Shotzi Blackheart tried to get to TNA long before she signed there. The newest member of the Knockouts division told the Generation of Wrestling Podcast that she begged WWE to let her work TNA dates while she was still under contract, and WWE said no.
I was kind of talking to TNA when I was still signed with WWE. When I had just gotten back from my ACL surgery, I was really hungry to get in the ring. I was begging WWE to let me have a run with TNA,” Blackheart said.
I was talking to Tommy Dreamer for a little bit and he was totally down, but for some reason I wasn’t allowed to.
The Partnership Was Already In Place
The timing is what makes the refusal stand out. Blackheart tore her ACL at the February 13, 2024 NXT taping during a title match against Lyra Valkyria, and she didn’t return until the December 10 episode of NXT that year.
About five weeks later, on January 16, 2025, WWE and TNA formalized a multi-year partnership built around NXT and TNA talent crossing over onto each other’s shows. That deal was framed around NXT, though, and Fightful Select reported at the time that Blackheart was signed to a main roster contract even while she worked NXT dates to get her reps back. She didn’t say why WWE turned her down.
WWE didn’t renew her deal in May 2025. Dreamer isn’t part of the picture now either. He and TNA mutually parted ways in June, ending his time on the company’s creative team.
Shotzi Blackheart SAVES Allie From Fire 'N Flava | TNA iMPACT! October 22, 2026
Arriving At Full Speed
Blackheart spent the year and a half since her release rebuilding on the independent scene with stops in GCW and MLW, where she won the promotion’s women’s title in February before losing it to Masha Slamovich at the September 12 taping in Charleston. PWI named her its 2025 Independent Wrestler of the Year.
Her MLW contract expired October 5, she appeared at TNA’s tapings in Dothan, Alabama, on October 13, and TNA officially announced the signing on October 19. On the October 22 episode of iMPACT, she made her TNA debut by saving Allie from Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz.
She told the podcast the time away from WWE is exactly why she’s ready now.
“After a year and a half of just doing me and gaining my confidence back, I felt like, ‘Okay, this is time for me to get back on TV, come to TNA on absolute fire with the most confidence and the biggest balls I have ever had in my career.’ So, I’m really coming to TNA fired up.”
Blackheart said her focus is on winning TNA gold. Indi Hartwell holds the TNA Knockouts World Championship.
