Sportskeeda's Choice: TNA Wrestling storyline of 2025

TNA Wrestling's 2025 kicked off with a major announcement. They began an official multi-year deal with WWE, which would see wrestlers from both companies compete against one another. And it's that announcement that led to modern TNA's most important storyline.

The bigger stories this year revolved around the likes of Leon Slater and Mike Santana, both aiming to win TNA singles gold. While Mike Santana's slow rise to the top of the promotion was fun to watch throughout the year, it was part of the overall NXT vs TNA Wrestling storyline. Slater's record-breaking X-Division Championship reign was a close second.

When it came to 2025, the most important storyline for Total Nonstop Action was their feud with WWE's NXT brand, as the two promotions traded championships back and forth to see which brand was best.

Why the NXT War was the TNA Wrestling Storyline of 2025

Let's be real, folks. Nothing in either TNA Wrestling or WWE NXT came remotely close to the rivalry between the two rosters. Over the past few years, TNA wrestlers began popping up on WWE events, and vice versa. But 2025 was when it turned into a full-blown war.

On May 25, NXT's Trick Williams defeated Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship, elevating things from a friendly competition between two brands to an all-out fight for TNA Wrestling to reclaim what was theirs. Shortly after this, Jacy Jayne defeated Masha Slamovich in a Winner Takes All match at Slammiversary, walking out as the first NXT and TNA double champion in the history of either promotion.

For months, NXT's top talent mocked and berated TNA, essentially "little brothering" the promotion. Both Trick and Jacy publicly stated that they were too good for the promotion, believing that they alone were driving the company's stock up tenfold. Ash by Elegance would bring the Knockouts World Title back home, but a sudden retirement saw that title land on NXT's Kelani Jordan. The Hardys were the first to truly strike back, winning the NXT Tag Team Titles from DarkState in October before losing them back that same month.

The night that the Hardys won those titles, October 7, was also the NXT vs TNA Showdown event. It was a full card to determine which brand was superior this year, ending in a 2-2 tie. NXT's Kelani Jordan led TNA as she was their Knockouts World Champion, and was the last eliminated on her team. Ethan Page retained the North American Title against Mustafa Ali, who'd earned a shot at the title before being released by WWE in 2023.

Trick Williams sided with Team NXT, but abandoned his partner, then men's NXT Champion Ricky Saints, leaving him at the hands of Moose and Mike Santana. Trick would then lose the TNA Wrestling Men's World Title to Santana at Bound for Glory less than a week later. Much like Ash's win, it was a huge deal, with the TNA faithful erupting for their hero.

Kelani's title reign would end a little over a month later, as she dropped it to Lei Ying Li in a triple threat also featuring multi-time Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace. But that wasn't the end.

Even today, both brands are fighting over championships. Stacks Lorenzo recently won the TNA National Championship from Steve Maclin, and Moose challenged Ethan Page to an NXT North American Championship match on December 30. This one is far from over. The question is no longer who will cross the line, but which side of the line will have the most gold when the dust settles?

Read all the hottest WWE news from Sportskeeda by choosing us as your preferred source. Click HERE.

Edited by Greg Bush