PARKS’S TAKE: Proposing two trades of wrestlers from TNA and NXT who would benefit from a change of scenery

The relationship between WWE and TNA has blossomed into more than just TNA sending a wrestler to participate in the Royal Rumble. Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace recently challenged NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez at NXT Battleground; NXT’s Tatum Paxley answered an open challenge for Grace’s championship Friday night at the TNA Against All Odds PPV; and TNA’s Frankie Kazarian and Joe Hendry appeared in last night’s battle royal on NXT to determine the number one contender to Trick Williams’s NXT Championship.

It takes some getting used to seeing a WWE product intermingle with another company the size of TNA, especially given their history of being the number one and number two pro wrestling organizations in the United States (and even the world) for so long. I’m not sure WWE has ever worked harmoniously alongside another organization like this in my lifetime. And who knows for how long it’ll continue.

But it will continue, as it has generated buzz for both sides, even if it hasn’t necessarily translated into an immediate ratings bump for TNA. Here is one wrestler from each brand who would be intriguing to see on the other (I’ll have more of an in-depth look at this, with more wrestlers listed, in an upcoming column in the PWTorch Newsletter as well as in my new VIP audio show, Greg Parks Outloud!).

To TNA: Eddy Thorpe

Quite frankly, NXT has a host of wrestlers that aren’t getting consistent TV time and therefore in-ring time who could benefit from making some appearances in TNA. Thorpe just returned after being out with injury and was one of the first eliminated from Tuesday’s battle royal. As Karl Fredericks, Thorpe was a standout in New Japan’s L.A. Dojo. Yet, he hasn’t found his niche in NXT.

Thorpe would be treated as a big deal going to TNA, as any NXT wrestler would. He could get into a short feud with someone there, like a Steve Maclin (though a babyface turn seems on the horizon for Maclin). He could also challenge Mustafa Ali for the X Division Championship. Give him a one-month run there, appearing on every TV and culminating with a match on PPV. That could potentially give him some momentum upon a return to NXT.

To NXT: Dirty Dango

Okay, I’m not sure exactly what would lead to Dango showing up in his old stomping grounds. Perhaps TNA’s on-screen authority figure, Santino Marella, could get fed up with Dango’s attitude and send him on excursion to NXT just to get him out of his hair. Seeing Dango, who self-identifies as a hater of professional wrestling and who, at every turn, makes it clear he’s only in it for the money, interact with up-and-coming NXT talent would be a hoot.

Imagine his disgust at the positivity and cheerfulness of the likes of Thea Hail and Brinley Reece. Imagine him trying to talk Je’Von Evans out of all the highspots and to grab a hold. Imagine him running afoul of Tony D’Angelo. It may not be a boon from an in-ring standpoint, but as far as entertaining television goes, I could see it being a hoot.

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