Ash by Elegance is retired afterall.
At Victory Road, the former TNA Knockouts Champion shocked the masses by relinquishing the prestigious belt due to an injury that remains unknown. Though many have speculated that this was another storyline, Tommy Dreamer and even the TNA President himself, Carlos Silva, have debunked the notion that it is kayfabe.
While the injury that’s forced Elegance out of the ring remains unknown, it seems that Ash herself has confirmed that she’s actually retired. Ash avoided using the retirement word during her speech at Victory Road, but during a virtual signing for RDP Promotions, she was selling off one of shirts that she labeled as her “retirement shirt”
“$30 for this top. It is worn with me and Paige VanZant (in a photoshoot), but also, this is the shirt I retired in. It’s $30. My retirement t-shirt.”
She does say that this is a “never say never” situation and confirms that TNA has offered her some backstage jobs so she’ll still be busy.
“Thanks for always tuning in and supporting me. I might not be in the ring but I’ll still be busy. TNA has opened their doors for me and allowed me to do things backstage, just not in the ring. Never say never so maybe one day again but until then, thank you guys so much.”
This is definitely a sad development as there seemed to be some optimism in her promo despite the fact that she was forced to relinquish her title. Ash has competed professionally since 2013. She was originally a bodybuilder who signed to the WWE and had a solid career for over a decade. She got the chance to work alongside some of the best wrestlers in the world and there was reportedly a point where WWE had a serious push in line for the former Dana Brooke. It’s a major reason that she was aligned with Charlotte Flair in 2016.
While the major push never happened, she still competed in WWE until the 36-year-old was released in September 2023. Now revamped as Ash by Elegance, she came over to TNA in February 2024 and worked hard to shed the image she had in WWE. Ash first won the TNA Knockouts title with Heather by Elegance at Sacrifice. She would win the TNA Knockouts Championship at NXT’s Heatwave. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to defend her belt. It’s a shame that Ash’s career had to come to an end so abruptly, but it’s a stark reminder of how dangerous wrestling can truly be.