{"id":143036,"date":"2025-10-01T19:05:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=143036"},"modified":"2025-10-01T19:12:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:12:37","slug":"bully-ray-supports-wwes-decision-to-rename-nxt-vs-tna-event-to-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/10\/01\/bully-ray-supports-wwes-decision-to-rename-nxt-vs-tna-event-to-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Bully Ray Supports WWE\u2019s Decision to Rename NXT vs TNA Event to \u201cShowdown\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"96\" data-end=\"513\">WWE has officially renamed its upcoming NXT vs. TNA premium live event, changing the title from Invasion to Showdown. The decision sparked debate among fans and within the wrestling industry. However, veteran Bully Ray voiced his support for the change, noting that the original name never matched the storyline. He added that <em data-start=\"431\" data-end=\"441\">Showdown<\/em> is a far better representation of the rivalry between the two brands.<\/p>\n<h2>Bully Ray Doubts the Invasion Concept<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"59\" data-end=\"427\">Wrestling veteran Bully Ray discussed the decision on Busted Open After Dark, explaining why the Invasion branding never fit the storyline. He noted that months prior, NXT and TNA had already been working together, making the term \u201cinvasion\u201d misleading. According to Bully Ray, the two promotions were collaborating, not waging an invasion against one another.<\/p>\n<h2>Angles of Invasion Not the same as Classic Invasion Angles<\/h2>\n<p>Bully Ray also stressed that this storyline was very different from past wrestling invasions, such as the well-known WCW\/ECW vs. WWE angle. Instead of a hostile takeover or surprise attack, NXT and TNA had built a working relationship that was only beginning to show signs of tension. He explained that it was less of an invasion and more of a strained partnership.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_143061\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-143061\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-143061 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/22-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic for WWE NXT Showdown, formerly NXT Invasion.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/22-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/22-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/22-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/22-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/22-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-143061\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To Bully Ray, the renaming of the event reflects the true nature of the storyline: two strong brands clashing after months of cooperation. He believes the new title captures the competitive spirit of the situation and is a much better fit for the event.<\/p>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"69\" data-end=\"434\">WWE has rebranded its upcoming NXT vs. TNA premium live event, changing the title from Invasion to Showdown. Wrestling veteran Bully Ray supported the move, pointing out that the original name didn\u2019t make sense since the two brands had already been collaborating. He added that Showdown better reflects the competitive spirit and growing tension between NXT and TNA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i> for more on Bully Ray and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WWE has officially renamed its upcoming NXT vs. TNA premium live event, changing the title from Invasion to Showdown. The decision sparked debate among fans and within the wrestling industry. However, veteran Bully Ray voiced his support for the change, noting that the original name never matched the storyline. He added that Showdown is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5606,"featured_media":143063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2192,8959,4,5,3],"tags":[9551,9553],"class_list":["post-143036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-america","category-wrestling","category-tna-wrestling","category-wwe","category-nxt","category-wwe-universe","tag-nxt-invasion","tag-nxt-showdown"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5606"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143036"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143068,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143036\/revisions\/143068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}