Former WWE star Dana Brooke, now known as Ash By Elegance, was interviewed on the Ring The Belle YouTube channel. Scroll down to the bottom of this article to watch the entire interview.
Ash was asked if she is officially a member of the TNA roster:
"It is official. The big secret is out. I am signed with TNA wrestling, which is an amazing opportunity and I cannot wait to explore that Knockouts division."
On making her TNA debut:
"I made my secret appearance. I came to the venue which was an amazing venue in Las Vegas at the Palms Arena. It was spectacular. While that Knockouts title match was going on, I just wanted to make my way out to the ring, let my presence be known, and watch an amazing match with one of my old coworkers, Trinity. So I was really excited to show up and watch her against Jordynne, which was an amazing, amazing match, but also wanted to make a statement and let everybody know that my eyes are on that Knockouts title."
On being released by WWE and her passion for wrestling:
"Oh my gosh. It was like crazy emotions going on through my head and I had to contain all of them and put them all together and say that this is what's best. You know, being in WWE was an amazing experience. It was a great platform that gave me to be out there and spread my message and inspire other people, but it was time. It was definitely time to explore other options. I want to be in control of my destiny. I want to be the one to know that I can go out there and I can win this championship and I can go out there and achieve my goals and achieve my dreams. Throughout 10 years of wrestling within WWE, again, I can't say anything bad about it, but it was time for me to spread my wings and fly and take control of what I want."
"Wrestling has become such a passion of mine. I love being in that ring and I love performing. TNA was just the perfect fit. For me, it was a fit that made sense. I have worked with a lot of talent that are in TNA. Everybody was like, 'You're gonna love it here. This is the place to be. If you want to get out there and you want to show the world what you can do, this is the place' so I'm super grateful. Tommy Dreamer, Gail Kim, they have been in my corner and I talked to them throughout the whole thing. They're like, 'This is the perfect fit. You're gonna get an awesome opportunity to go out there and shine and show what you can do' and that's exactly what I'm looking forward to doing."
"Another thing is so many people had reached out from WWE, my co workers from there, and they're just so proud because they saw so much potential in me and they wanted me to go explore other options and not just stop there and have a bitter taste in my mouth, and that's exactly what I'm doing. So it was so nice to see the support since I have signed with TNA wrestling."
On the inspiration for the Ash by Elegance character:
"I feel as though with other characters and roles that I have played, I've never tapped into my true self. I love to be elegant, and I feel elegant is a word, but it means just so, so much. You know, its grace, its elegance, its class, and I've always tried to do everything with the utmost class and respect in any area that I have worked in. I want to bring class and elegance to the ring. I feel like that's definitely a part of me and who I am, so I'm really excited to explore a true side of me, as elegant."
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Ring The Belle with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. Quotes were transcribed by Jim for WrestlingNews.co.
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