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Dana Brooke recently made her wrestling return. Going to a new promotion, she relinquished her old gimmick and adopted a new one. WWE legend Dutch Mantell has had his say on the matter, stating that her new gimmick is a blatant copy of Toni Storm’s character in AEW.
Dana Brooke was one of the many superstars that WWE released in September 2023 after the merger with UFC and TKO formation. She recently made her wrestling return in TNA at the promotion’s Hard to Kill PPV under the ring name Ash by Elegance.
As per the legend on his Story Time with Dutch Mantell podcast, her new gimmick is giving a solid Toni Storm vibe as if she had straight-up copied the AEW Women’s World champion on-screen persona.
“I don’t get it. I don’t. It’s a takeoff on the Storm girl in AEW, Toni Storm and nobody could beat Toni Storm. I don’t care what they do and I don’t know whose idea Tony Storm is using, maybe hers. It’s a brand-new idea. They can do anything with it. It’s shot in black-and-white. It’s short like it’s shot back in the 20s, which has a really good look to it and her accent leans right into it. But it looks like it’s a takeoff that they’re copying Toni Storm,” said Mantel. [1:03:53 - 1:04:42]
Other WWE superstars also made their TNA debut alongside Dana Brooke
Dana Brooke was not the only ex-WWE superstar who made their debut on TNA’s Hard to Kill event. Nic Nemeth and AJ Francis (popularly known in the wrestling universe as Dolph Ziggler and Top Dolla, respectively) also made their wrestling returns at the event.
Dolph Ziggler and Top Dolla were also a part of the mass release that took place in September last year. A week before his TNA debut, the wrestling universe saw The Showoff appear in New Japan Pro Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4, 2024. His brother Ryan Nemeth accompanied him.
What was your reaction when you saw former WWE superstars like Dana Brooke and Dolph Ziggler make their debut at TNA? Sound off in the comments below.
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