WWE brings back WCW invasion storyline as TNA invades NXT

Overview

• On WWE NXT before No Mercy 2025, Trick Williams attacked Mike Santana, which led to the TNA wrestlers invading WWE's developmental brand
• TNA stood tall against Trick and Co, while Oba Femi and Ricky Saints were focused on the NXT Championship
• The invasion segment was inspired by the 2001 feud between WCW and WWE in the late Attitude Era

On WWE NXT before No Mercy 2025, Trick Williams attacked Mike Santana, which led to the TNA wrestlers invading WWE's developmental brand. TNA stood tall against Trick and Co, while Oba Femi and Ricky Saints were focused on the NXT Championship. The invasion segment was inspired by the 2001 feud between WCW and WWE in the late Attitude Era.

In the main event of the night, Trick Williams and Oba Femi were up against each other in a title vs title, champion vs champion match. During the match, Mike Santana joined the commentary desk, which did not go well with Trick. Towards the end, the TNA Champion slapped Santana.

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The entire arena went crazy, as Santana replied to Trick's attack, leading to a chaotic brawl all around the arena between the NXT and TNA rosters of both men's and women's divisions. Oba and Saints, however, were focused on the NXT Title, as their match was made official at No Mercy 2025.

Will TNA-NXT invasion storyline work, unlike the WCW-WWE invasion story of 2001?

The segment received great response from the fans with a bit of a concern. While fans were happy for the interest in the storyline, they were concerned about how the invasion story happened with WCW and WWE. With WWE winning the invasion story in 2001, WCW could not stand and many of its stars were indirectly buried.

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While the current TNA-NXT partnership is better, TNA has received secondary treatment, which has obviously led to the kayfabe storyline. However, it's better for TNA to have a major win from the feud for their stars to receive a good treatment. In that way, WWE could justify the invasion story.