The D’Amore Drop: How Naomi — aka Trinity — told me she was leaving TNA for WWE

The D’Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D’Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D’Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.

WWE’s Money In The Bank from Los Angeles this past Saturday was another action-packed WWE premium live event (PLE), with the right results to continue WWE’s major storylines through the summer.

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As we noted last week, Seth Rollins winning the Money In The Bank briefcase was absolutely the right call.

Like with the main villain in a television show or the first act of a superhero movie, WWE continues to build up Seth Rollins’ power. At WrestleMania 41, he turned full heel with Paul Heyman, then he added Bron Breakker, and then Bronson Reed to create the most formidable faction since the Bloodline’s heyday.

And now he has the power to get a WWE title shot anytime, anywhere, on no notice.

I’m enjoying the fact that WWE is building Seth’s power base slowly, with another boost every few weeks that is then allowed time to settle in the minds of the fans.

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I don’t think Rollins’ group (they need an official name!) is done with the power grab yet. I think we are going to see them look absolutely unbeatable … and then a hero will emerge to take them on.

In this past weekend’s main event, Cody Rhodes got his revenge win over John Cena from WrestleMania 41, pinning the WWE Champion in a fun tag match that also featured Jey Uso and Logan Paul.

I think that may create a temporary pause to the Rhodes vs. Cena storyline moving forward.

Cena is now getting into it with CM Punk, leading into a fan-demanded match at WWE Night of Champions on June 28 in Saudi Arabia. Seth Rollins also sent a message to both that he’ll be ready to pounce on the winner if the opportunity presents itself.

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I expect WWE to circle back to Cena vs. Rhodes in a big way in late summer.

The women’s Money In The Bank match was every bit as exciting as the men’s, with Naomi emerging from a thrilling ladder match also featuring Stephanie Vaquer, Roxanne Perez, Giulia, Rhea Ripley and Alexa Bliss.

All of them had terrific moments, and it is great to see younger talents like Vaquer and Perez get presented as the megastars they will soon be.

But, of course, I have an affinity for Naomi … or rather Trinity, which is her real name and what she was known as during her incredible run in TNA from 2023-24.

Trinity was a massive get for TNA. The transition from the WWE can be tough when it’s all you’ve ever known, but once she committed, she was phenomenal. Trinity had no ego, brought no drama — just had a team-first attitude.

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She was a huge boost to the entire locker room, not just the Knockouts division. Everyone knew she’d probably return to WWE eventually, and we were cool with that. The goal was always to showcase her as a featured star and help her continue growing.

She delivered at every major milestone — from Slammiversary to Bound for Glory, then into the TNA rebrand at Hard to Kill in January 2024.

She signed to go back to WWE, and told me in December 2023. She had every right to say, “Hey, I need to drop the belt quickly and I can’t lose twice to Jordynne Grace during Hard to Kill weekend.”

I actually offered her an out — to drop the title and then not do the rematch on television just days later. But she insisted on doing the right thing, passing the torch to Jordynne and giving the TNA Knockouts Title full respect.

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When she sat me down and told me she was going back to WWE, she did it in person and was gracious enough to tell me what her time in TNA had meant to her. That gave me the chance to tell her exactly what she had done for TNA in return.

Some tears were shed, so yeah, if I am thrilled that Trinity won Money In The Bank and will be in a WWE title program, don’t blame me.

I hate to do two columns in a row saying the same thing — especially this particular thing — but Logan Paul continues to impress. He didn’t look at all out of place in a match that featured Cena, Rhodes and Uso.

He’s playing a character that is very much himself out there, and it really works. I popped when Paul and Cena got into it, teammates arguing in the ring during the match.

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“I am Logan Paul!” seems exactly like the sort of thing Logan would yell during a real-life argument, too.

Jey Uso is one of the most over performers WWE has had in a decade. His entrance is the hottest in the business. He had a great match on “WWE Raw” dropping the World Heavyweight Championship to Gunther.

Jey’s first WWE World Title reign was a short one — April to June — but it won’t be his last.

Which brings me to the big surprise at Money In The Bank — the return of Ron Killings just days after he announced he was not getting renewed by WWE after 17 years with the promotion.

I exchanged texts with Ronnie shortly before the show. No, he didn’t mention that he was going back to WWE — he’s a pro and he also knows that I hate spoilers. (Why would anyone WANT to know spoilers? Wrestling is at its best when there are surprises.)

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Obviously I wanted to check if there was a chance that he could be legally cleared to appear at Maple Leaf Pro’ss next big pay-per-view on July 5, but mainly we had a great talk about the outpouring of love from not just fans, but also Ronnie’s peers when news broke that he was done with WWE.

I experienced something similar when I was let go from TNA in February 2024. Like I said to Ronnie, it is like attending your own funeral, and by that I mean you get to hear the things people usually only say when it’s too late.

I don’t know for a fact if Ronnie asked WWE to be known as “Ron Killings” — his real name — as part of this new deal, but it is very smart. Because it is his legal name, he can use it for future projects, television shows, other wrestling gigs, signings, whatever. “R-Truth” is WWE IP.

No two performers age the same and, even aged 53, Ron has something left in the tank. He has a real top-tier run left in him — in fact, he’s got a few.

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Let’s enjoy what he does next — because it almost didn’t happen.

Another talent who handles things the right way is Shotzi Blackheart. WWE signed her just after she agreed to work with us in TNA in 2019, but she honored the dates.

Six years later, she’s a free agent — and you better believe I made sure Maple Leaf Pro booked her for our July 5 pay-per-view.

AAA’s Worlds Collide event was the dawn of the new WWE-ownership era for the lucha promotion. It was an impressive start: The show looked great on YouTube and there was a red-hot crowd at the Kia Forum despite the early bell time (so as not to go head-to-head with Money In The Bank across L.A.).

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Lucha is a unique style of wrestling, different and distinct from the North American style. I understand some fans’ fears TKO will turn it into “WWE Mexico,” but there was no evidence of that at Worlds Collide.

Next week is huge for Mexican wrestling. On June 15, WWE presents AAA’s Triplemanía Regia III supercard from Arena Monterrey, and then three days later at Arena Mexico in Mexico City, the CMLL promotion teams up with AEW to present a very special Grand Slam Mexico edition of “AEW Dynamite.”

Of course, the CMLL/AEW event was announced first — and I’m sure it’s no coincidence AAA and WWE decided to run a few days before.