45one they've kept hold of. Because I believe in Joe Hendry.
04:51Oh god, I said his name. I used to hear chartered tales of a bleached,
04:59That guy with the bleached hair and smile became one of the hottest wrestlers of the
05:20summer last year when his theme tune went viral on social media and reached number 4
05:25on the UK official Big Top 40 chart in May. So TNA being TNA, they put their top belt
05:31on a former WWE guy, Nick Nemeth, at Slammiversary. But then, at their biggest show of the year
05:37Bound for Glory in October, he was beaten by that same former WWE guy because of interference
05:43from another much older WWE guy, JBL. But now, in the Genesis main event, he beat
05:49Nemeth to finally become the TNA World Champion. I'm happy for TNA.
05:55Luke and I used to be TNA diehards back in the noughties. I just hope TNA doesn't lose
06:03what made TNA, well, TNA. Oh, what's this? TNA's digital championship
06:13was on a wrestler that was out of contract, and that wrestler then destroyed the belt
06:17with a sledgehammer and cut a shoot promo on TNA. There's my TNA I love, you beautiful
06:22piece of carnie wrestling. Because at the very same time TNA was running
06:26their Genesis purely in Texas, hopefully starting a new, more respectable era, the indie promotion
06:32GCW was running their own show, The People vs GCW, in New York.
06:38GCW is the modern day hardcore spiritual successor to ECW and CZW, and on their Sunday, the 19th
06:44January pay-per-view, they had TNA's digital media champion PCO win their kickoff Rumble.
06:51But when PCO was interviewed in the ring, he instead put his TNA belt on a chair and
06:56proceeded to smash it with a sledgehammer. He then grabbed the mic and said, I've sold
07:00out the biggest house in TNA history, I sold more t-shirts in one night than any TNA, and
07:06then the broadcast cut him off to a GCW logo. PWInsider is reporting that PCO's TNA contract
07:12had actually expired at the end of last year, and that he's done with the company while
07:16still being their current digital media champion. They also claim his rant and destruction of
07:22a TNA title was legitimate. Fightful then corroborated this story, writing
07:27their sources in GCW said PCO went into business for himself. Apparently he'd suggested backstage
07:34that he was involved in a storyline planned for the next set of TNA tapings.
07:38But GCW officials realised this wasn't the case. TNA were also shocked by what PCO
07:44did, and said he was supposed to wrap up his run, which would presumably include dropping
07:48that title, at the tapings later this week. He is now, unsurprisingly, not expected to
07:53return to TNA. Over in WWE, Friday's SmackDown saw Solo
07:57Sokoa make his first appearance on TV since losing tribal combat to Roman Reigns on the
08:03Netflix debut Raw. He came out with his new blood buddies, but was booed so much by the
08:08crowd, he just dropped the mic and walked out the arena instead. Leaving Jacob Fatu,
08:12who has mostly been limited to just screaming I LOVE YOU SOLO SOKOA, to cut a really good
08:17promo. WrestleVotes have reported that there were differing opinions over whether this
08:21was the right move backstage. That Solo Sokoa segment was a hot topic of
08:25debate within creative today. The original rundown this morning had Solo opening the
08:30show to address his loss to Roman. SmackDown instead opened with Rey Mysterio announcing
08:35his entry into the Royal Rumble, which led to a confrontation with Kevin Owens. With
08:39the show's main event already booked as Tiffany Stratton's first women's title
08:43defence against Bayley, it meant Solo's segment took place 45 minutes into the show,
08:49hardly a prestige placement, and only ran for 7 minutes.
08:52For the last several years, Bloodline's segments have mostly either opened or closed
08:57episodes of SmackDown. At the very least, they're at the top of the first hour. But
09:00perhaps, with Solo's feud with Roman Reigns over the Oolafala now complete, WWE are pushing
09:06new blood down the card a bit. And they might even be pivoting their focus from Solo as
09:11the faction's next big star, to Jacob Fatu. Back in May, about six weeks before Fatu made
09:18his main roster debut, WrestleVotes have reported some trepidation remains within creative over
09:23fear that Fatu's presence could outshine Solo at this stage.
09:28That has arguably come to pass. Fatu has been booked stronger and stronger, while Solo
09:33almost became more of an ineffectual leadercomedy character. Do you think now Sakoa's feud
09:38with Roman is over, WWE will start pushing Fatu more heavily? Let me know in the comments
09:43down below. Perhaps this will all end in a Solo vs Fatu
09:46match at Mania. That's certainly what Luke Owen is trying to fantasy book in our predicting
09:50WrestleMania 41 Way Too Far In Advance Again video. Which you can watch right now. Here's
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