Naomi’s journey back to WWE: What was the former champion doing in her time away?

At the ongoing WWE Royal Rumble, Naomi made a surprise return during the 30-woman Rumble match. After Natalya made her entry at #1, many were interested in knowing who would open the match with her. When fans saw Naomi make her entrance, they were quite shocked.

The 36-year-old's return to WWE comes after she and Sasha Banks, aka Mercedes Mone, walked out of a live show due to a creative dispute back in May 2022. She is now back, and many have been wondering what she was up to during her time away from the Stamford-based promotion.

During her time away from WWE, she kept herself active inside the ring. The former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion was a part of IMPACT Wrestling, now TNA, where she won the IMPACT Knockouts Championship and was named the Knockout of the Year for 2023.

Overall, she had a great time at IMPACT Wrestling and earned quite a bit of recognition for it. Her performances there made many wonder when she would return to WWE, and at the ongoing Royal Rumble, she finally came back. It will be interesting to see what she achieves in the near future.

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Before returning to WWE, Naomi dropped the Knockouts title

As mentioned above, Naomi was having quite the run as the Knockouts Champion in TNA. In what was a very dominant reign, many were keen on seeing how long she would hold the title. However, when the former SmackDown Women's Champion dropped the title at TNA Hard to Kill, fans were surprised.

In a one-on-one match against Jordynne Grace, Naomi fell short and lost the TNA Knockouts Championship. This loss was indeed a setback for her. However, after the match, Grace paid quite a tribute to her adversary. She said:

"There's nothing that I can say about Trinity that hasn't been said a million times over. She came here, reinvented herself and she was everything a champion should be. I don't think anybody ever doubted that. But the reason that I needed to win this tonight is because people come here all the time and reinvent themselves."

Grace further added:

"This company reinvented me. When you think of TNA, you think of Gail Kim, ODB, and Mickie James. I'm going to make sure when I'm done here, my legacy is carved deep enough that you never forget the name, Jordynne Grace." [From 0:01 - 0:48]

Like Naomi, Jordynne Grace also made an appearance in the ongoing Women's Royal Rumble. It will be interesting to observe the future of these women.