Former WWE wrestler says she almost retired before TNA debut
TNA Knockouts World Champion Ash By Elegance says she almost hung up her boots following her WWE release.
The former Dana Brooke was with WWE for 10 years before being released as part of roster cuts in September 2023. In a recent interview with Metro UK, Elegance said the experience made her question whether she was cut out to be a wrestler.
“There was that feeling again where I’m like, maybe I’m just not made for this. Maybe I should hang my boots up, call it quits, and just figure out a different path,” she said.
Instead, Elegance focused on reinventing herself and developing the Ash By Elegance character. She debuted the gimmick in TNA at Hard to Kill in January 2024. Since then, she’s built the “Elegance Brand” faction, which includes her Personal Concierge (George Iceman), Heather By Elegance (Heather Reckless), and M by Elegance (Maggie Lee).
Elegance won the Knockouts World Championship at NXT Heatwave in a triple threat match against then-champion Jacy Jayne and former champion Masha Slamovich. She said the title win was the culmination of two years of work.
“‘Here I am! My hard worked showed two years later,” she said, also mentioning that it meant a lot to have NXT’s Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom at the show.
“I wasn’t watching as a young kid, I started here [in NXT]. I grinded my way from the bottom all the way to the top, then to be able to come back and capture this title.”
She also mentioned that Bayley reached out to her following her Knockouts title win to offer congratulations.
“Bayley sent me such a cool message. She’s like, ‘I just want to let you know I’m so proud of you and you’re so effing cool’ I’ve always wanted to hold a TNA Title.’‘
”I feel like me holding the TNA title brings so much drive and hunger to girls that may have felt like they can never do it,” she added. “You just never know who’s going to show up, who’s going to want to come after this title. It’s awesome.”
Ashy Be Elegance’s full interview with Metro UK is available here.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.