M By Elegance has explained the unusual path that led to her briefly wrestling in TNA as Maggie Moore before the company formally announced her signing under the Maggie Lee name familiar to independent-wrestling audiences.
Prior to officially joining TNA in May 2025, M By Elegance made appearances for the promotion while not under contract. Those early outings were largely held on Xplosion, with one match taking place on iMPACT. However, the name attached to those appearances was not Maggie Lee. Instead, she was introduced as Maggie Moore, a short-lived identity created specifically for her initial TNA run.
In an interview, M By Elegance said the decision was rooted in a concern that Maggie Lee could be confused with TNA’s Lei Ying Lee. The similarity between the two names prompted the promotion to ask for an alternative, even though Maggie Lee was already the name with which fans had come to know her on the independent scene.
“So I was coming in not signed, and working the Xplosion matches and I had to choose a different name because Maggie Lee was too similar to Lei Ying Lee and they’re like, ‘There’s so many Lees in wrestling, we gotta change it,’” M By Elegance said.
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That conversation led to a name that was never intended to become a long-term reinvention. Rather than representing a wholesale character change or a permanent adjustment to her wrestling identity, Maggie Moore was a practical solution for a particular moment: an unsigned wrestler making preliminary appearances for TNA while the company evaluated the fit.
M By Elegance recalled that the name came together quickly during a hotel stay.
“So Maggie Moore was born one night at the hotel and then that’s what we were rocking with that,” she said.
A temporary solution during the evaluation period
The distinction between a trial-period presentation and a contracted talent announcement is central to the story. Wrestlers can make television or taped-show appearances before a formal agreement is completed, and the way they are presented during that period does not always reflect the identity ultimately used once they join the roster on a full-time basis.
For M By Elegance, Maggie Moore was the name used while she continued to work tapings, primarily on Xplosion. The choice provided separation from Lei Ying Lee while also allowing TNA to bring her into its programming before the final signing was announced.
She said TNA’s Elegance Brand was looking at her during that process. While recalling when the offer came, M By Elegance was uncertain whether the relevant event was in South Carolina or North Carolina. What she made clear, though, was that the offer arrived after those initial appearances had begun.
“Elegance Brand, they were taking a look at me and then when I think we were in South Carolina, North Carolina—I forget which one—but they offered me,” she said.
The sequence also explains why the Maggie Moore name remained in use for some tapings even after the agreement had been offered. Signing and public announcement are not always simultaneous, particularly when television material is taped in advance. In this case, M By Elegance continued to appear under the temporary name while hoping the official confirmation would restore the identity that already carried recognition among her existing audience.
Why keeping Maggie Lee mattered
For wrestlers who have built an audience outside a major promotion, a ring name is more than a label. It is tied to match histories, social-media recognition, promoter relationships and the fans who have followed their development from smaller venues to national television. M By Elegance said she wanted the official TNA announcement to identify her as Maggie Lee for precisely that reason.
“I was still under Maggie Moore, but I was really hoping that when I got announced that I signed that it would say Maggie Lee because that’s what everybody on the independent scene knows me as, all the fans,” she said.
That hope was realized when TNA announced that Maggie Lee had signed with the company. M By Elegance described that outcome as a fortunate one and expressed clear appreciation that the promotion used the established name rather than retaining the temporary Maggie Moore designation.
“So I got lucky, they announced me as Maggie Lee signed to TNA. That was awesome,” she said.
The result gave TNA the best of both situations. During the period when name similarity was viewed as a concern, the company had an alternate identity available for its preliminary programming. Once Maggie Lee was formally brought aboard, the promotion could introduce her to a wider audience under the name already associated with her independent work.
It also ensured that the Maggie Moore run remained a brief footnote rather than a replacement for the name she had already established. The explanation makes clear that the alternate name was not the original plan for a long-term TNA character, nor was it an attempt to distance her from her prior career. It was a temporary adjustment born from the presence of another “Lee” on the roster.
The Elegance Brand connection
M By Elegance’s comments also offered insight into how her association with the Elegance Brand came together. When asked about joining the group, she indicated that the decision was easy, particularly because of the opportunity to align with Ash By Elegance.
“Then I was asked how I felt about joining the group and I was like, ‘Join Ash? Duh. Why would I not?’” M By Elegance said.
Her response underscores that the eventual group affiliation was a welcome development rather than something she viewed with hesitation. The pairing placed her within a defined TNA presentation and connected her with an established personality in Ash By Elegance. At the same time, the former Maggie Moore emphasized that the full direction was not mapped out from the beginning.
“So yeah, that’s how that came about. But it wasn’t the plan from the get-go,” she said.
That final point is important. The name change, the initial appearances, the contract offer and the group association were components of a process that developed over time. At the outset, the practical need was simply to find a name different enough from Lei Ying Lee for the early TNA matches. Maggie Moore filled that role. As M By Elegance’s status with the promotion changed, so did the presentation.
From Xplosion appearances to a signed TNA talent
The early matches on Xplosion provided M By Elegance an opportunity to enter the TNA environment before the May 2025 signing announcement. Although most of those bouts took place on the company’s secondary program, she also had one match on iMPACT, giving her a presence on TNA’s flagship weekly show during that early stretch.
Those appearances now carry added context because of the name situation. Viewers who saw Maggie Moore during that period were watching the same performer who would later be publicly introduced as Maggie Lee. The two names do not represent separate wrestlers or a hidden storyline twist; they reflect the timing of her TNA entry and the promotion’s decision to avoid having names it considered too close together.
M By Elegance’s account is also a reminder of how quickly name decisions can be made in wrestling. A name may be carefully cultivated for years, but a new promotion’s existing roster, television needs or branding preferences can force an immediate adjustment. In this instance, the replacement emerged in a hotel and was used for the necessary tapings. Once the official signing was made public, Maggie Lee returned to the forefront.
Elsewhere in the interview, M By Elegance also discussed wrestling Willow Nightingale in AEW. Her comments on the Maggie Moore name, however, offer a particularly clear look at the behind-the-scenes logistics surrounding her move into TNA.
For fans who knew her as Maggie Lee before she arrived in the company, the explanation resolves why a different name appeared during her first TNA matches. Maggie Moore was a temporary answer to a naming concern. Maggie Lee was the identity she hoped to retain, the one independent audiences recognized, and ultimately the name TNA used when it formally welcomed her to the roster in May 2025.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.