Trinity Makes Her Wrestling Return in IMPACT; Reveals Why She Walked Out of WWE

One of wrestling’s most popular stars made her long-awaited return to the ring on Thursday when Trinity (f.k.a. WWE’s Naomi) made her debut in IMPACT Wrestling. As the crowd cheered her on with a “welcome back” chant, she cut a promo in the ring about joining IMPACT’s Knockouts division and her desire to compete for the championship. She shouted out many of the company’s legendary women wrestlers, including current Knockouts Champion, Deonna Purrazzo. This led to the champ joining Trinity in the ring and bringing up her WWE walk out, telling her she wasn’t ready to challenge for the title.

This is a great move for Trinity. IMPACT doesn’t have the popularity or reach of WWE and AEW, but it’s always been known for its outstanding women’s division. Long before WWE’s “women’s revolution,” IMPACT gave its stars a chance to have standout matches and showcase how awesome women’s wrestling is. The company is known for its over the top characters and storylines, so she’ll be able to bring all “the glow” she wants without anyone trying to make her fit in a predetermined box. IMPACT is also open to working with other promotions, so this gives Trinity a chance to work with stars from New Japan Pro Wrestling, STARDOM, and even AEW. Her former tag team partner Mercedes Moné was in the audience to support her. IMPACT has a joint pay per view with New Japan coming up on Aug. 20, so there’s a chance we could see the tandem reunite in the ring.

The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion will make her in-ring debut on IMPACT TV on Thursday, May 11. The promotion tapes its shows a couple weeks in advance, so her match against KiLynn King has already happened. I won’t spoil anything here, but you can find the result, along with fan footage, on the internet.

Back in May 2022, Trinity and Mercedes shocked the wrestling world by leaving behind the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and walking out on a live broadcast of Monday Night Raw. They were unhappy with the course of their storyline and the women’s tag team division as a whole. WWE went out of its way to bury and disparage the two Black women, calling them “unprofessional” and claiming they let down the fans. This opened them up to criticism and harassment from a particularly ugly corner of wrestling fandom. However, that all seemed to backfire, as the duo has become more popular than ever and their names remain at the top of most fans’ wishlists for their favorite promotions. Based on the reaction she got from the IMPACT crowd, it’s clear Trinity has plenty of support in the wrestling community.

During a recent appearance on the Busted Open Podcast, Trinity explained that in addition to feeling ‘stagnant,’ she walked out on Monday Night Raw because of how she was treated that day. She also revealed that in her last year at WWE, she wrestled with a torn labrum and had shoulder surgery after her exit.

“I chose and want to be at IMPACT. The doors are open for me everywhere, literally everywhere, but I truly feel like IMPACT is the best choice for me at this point in my life right now with what I want to do, and to just be able to work with the talent there,” Trinity said. “I feel that is where I’ll be happiest and most utilized and really get to grow in the ways that I feel that I need to right now on this wrestling journey.”

“Had all of the stuff never happened, there is no way I would have taken that leap. The situation kind of forced me to figure it out. That’s what I meant when I say everything was a blessing in disguise,” she continued. “I was going through a lot, and felt very stagnant, and I wasn’t happy. Ultimately, I left that day because of the way I was talked to and handled. Everything kind of broke me that day. It had nothing to do with anything else or anybody else. That was just it. I had to. To go through the backlash and negativity and the lies and the rumors and also feel lost, it really broke me. It was probably the lowest I’ve ever felt in my life. Going through that, it made me reset and face it head on and figure out how to learn from this experience, grow from it, and find myself again in all of it. I’m extremely happy now and really thankful for this opportunity to show that you haven’t seen me at my best yet.”

You can follow Trinity in IMPACT on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on AXS TV.