Gabby Forza showed up to TNA expecting one match. She walked away with the biggest opportunity of her career. The rising independent star has officially signed with TNA Wrestling, and looking back, she admits none of it happened the way she expected.
Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Forza couldn’t hide her excitement as she finally announced the news she’d been waiting to share. After three-and-a-half years of traveling the independent scene, wrestling around the world and chasing an opportunity on national television, she says she’s finally reached a milestone she’d been dreaming about since she started wrestling.
“So, I have very exciting news. I’m officially signed with TNA, which means I signed my first ever TV contract after three and a half years on the independent wrestling scene and trying to take over the world… And now I’m a TNA Knockout and I’m so over the moon. It’s like my first time saying it out loud. I’m so excited to share that with everyone.”
The journey almost didn’t happen the way fans saw it unfold. Forza revealed she wasn’t brought in for the Knockouts Television Championship Tournament. In fact, when TNA first contacted her, the championship didn’t even exist. She simply knew she had been booked for a match in Albany. Everything else came later.
“I got to debut in the TNA Knockouts TV title tournament, which is so, so crazy and I was not expecting that. I just knew I was going to wrestle in Albany for the first time with TNA and that belt didn’t exist yet when that was planned.”
Like everyone else, she learned about the new championship while watching Slammiversary. Then the rumors started. Then the bracket dropped. And suddenly, there was her name staring back at her.
“I found out about the title and the tournament with everyone else at Slammiversary… Then the whole bracket posted online and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s my name on a TNA Knockouts TV Title tournament.'”
Instead of worrying about how far she’d go in the tournament, Forza had a different goal. She wanted people to remember her.
“This is a lot of people’s first impression of me. I want everyone to kind of get a vibe of I’m a tough girl, a badass, but also the Gnomey.”
What surprised her most wasn’t stepping into the ring. It was seeing how much effort TNA put into presenting her. Because despite the entrance, the production and the spotlight… She still wasn’t under contract.
“The best part to me was the entrance… I was not signed when I debuted. I was just showing up and doing my thing that I always do on the indies… I was blown away at my own presentation.”
The nerves were real. So was the opportunity. Forza admitted she was terrified before wrestling Jody Threat, but she also knew sharing the ring with experienced talent was exactly how she wanted to grow.
“I’ve never been more nervous in my life… Whenever I get to wrestle someone that’s tougher than me, that’s stronger than me, smarter than me, I get to take a piece of them with me for the rest of my career.”
Looking back now, Forza says she would’ve considered the experience a success even if nothing else had happened. Instead, it changed her career.
“Even if I didn’t get signed, I was like, ‘I have this going for me for the rest of my wrestling career.’ And it turned out to end up getting me a job in professional wrestling.”
The grind is over. The contract is signed. Now comes the part Forza has been working toward for the last three and a half years. Making an impression got her through the door. Staying there is the next challenge—and judging by the way her TNA journey has started, she doesn’t look interested in slowing down anytime soon.
What do you think of Gabby Forza signing with TNA, and how far do you see her going in the Knockouts division? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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