Welcome to the Era of Elegance!

The Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) was sure it would never happen. The IWC was confident as hell that this would never be a reality. On Sunday, August 24, we have never been so happy to see the IWC be in such a rage...at least the ignorant folks in the IWC, not everyone there. Ash by Elegance defeated Masha Slamovich and then-champion Jacy Jayne at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Heatwave to win the Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) Wrestling Knockouts World Championship. Going into this event, most expected Jacy to retain her title and head into TNA Bound for Glory as TNA Knockouts World Champion or a slim chance of Masha winning the title back and bringing it home to TNA, with barely anyone thinking Ash had a chance in hell of winning the title. But thanks to some help by her girls of the Elegance Brand (Heather and M by Elegance) and a Rarified Air to Masha, Ash would go on to win her first-ever world championship on a major brand. Because she is also TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion, she is a double champion in TNA. The only two women to do that in TNA are Gail Kim and Madison Rayne. Also it was the first time that the TNA Knockouts World Championship was ever defended on a WWE Premium Live Event (PLE) (they were formerly known as Pay Per Views).

 

The most ELEGANT champion in wrestling right now
Credit: TNAWrestling.com

To the IWC, this is gonna hurt your underdeveloped brains, but it's time to face facts...ASH IS THE REAL DEAL. She could have just went back to fitness and been okay having a fitness career again. She could have just stuck with OnlyFans and made a career out of that. She didn't. She can STILL go back to fitness competitions if she wants to. She DOES have an OnlyFans and is doing quite well with it. But she also decide to stick with wrestling and sign with TNA and she put in the work to be better as a character and in-ring performer and the company in return put THEIR trust in her (which is all she wanted from her previous employer: trust in her and her abilities) and now she along with the entire Elegance Brand (The Personal Concierge aka George Iceman, Heather by Elegance aka Heather Reckless, M by Elegance aka Maggie Lee) is one of their top acts in the company, male or female. Make no mistake, Ash was not rewarded for her longevity in the business...she was rewarded for her hard work and dedication to the business. When you make the effort to up your game, you should be rewarded for it. That is something TNA understood for Ash in far less time than WWE did during her entire run with the company. Also, TNA is in the middle of one of the most important times in their company's history with hopes of a massive television deal in the coming weeks. Do you honestly believe they would put their entire division on Ash's back if they didn't believe in her? Spoiler alert: NO, THEY WOULD NOT! Wrestling promoters put their titles, especially their main titles, on people they TRUST, whether short-term or long-term. To put both their singles AND tag titles on her (again, only two others can claim that in that company) shows that TNA has a SERIOUS amount of trust, faith, and respect in Ash. And WWE has clearly gained some respect for her as they allowed Ash's title change on their turf rather than TNA territory and even gave a shoutout to her on their flagship show, WWE RAW, the following night, which is something they are not obligated to do whatsoever, mind you. Hell, they even did a vlog piece on their YouTube channel, so clearly Ash is doing SOMETHING right these days.

The Elegance Brand, draped in GOLD
Credit: WWE.com

It's taken a while but wrestling companies are finally seeing her value, her co-workers and colleagues see her value, and other RESPECTABLE legit wrestling outlets (not I'm not talking about the dirtsheets) see her value as well. THEIR voices matter, not a bunch of uneducated clowns with access to a social media platform like X/Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or fans that do podcasts out of their mother's basement or little boy caves thinking their voices are relevant when they are in fact the opposite. Ash will forever be known as a WORLD CHAMPION, she had EARNED the right to call herself a world champion, and no amount of crying, complaining, moaning, groaning, and bitching on social media will ever change that. Welcome to the Era of Elegance...shut up and embrace it! 

For more on Ash by 2 Belts, follow her on X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and OnlyFans (doing a special championship sale over there). Also click here to view more articles we've written on the Undisputed Queen of the Knockouts...and we've written quite a few over the years. 

For more on TNA, follow them on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram and go to their new-look website at https://www.tnawrestling.com. 

Dana Brooke Back in NXT: Finally Her Chance?

Photos belong to their respective owners. We do not own them. 

We have advocated for Dana Brooke practically her entire WWE career because we feel she has all the tools needed to be a top name in the company. But for whatever reasons (not her fault, BTW) she has yet to obtain any true success in WWE or viewed with any respect by folks. In fact, there are folks out that flat out HATE her for the sole purpose of just hating her. She has done nothing to warrant any of it but they do it anyways. But despite the unwarranted and disturbing hate she gets, Dana still pushes through and to out delight and the haters’ disgust, she’s still employed by the company. And maybe…JUST MAYBE…she is gonna get the chance she’s fighting for for a while with her return to NXT.

June 6: A return that flipped the NXT Women’s Division upside down!

On June 6, NXT had a Number One Contender’s Battle Royal to determine the first challenger for Tiffany Stratton’s NXT Women’s Championship. We thought we knew all the competitors that would be part of it the previous week until earlier in the show, they showed Dana Brooke walking into the NXT arena and talking about how an opportunity was there for the taking and inserted herself into the battle royal, flipping the main event on its head. Dana made it all the way to the final three before she (and Cora Jade at the same time) was eliminated by the eventual winner Thea Hail. That one night, she was presented much better better than most of her career on the main roster. It continued the following week with a well-done video package of Dana highlighting her career (BTW…it did NOT include her Sexy Muscle Friends tag-team with Mandy Rose for…obvious reasons) and an interview of what she is fighting for. Cora Jade interrupted Dana and got slapped…which Dana made sure she got her lick back during Cora’s match with Thea Hail. Because of that, tonight on Night One of NXT Gold Rush, Dana Brooke will have her first singles NXT women’s match since NXT Takeover: Respect as she will take on Cora. If this goes well, she might be on her way to the NXT Women’s Championship and possibly beyond.

If done correctly, Dana could potentially find herself on the road to redemption and finally be a credible superstar. Like we’ve stated before, the fault is not Dans’s own. She has done everything asked of her and THEY have let her down. But now, it seems like the ball’s finally in her corner for the first time ever. Fans have rallied to #GiveDanaAChance. Now…it’s Dana’s turn to seal the deal. This NXT run is not to prove her haters wrong…this is to prove herself and her fans RIGHT. Dana, we rooting for you. Time to remind the world who the hell you truly are, Dana Brooke! 

Is this the chance Dana has FINALLY been fighting for? We shall soon see!

Click here to view every article we’ve ever written about Dana. Also, feel free to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Twitter (DanaBrookeWWE), Instagram (ashasebera_danabrooke), and TikTok (ashasebera_danabrooke)!  Also make sure to watch Night One of NXT Gold Rush tonight at 8pm Eastern/7PM Central on the USA Network. 

To the Tiffy Top? Our Thoughts on WWE’s Next Potential Franchise Superstar, Tiffany Stratton

DISCLAIMER: All photos are from WWE’s social media accounts.

This Sunday on Peacock, NXT will host Battleground as part of a massive weekend of wrestling on Memorial Day weekend. On that night, a new NXT Women’s Champion will be crowned. What’s special about this title win is whoever wins on Sunday will become the 100th woman in the history of WWE to hold Championship Gold of any kind in WWE, whether it be an official women’s championship (single or tag-team) or any intergender title such as the now-defunct Hardcore or 24/7 Championships. On one side is the very talented and mysterious Lyra Valkyria, who ran threw the now-defunct NXT UK like a hot knife through butter. On the other side, a woman who many have said could be a future franchise player in WWE…the woman we are going to talk about today: Tiffany Stratton.

One of her new looks since returning earlier this year

Tiffany (real name Jessica Woynilko ) would make her wrestling debut on NXT Level Up on November 16, 2021. That show is where up-and-coming Superstars would make their mark before being put on TV, testing the waters sorta speak. About a month later (December 28 to be exact), Tiffany would make her official NXT debut. It was clear there was SOMETHING there in terms of character, but folks weren’t too sold on her as an in-ring competitor. That all changed on the January 28, 2022 edition of NXT (then known at the time as NXT 2.0) when she would face Io Shiari (now Iyo Sky) and take her first loss, but the loss ended up being the best thing that could have happened to her as folks began to take notice of Tiffany that night. It was only Tiffany’s 3rd match ever and Iyo didn’t need to carry Tiffany much at all. That match caused folks to back up on their Tiffany dissing and began to go “Okay…maybe Tiffany’s got something”. Tiffany also had a different look that make folks take notice as well. Gone was the skirt, and hello super heroine/villian-esque attire. Folks would being to take even more notice of Tiffany in 2022, including the inaugural NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Finals against Roxanne Perez, NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender Battle Royal (where many claimed her at the MVP of that match), and the Lights Out match with Wendy Choo. While she didn’t win those three matches, folks left with a better show of respect for her than they did going into those matches. It also didn’t hurt that Tiffany did have a cool finisher in matches she DID win…her Tiffy Twister, a twisting splash from the top turnbuckle.

From her early days in NXT 2.0

After her Lights Out match in August, Tiffany would take the rest of 2022 off after suffering an injury to heal up and refocus, getting her body to an even crazier level than it already was and would return to NXT on January 10 of this year no longer Daddy’s Little Rich Girl…but the Center of the Universe. She made it clear that she was the star of NXT and for the last few months, she had proven to be just that. It’s been clear as day that Tiffany has been groomed to be the top lady of the brand but not being pinned or submitted at any time thus far in 2023, only suffering losses on TV in a Ladder Match and in a Triple Threat Match where she was NOT the deciding factor. She replaced the impressive Tiffy Twister with an even more impressive finisher…the PME (Prettiest Moonsault Ever), a triple-jump moonsault that was made famous by wrestler Christopher Daniels, which HE calls it the BME (Best Moonsault Ever). That’s set up by what wrestler Kenny Omega calls “You Can’t Escape”, a fireman’s carry rolling slam. (Not sure what Tiffany calls it just yet). The way she flows from the slam to the moonsault with ease is nothing short of amazing, and apparently she wants to add on to that with a front twist in the near future. If she does that…GOOD LORD. 

It would seem that we are drawing near to Tiffany’s crowning moment and this Sunday seems like that will be the night for her coronation at the top of the NXT Women’s division. When she first arrived, folks didn’t think she would last. Now, those same folks are looking forward to her potential crowning moment at NXT Battleground. All we have to say at this point is enjoy the ride, because we feel we are looking at the next franchise WWE Superstar. We send our best wishes to Tiffany Stratton as she aims to make her way to the Tiffy Top this Memorial Day weekend. How appropriate to have her kick off the summer as NXT Women’s Champion. Summer of Stratton?! We like the sound of that! 

TOOTLES!

Are we in for a Summer of Stratton this year?! 

For more on Tiffany, follow her on her Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and WWE-ran Facebook page. 

Putting Respect on the Name of Mandy Rose

October 26, 2021.

NXT Halloween Havoc.

Mandy Rose defeated Raquel Rodriquez (then known as Raquel Gonzalez) to win the NXT Women’s Championship, her first championship in WWE. Many folks expected her to be a transitional champion and her reign would be very short. Today is September 4, 2022 and she’s STILL in her first reign as NXT Women’s Champion and by the end of the day today, she just might be the Unified and Undisputed NXT Women’s Champion by unifying her title with the NXT UK Women’s Championship, currently held by Meiko Satomura. Mandy, Meiko, and Blair Davenport will compete in a Triple Threat Title Unification Match for the NXT Women’s and NXT UK Women’s Championships later on today at NXT Worlds Collide. 

NXT Halloween Havoc 2021…the beginning of greatness
Photo credit: WWE.com

Many look at Mandy and for some reason can’t fantom how a woman with her looks can be one of the most dominating champions in NXT and WWE history, but that’s exactly what she has done. Her reign is the 3rd longest in the history of the title, with only Asuka and Shayna Baszler having longer reigns. The list of people she has beaten is a who’s who of some of the best talent the NXT brand has ever had: Raquel, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY (Io Shiari), Alba Fyre (Kay Lee Ray), Cora Jade, Wendy Choo, Roxanne Perez, and Zoey Stark. Should she beat two of NXT UK’s greatest stars in Meiko and Blair later on today, there is no reason why Mandy should NOT be called the greatest NXT Women’s Champion of all time. 

Like every good champion, she uses her environment and smarts for any advantage she can find, which of course includes her Toxic Attraction buddies Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne. But she has not been shy to show off her strength as well, especially in her latest battles, utilizing her built physique and surprising strength to her advantage. Well, her strength is surprising to those that don’t follow her on social media, because those that DO follow her (and based off her numbers, who doesn’t) knows that she takes very good care of herself and puts in serious work in the gym. You don’t look like a action figure without putting in the work. But it goes beyond what she goes in the gym for Mandy. It’s how she has presented herself and has elevated the people around her. The NXT Women’s division is the most competitive (and honestly the most muscular) it’s been in quite some time, and Mandy is a big reason for that. While we absolutely personally LOVED her tag team on the main roster with Dana Brooke (another woman which we’ll be talking about soon…stay tuned), no way would have that gotten her the attention or success as a performer that she has right now. Mandy is on the run of her career and has put her in prime position to be a major player on either RAW or Smackdown when she is eventually called up back to the main roster.

Whoever made the call to send Mandy to NXT deserves all the flowers in the world, as Mandy has taken the title and brand to new heights, making the NXT Women’s Championship one of the most sought-after titles in the WWE Women’s division and Mandy one of its most dominant champions. Whether folks want to admit it or not, it’s way past time to PUT SOME RESPECT ON HER NAME. And if you haven’t by now…you might have no other choice once Worlds Collide reached its conclusion. 

Body of a champion!
Photo credit: Mandy’s Instagram

For more on The Attraction of NXT, follow Mandy on Facebook (WWE-ran), Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. NXT Worlds Collide takes place today at 4PM Eastern time, with the kickoff at 3:30PM Eastern time, streaming on Peacock in the USA and other countries and on the WWE Network everywhere else. Go to https://www.peacocktv.com/wwe for more info. 

WWE's Newest Pitbull

Credit WWE.com

On Tuesday, WWE announced their latest class of Performance Center recruits, their first class of 2020 and their first class of the new decade. The highlight of the class for most fans is Mercedez Martinez, a 19-year veteran of the ring who has fought her heart out to be part of the WWE. She has competed in WWE a few times in dark matches and more recently to fans as part of the Mae Young Classic. While there are a lot of articles bring written about Mercedes and rightfully so...we are going to focus on someone that wrestling fans MIGHT not be too familiar with right now but will get to know sooner than later: Emily Andzulis.





Nickname "The Pitbull", Emily is from Knoxville, TN, who thrives on competition, as shown via her mixed martial arts (MMA) background and as a contestant on NBC's Titan Games, where she was crowned the first female Titan. MMA was only part of her background, as she also worked as a massage therapist in the Knoxville area. Her life is dedicated to making her sister Sharon Shepard, a bone cancer suvivor, proud. In fact, Sharon was the one that convinced Emily to try out for the Titan Games in the first place. It was clear from the get-go that the people in charge liked Emily a lot as she was featured predominantly in their promotions and throughout the show, even though she didn't end up being the overall champion.Check out her Herculean Pull and Mount Olympus runs here from the first episode of Titan Games. Most also said during the show that Emily was on the verge of going to bigger things down the line, maybe even Hollywood. Well...WWE seems like a pretty big deal, doesn't it?!

Photo credit: Emily's Facebook

It seemed like WWE was a future step for Emily as she was chosen to be part of the April 2019 WWE Performance Center tryouts. The wrestling bug bit her good as she enrolled in the Jacobs-Pritchard Wrestling Academy (JP Wrestling Academy or JPWA for short) shortly after. When you enroll in a school owned and taught by Dr. Tom Pritchard and Glenn Jacobs ake Kane, you know you are serious about wrestling and want to learn as much as you can from two of the greatest minds in the business. Emily proved to be a fast learner as she was able to have a match within a few months of training, against local indy star and fellow JPWA graduate Kenzie Paige Henry. This one match showed how dangerous she can potentially be in NXT or even on Raw or Smackdown. Apparently WWE officials paid attention as she was signed to a developmental contract, making her the first graduate (male or female) from the school to join WWE.




Now...why are WE saying to keep an eye on The Pitbull in WWE? Well...for one, LOOK AT HER PHYSIQUE!!! The woman is carved out of stone! Despite her height, she is downright intimidating by her looks alone. But what can you expect when you do two-a-day workouts that consists of weight training, Crossfit, boxing, and jiu-jitsu. Based off the Titan Games and her workouts she post on her social media accounts, her strength is off the charts, which matches well alongside fellow fitness stars Dana Brooke, Mandy Rose, and fellow Knoxvillian Bianca Belair, among others. Her MMA background will match with women such as Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler, and Sonya Deville. Her dedication to making her sister proud can make her an easy face to get behind, but she showed in her debut wrestling match that she is more than capable of being a heel. Besides the obvious backing of The Rock, Kane, and Dr. Tom Pritchard, she also has the backing of current WWE Superstar Natalya. When you consider everything she has and what she can improve on going forward, the only person that is going to stop Emily Andzulis from being a top WWE Superstar...is Emily Andzulis. We have seen what she can do in different platforms, and we are excited to see the NeXT chapter in the life and career of The Pitbull. Good luck Emily!

Photo Credit: Emily's Instagram

For more on The Pitbull, make sure to follow her on her social media accounts, and be on the lookout for her coming to a television near you!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyAndzulis75/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/emily_andzulis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily_andzulis

The Evolution of Dana Brooke

Dana has EVOLVED...and we couldn't be more proud of her!
Photo credit: WWE.com

Evolution: the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.

This weekend's WWE pay-per-view titled WWE Evolution is exactly that. What felt like a dream for fans of the female superstars in WWE is now a reality. For the first time in WWE history, the female superstars get their own pay-per-view. No, we're not stupid, things could have been a TAD bit better in building the event, but the fact that it's even happening in the first place is a big win for the women. While a lot of people have talked about the evolution of the division and some of its top stars, we want to take a little time to focus on someone who we feel is underrated and underappreciated by the wrestling fans and wrestling world as a whole...someone we consider one of our own, Dana Brooke.

Real name Ashley Sebera, Dana will be competing in the Evolution Battle Royal, featuring former champions (Asuka, Nia Jax, Ember Moon), rising stars (such as Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, the IIconics) and former competitors (such as Ivory, Kelly Kelly, and Michelle McCool) with the opportunity at a future Women's Championship down the line. While obviously we hope Dana wins, we want to take some time to mention why as we focus on Dana's OWN Evolution.

Dana begin her journey to WWE as an aspiring gymnast (part of the Junior Olympics, last we checked) and unfortunately injuries and surguries took her out of actively pursuing that further. She went into diving and was pretty damn good at it, but in her own words, "there was nowhere to go for her" in terms of diving, and let's be real, there wasn't. From there, she discovered the bodybuilding world, more spefically the bikini division. While that was cool for her...she wanted more because of her own competitive nature. From there she decided to enter the fitness division and found her niche. She would end up competing in the National Physique Committee (NPC) for a short time before competing as a pro in the International Federaion of Bodybuilders (IFBB). While she never competed on the Olympia stage, she ended up being good enough to compete on the Arnold stage (which is invite-only) two times. While competing at the Arnold multiple times is an honor in itself, it's the fact that she is the first (and as of now only) person (male or female) to do it while under a WWE contract. She did it in 2015 while in NXT, and she did it last year on the main roster. In fact, it was during her time in the fitness division where WWE would discover her.

Dana began her WWE journey at the Performance Center in July 2013 and would make her NXT debut shortly after. We do have to be honest, her debut was definitely less an ideal, but that was to be expected with most of her class having prior wrestling experienece in the indies and Dana having none before coming to the Performance Center. She definitely posessed one of the best finishers of any woman to come out of NXT up to that point, the Samoan Driver, and it got her quite a few victories, including one over one of the Four Horsewomen, Bayley. During her short time in NXT, she aligned herself with Emma and both ladies benefitted from it for a bit. It would end up benefitting Emma moreso than Dana in a way, as unfortunately Dana would suffer an injury that would limit her time in NXT as a competitor. In fact her last televised NXT match was at NXT Takeover: Respect against the debuting Asuka, who pretty much beat Dana handily that night. Everyone focuses on Asuka while no one seemed to have given Dana any credit for hanging with a Japanese legend, but as Dana would soon find out...it would be the story of her career in WWE thus far.

In May 2016, after healing from her injuries, Dana would make her main roster debut rejoining her buddy Emma, but this time with the name EnD (Emma and Dana). It lookes like they were going to attept to recreate or even surpass their NXT run, but injuries plaged it again, but THIS time, it was Emma would be sidelined, leading to Dana being directionness, until Extreme Rules 2016 where Dana showed up dressed as Ric Flair to distract Natalya and help Charlotte retain the Raw Women's Championship. Dana and Charlotte would end up being a pretty cool duo with Charlotte as the champion (and would begin her Queen transformation during that time) and Dana as the protege/lackey). Their relationship strained to the point where we THOUGHT there would be a breakup at some point but it weirdly disappeared. Then it came back for a bit and then broke up shortly before Wrestlemania 33, where they had one match against each other, Charlotte won, and it didn't go any further than that for whatever reason. Emma would return from injury and thought she would have Dana back as her buddy, but Dana was fed up with alliances so she declined the team-up. It looked like it was going to be a feud between Emma and Dana but once again...nothing came out of it. For some odd reason, at some point, it looked like a partnership was brewing between Dana and Mickie James, but again...nothing came out of it. In 2017, she was used sparringly in matches but showed improvements in her matches. After arguably the most embarrasing match (if you want to call it a match) of her career with a blink-of-an-eye defeat by the hands of Asuka, she joined Titus and Apollo (Titus Worldwide) as their statician. In all honestly, THAT went nowhere for her as she spent most of her time accompnaying them to the ring in secretary outfits holding a clipboard. Not even getting physically involved, just...well...holding a damn clipboard.

For someone with her skills, it was bothersome to see someone like Dana being wasted like this. Hell, up until recent, she was used LESS this year in matches than in 2017 despite, again, making serious improvements since her NXT days. We don't understand the logic of WWE of not using Dana in the best way possible, especially as someone who has not been shy of wanting to be in the ring more and wanting to work with children. But one thing no one, not even her haters and detractors, can deny is that Dana does her best to make due with what she has. She never makes excuses for what the cards bring in her life. That was never more clear than when she lost her boyfriend Dallas McCarver last year and she took minimum time off of WWE to mourn and came back and dedicated her matches for the remainer of 2017 and her matches this year, especially the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania Battle Royal, to Dallas (Click here to check out her touching tribute to Dallas during the Royal Rumble this year) Thankfully she has finally found love again in big-time WWE fan and current center for the New York Knicks, Enes Kanter, who is on his own path to making a name for himself in the sports world.

A thankless individual in the wrestling world
Photo credit: WWE.com

Throughout it all, good and bad, thick and thin, we have seen Dana evolve from to the NPC/IFBB to NXT and Breaking Ground to the main roster in WWE. She has suffered more loss than wins, but it has not lessen her as a person or a performer. In fact, it has made her stronger than ever before. To us, she is the most underrated WWE performer no one is talking about, and that's fine. It will make her eventual rise to the top that much sweeter. We've rooted for you for years, Dana, and we're not about to stop now. In fact, we're more in your corner now than ever before. Which is why a win at Evolution will truly be the defining win of not only her career but her life.

In her own words...PLAYTIME...IS OVER!!!!

Follow Dana at the following links:
Twitter: @DanaBrookeWWE
Instagram: ashasebera_danabrooke

Make sure to buy her merchandise at WWE Custom Tees: https://customtees.wwe.com/collections/raw/dana-brooke?sort_by=

Also, check out videos from UpUpDownDown to get to know the woman behind the character:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCcwZncNVLE
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR98S2RtN-Q

Check out our other articles about Dana here:
Our thoughts on her NXT debut: http://fitgems.blogspot.com/2015/04/our-take-on-dana-brookes-debut-on-nxt.html

Why Dana competing at the Arnold is significant: http://fitgems.blogspot.com/2017/02/why-wwes-dana-brooke-competing-at.html

IFBB Bikini Pro Potentially Heading to WWE?

Editor's note: All photos belong to their respective owners

IFBB Bikini Pro...future WWE Diva?

In early March, all eyes were on Columbus, Ohio during the Arnold Sports Festival, which could explain why what I'm about to say might have fell under the radar. We noticed that IFBB Bikini Pro Eboney Chipman made an interesting post on March 6th:

JAYSUS!!!!
DID I JUST GET A MESSAGE FROM THE WWE ASKING ME TO COME TO TRY OUT #DIVA 󾌯󾌯

󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁󾍁

— Eboney Chipman (@EboneyFitness) March 6, 2016

As you know from our previous posts, we do our best to highlight any fitness personality that enters the rankings of sports and entertainment. Of course, we have been checking to see if anymore has come out of it, and less than a week later, she revealed on Twitter that she sent in her application. Now the waiting game begins for her. Most women from the fitness industry have gone on to have great success such as Torrie Wilson, Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria), Lexi Kaufman (Alexa Bliss), Ashley Sebera (Dana Brooke), and Celeste Braun (Kaitlyn). And do we even need to mention a certain fitness model who became a 7x WWE Women's Champion and currently youngest female WWE Hall-of-Famer of all time? Should she get this opportunity, we think she could do very well. She has the height, beauty, and athleticism to have a good career in WWE. We will keep you all posted on how things go with Eboney and if WWE will be part of her future going forward. From all of us at FitGems Nation, we want to wish you best of luck, Eboney!

Potentially coming to a WWE arena near you...

For more on Eboney, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Our Take on Dana Brooke's NXT Debut

(All photos are from WWE.com)

This week on NXT, the NXT and WWE Universe was formally introduced to the newest Diva, Dana Brooke. Fitness fans have known her for quite some time in the fitness industry as Ashley Sebera. She has been a fan of WWE for quite some time and at one point she was actually rumored to have already signed with NXT (that was the time when current NXT Diva Alexa Bliss (Lexi Kaufman) and former prospect Christina Vargas were signed). That turned out to be false at the time, but she would later on be offered a developmental contact several months later and has been doing her thing on NXT live events.

Welcome to Brooke City, Blue Pants!

As mentioned earlier, Dana would make her official debut on the April 15^th edition of WWE NXT on the WWE Network. Right away, she came out doing a flip here and there and showing off what she worked on building for years. Arrogance, cockiness…if you got enough of that, I don’t care how beautiful you are, you’re gonna get booed. So mission accomplished on getting her character down pat. Now on to the match itself…not everything is gonna be perfect on your first match. I’m sorry, it’s not gonna happen. It was obviously she was a bit “green” (that’s the term used for those that aren't as experienced in the ring), but she showcase her strength quite a bit, which helped make up for her greenness, which WILL improve with patience and dedication. Speaking of power, her finisher is NASTY!! That’s something you would expect a guy to do, so major kudos to Dana for having a unique finisher. It’s definitely not S-A-W-F-T…SAWFT! (You’re welcome, Enzo and Big Cass).

BROOKE...SMASH! 

Here’s where I get mean…not to Dana, but to her detractors. Most internet dirtsheets want the wrestlers to be perfect from the word go and will lash out on anyone who isn't, and that does double for the ladies…especially those who don’t come from an independent wrestling background. Dana is from the fitness world, so you know they picked her apart piece by piece, as well as those in the IWC (internet wrestling community). Take a look at sites such as Bleacher Report and others to see what I’m talking about. Is it fair? HELL NO. Do they care?! HELL to the NO. Is it fun to make them eat crow. OH…HELL…YEAH!! And I truly feel Dana will make every single one of those haters eats it by the plateful sooner than later. Last I checked, Trish wasn't the best when she started, and looked how she turned out. I will say this, most people see that Dana has SOMETHING special that you just can’t teach, no matter what type of tools you have at your disposal (looking at you WWE Developmental Center…even though I would love to go there on a weekend just to try it out.). Once all the stars aligned, I think most haters and critics will see that WWE/NXT has something special with Dana.

With AJ’s retirement, now’s the time for the Divas division to step up and for someone to take over as the new face of the Divas division. Dana Brooke isn't there yet, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if one year from now, we see Dana on top of the NXT women’s division as their champion or maybe even on the main roster in the Divas Championship title hunt or as Divas Champion. We have Dana’s back. We support Dana and wish her the best of success. So to those that want to see her fall, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news…you don’t get to win this round. Dana Brooke is on her way to do major things in NXT and WWE. WHEN (not if) she does succeed, we’ll make sure to send you some crow and humble pie to eat on…and in honor of Dana, we’ll make sure it’s low in fat and high in protein. ;) 

Keep hating, haters. Her fun has only just begun!

For more on Dana, follow her on Twitter at @DanaBrookeWWE as well as on Instagram, and make sure to see her and all the NXT talent on the WWE Network ($9.99 a month, no commitment) Wednesday nights at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central.

NXT Diva Competing at the 2015 Arnold

DISCLAIMER: All photos used belong to their original owners. 

As you all probably know by now, the lists for the 2015 Arnold on the pro side have been released, with the biggest and best names in the industry competing for top honors in one of the biggest shows of the year. One name that stood out to me was Ashley Sebera for the fitness side, known as the Fitness International. Some of you probably know her by a different name...Dana Brooke. Yes, THE Dana Brooke from NXT, WWE's developmental brand. My initial thought about this was..."Was this a mistake? The committee knows she's part of WWE, right? Do they even ALLOW this? But after seeing the retweets from Triple H (WWE's COO) and Sara Amato (NXT trainer), that's when it hit me. A WWE performer is going to represent the entire wrestling world in one of the largest fitness competitions in the world.

Former WWE Divas Aksana (real name Živilė Raudonienė) and Kaitlin (real name Celeste Braun) were former IFBB and NPC figure competitors who stopped competing to become WWE Divas. Torrie Wilson and Lisa Maria Varon were fitness competitors before entering the world of professional wrestling. So how and why is Dana (we'll be using her WWE name going forward in this article) able to compete in one of the top fitness shows in the world AND still be a WWE/NXT Diva? Better question is...why not?

Dana is one of the top prospects in NXT who has not (as of this writing) made it to the TV roster (or NXT's home, the WWE Network...$9.99 a month, no commitment needed. I know, cheap plug). Known as the Killa Barbie, she has shown a lot of promise as a tough-as-nails performer who could be one of the next top female powerhouses in WWE, based off fans who have seen her perform during NXT live events. SO...back to the point of "What's the big deal of Dana making the Arnold list?"

If memory serves me right, this will mark the first time in WWE history that a WWE performer UNDER CONTRACT will compete in a fitness event. The ladies I mentioned earlier competed in fitness competitions but stopped after entering WWE. This practically guarantees big opportunities for the WWE and IFBB to showcase their companies to new people. IFBB, while big, doesn't have nearly the mainstream media power that WWE has. Can you imagine the exposure the IFBB can get if some of the Arnold was shown on WWE programming? WWE, in turn, will have a massive amount of fit talent (male and female) they can look at and scout for the next breed of Superstars and Divas for WWE and NXT. The company will be like kids in a candy store trying to see who can one day lead their company.

What's in it for Dana? To bring two words together and show both audiences why she's one of the top athletes on the planet. The thought of a good deal of the crowd chanting "NXT! NXT! NXT!" during her swimsuit round and fitness routine round brings a tear and a smile to my face knowing one of our own is returning home to represent everything she loves: fitness and pro wrestling. For more reasons than you know, Dana is already a winner.

2015 is her year...she makes history on March 6th. 

We would like to publicly wish Dana the best of luck as she prepares to represent pro wrestling in one of the biggest stages in the fitness industry and we would like to thank Paul Levesque (Triple H), Sara Del Ray (Sara Amato), and WWE/NXT for giving Dana the opportunity to make history. Good luck Dana! FYI, you can follow Dana on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DanaBrookeWWE and Instagram at http://instagram.com/ashasebera_danabrooke

The 2015 Arnold Sports Festival is March 5-8 at the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, with the Fitness International Prejudging and Finals on March 6th. Click here for ticket information. 

WWE Divas Division Adding Some Muscle...Literally!

There were plans that Paul Levesque aka Triple H was going to rebuild the Divas division via development, and it looks like based off today's news, the rumors appear to be true. Announced by various wrestling sites, IFBB bikini competitors Lexi Kaufman and Christina Vargas have signed WWE development deals.

Get ready, WWE Universe! They are coming to take over the Divas division!
Credit: Christina Vargas's Facebook

While most wrestling fans are just now finding out about this, we at FitGems Nation (as well as our good friends over at Fit Model TV)have known about this for months. In fact, fans of Lexi and Christina have known about this for months if they have followed them on their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. To say we are proud of these ladies would be an understatement. The WWE Divas division is in need of some serious muscle right now, and WWE has LITERALLY added that with these two ladies on the scene. 

The hardcore wrestling fans (aka marks and the IWC, which stands for internet wrestling community) are gonna be hard to please because they didn't come from the indies, but if they knew what we know, they have nothing to worry about. Both ladies have put in hard work for years to attain their physiques, and they will put in the effort to entertain you as WWE Divas. We hope they will make it far and take WWE by storm. We're rooting for you both!

Check out the links below for more on WWE's newest developmental divas:

Lexi Kaufman

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lexi-Kaufman/171733126219865

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lexi_Kaufman

Instagram: http://instagram.com/lexi_kaufman

Christina Vargas:

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/CVargas26

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VARGAS26

Instagram: http://instagram.com/christinavargas