Tenille Dashwood, better known to WWE fans as Emma, made a surprise appearance at Ring of Honor Wrestling’s Honor Reigns Supreme event on Friday night.
The event, which streamed for free on ROH’s website, the FITE TV app, and Facebook, was a good opportunity for fans not familiar with the ROH product to get a taste of the action, and the appearance from Dashwood certainly shocked most of those watching and in attendance.
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Dashwood was announced as the 16th and final competitor in the Women of Honor tournament. She announced that was in ROH to win the WOH title, and the segment was quickly interrupted by Bully Ray (who will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year) who said the fans in attendance at Honor Reigns Supreme want to see her wrestle now.
It was then announced that Dashwood and Mandy Leon would take on Kelly Klein and Stacy Shadows at Friday night’s event. Dashwood and Leon went on to win the bout.
This is the first major promotion appearance for Dashwood since her WWE release. She has started to appear for some independent promotions following the expiration of her WWE no compete clause, but the move to ROH is a big one. ROH is clearly the second biggest U.S. promotion, largely due to their partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling, and the company should serve as a great opportunity for her to prove that WWE made a mistake in releasing her.
Dashwood was surprisingly released from WWE on October 29th of last year. Despite floundering a bit on the main roster due to both bad booking (Emmalina) and untimely injuries, she has recently started to find her groove last fall. Just days before being released, she had a very good and competitive match with Asuka.
One of the most talented female performers to come through the NXT system, Dashwood will likely open some eyes in the upcoming WOH tournament and is a solid signing for ROH as they continue to expand their fan base.
