Léi Ying Lee became last night a 2-time TNA Knockouts World Champion. She brought back the TNA Wrestling Knockouts Championship home, where it belongs. Lee finally dethroned Arianna Grace, who won the Championship from Lee last February at TNA No Surrender.
When the Hardys became TNA and NXT Tag Team Champions, five NXT talents have held TNA titles since the beginning of the NXT and TNA Wrestling partnership. The current WWE United States Champion, Trick Williams, held the TNA World title. Stacks won the TNA International Championship, now held by Mustafa Ali. Jacy Jayne, Kelani Jordan, and Arianna Grace all held the TNA Knockouts Championship.
As the TNA iMPACT episode was taped, Lee’s win was known to the fans. The moment and the context in which it happened deserve to be checked. The current times are a special moment in the history of both TNA and NXT. Léi Ying Lee is not a wrestler among others in a very special TNA Knockouts roster. “Nygma-allow” me to tell you why.
Léi Ying Lee, TNA Knockouts Champion for the second time
As I was telling you last November, when Léi Ying Lee became Champion for the first time, the Angel Warrior has worked her way to the top of the Knockouts division. Since her debut in September 2024, Lee has consistently impressed. She’s never afraid of competing against both Knockouts and men. After some time in WWE, Léi Ying Lee found with TNA Wrestling the perfect place to be the angel warrior she is.
Right when she started with TNA Wrestling, Léi Ying Lee brought something different to the mix. If the Knockouts are supposed to be beautiful, strong, and kick-ass, Lee showed the kick-ass side first. As her former tag-team partner Xia Brookside said, “Léi Ying Lee is such a hard-hitting, kicking, fighting, just warrior in herself.”
After Jordynne Grace left TNA Wrestling in early 2025, the company needed a new Knockout to fit the definition above. The 37-year-old wrestler proved, as Masha Slamovich could, that she can fight men, be fierce, and be able to spread her blood to the ring if it is required. With this monumental victory last night, Léi Ying Lee became a 2-time TNA Knockouts World Champion. Warriors are angels, and angels are warriors.
The TNA Knockouts Championship is back home
When Arianna Grace dethroned Lee at TNA No Surrender, there was something at the same time shocking and logical. Arianna Grace is Santino Marella’s daughter. On September 5, 2024, Arianna Grace announced at TNA iMPACT that she will be the new liaison between NXT and TNA.
Appearing pretty often on TNA iMPACT, because of the TNA/NXT partnership, she came to ask her Daddy for a TNA Knockouts title chance. She even stole the Cobra to make sure she would win. At TNA No Surrender, if Stacks lost the TNA International Championship, Grace used the Cobra to win the TNA Knockouts Championship. Her father was not happy at all.
“You don’t have to like it, but you have to accept it!”@AriannaGraceWWE is the TNA Knockouts World Champion!
WATCH #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/lc2GPLLtCU pic.twitter.com/aVnmvKzJ5n
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) February 20, 2026
When she was pretty stagnant on WWE NXT, Arianna Grace gained some TV time on TNA iMPACT and TNA PLEs. Since her debut in 2022, Grace has never won a Championship, not even a title chance. “Miss NXT” also suffered multiple injuries that prevented her from gaining momentum. The fact that she was “given” that momentum on TNA Wrestling helped, at the same time, the talent and the two companies.
Arianna Grace had some TV time and matches to show what she is about. NXT could create the BirthRight faction to give her and all the other wrestlers involved, some credibility. Finally, TNA Wrestling had a Knockouts Champion. At that time, the Knockouts division was pretty low. The fact that Grace has been the third NXT talent to become the TNA Knockouts Champion since 2025 says it all. And Lee needed to be shown as someone who can put the division on her back.
What about the NXT/TNA partnership?
As of today, all the TNA titles are in the hands of TNA wrestlers. For the moment. The NXTNA partnership is far from over. In the recent “The Heartbreak Kid: Becoming Shawn Michaels” documentary on Peacock, NXT’s “big boss” was praising the partnership. NXT wanted to work with other promotions, and TNA Wrestling made it possible. It has allowed both companies to collaborate and benefit from each other.
Matt Bloom, NXT Head Coach and Vice President of Talent Development, describes the partnership as refreshing and exciting because the possibilities are endless. When the Hardys become NXT Tag Team Champions, Matt and Jeff think it’s unreal to hear Michaels thank them for passing along their knowledge to young talents. Léi Ying Lee comes from NXT but is now a TNA Knockout. She won her first TNA Knockouts Championship at an NXT event.
The partnership is far from over. When the TNA Knockouts division was losing some talent (Masha Slamovich, Ash by Elegance) and building new ones (Mara Sadè, Mila Moore, Jada Stone, Harley Hudson, Myla Grace), NXT helped. Currently, NXT has been living the same. The “Mania call-up season” left a roster in need of rebuilding. Jacy Jayne, Sol Ruca, Fallon Henley, Lash Legend, and Lainey Reid were strong losses for NXT.
Meanwhile, Léi Ying Lee now has a new slew of contenders waiting for her. Last night, on TNA iMPACT, Elayna Black, Indi Hartwell, and Ash by Elegance argued about this. Don’t forget Xia Brookside, who betrayed Lee and was watching the match backstage last night. I could talk about Allie, Rosemary, Mara Sadè, or Jada Stone; there are plenty of possible contenders. One thing is sure: It’s Léi Ying Lee’s time to shine and show that the TNA Knockouts Division is now on the shoulders of the right Champion.
I might have lost everything… but I brought this title back home where it belongs. 👑
They tried to write my ending.
Tonight, I rewrote it. 🔥#ANDNEW #TNA pic.twitter.com/okGCtlu78D— 雷影 .李 (Léi Yǐng .Lee) (@TheLeiYingLee) May 8, 2026
