The cornfields of Iowa have produced many things: presidential campaign stops, slip-resistant boots, and now—Maggie Lee, the latest breakout star to officially sign with TNA Wrestling, even if her contract may have had a secret handshake clause.
While TNA made the signing public just today, insiders at Fightful Select are reporting that Lee has actually been under contract since sometime after December, which is honestly the most TNA thing ever: secretly signing new talent while publicly firing half the office.
Lee’s recent match on TNA Xplosion aired just days before her official announcement, but it wasn’t her first rodeo with the company—she’s been popping up at tapings like a reliable indie ghost for months. Now, she’s fully signed, sealed, and bodyslam-ready.
But the backstage environment? Let’s call it a group project on fire.
Lee’s deal was handled by Gail Kim and Ariel Shrerer, TNA’s now-former talent relations dynamic duo, both of whom were let go earlier this week in a company shakeup that has people backstage using phrases like “massive regime shift” and “worse than D’Amore’s exit”—which is a bold claim considering D’Amore had been TNA’s face, spine, and at times, duct tape.
Gail Kim’s responsibilities are now reportedly being handled by Tommy Dreamer, because nothing says HR stability like a guy who once feuded with a zombie. Meanwhile, creative is now in the hands of Hunter “Delirious” Johnson, the former ROH booker known for… well, booking things and wearing a mask while screaming.
Despite the front office looking like it got suplexed through a spreadsheet, this is a big move for Lee. She’s the current Midwest All-Star Wrestling Women’s Champion, a regular on the independent circuit (including AAW), and now one of the new faces of TNA’s women’s division—which might be the only part of the company not actively being reshuffled by a spinning wheel.
The TNA–WWE partnership also means there’s always a chance she pops up on WWE programming in the future, but for now, she’s expected to continue defending her indie title while under TNA contract. So yes, you might still see her in a local gym near you—only now with corporate backing and possibly a more dramatic entrance theme.
Let the Maggie Lee era begin. Whether TNA can stay on the rails long enough for her to climb them remains to be seen.