Zoey Serrano is settling into a new chapter in TNA Wrestling after arriving in the company in late August, and the former Zoey Stark says the reception behind the scenes has given her immediate reason for optimism.
Serrano, who previously wrestled in WWE under the Zoey Stark name, made her TNA debut on the August 27 edition of TNA Impact. The appearance came several months after her WWE release in April and placed another accomplished former NXT competitor into an increasingly competitive Knockouts division.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Serrano described the reaction she received after entering the TNA environment. Her comments emphasized gratitude for the people she met during her first days with the promotion, including TNA President Carlos Silva.
“They all welcomed me with open arms,” Serrano said. “I got to talk with Carlos [Silva] for a little bit...Just incredibly grateful, so I wanted to say that first.”
That positive first impression has now been followed by Serrano’s first match in TNA. On the latest edition of Impact, she teamed with Knockouts World Champion Xia Brookside against Harley Hudson and Indi Hartwell. Serrano and Brookside were defeated, as Hudson and Hartwell picked up the victory. Serrano was not the competitor who submitted in the finish, but the loss immediately put her in the middle of established rivalries and alliances within the division.
A New Start in the Knockouts Division
Serrano’s arrival gives TNA another wrestler with a background alongside many of the performers now working in the company. While her debut was framed as a fresh start after leaving WWE, she is not entering an unfamiliar world. Several current Knockouts have shared training, locker rooms, television shows, and matches with her during earlier stages of their careers.
That history matters as Serrano begins to identify the opponents she hopes to work with. Rather than pointing only toward unknown matchups, she highlighted the value of revisiting established chemistry with two women she knows particularly well: Indi Hartwell and Daria Rae.
Hartwell was not merely a name Serrano mentioned in the abstract. The two were already on opposite sides of the ring in Serrano’s TNA in-ring debut, with Hartwell teaming with Hudson in the winning effort. Their shared past could make future matches especially compelling, since both competitors have developed significantly since their early days together in NXT.
“Being able to work with Indi [Hartwell] again is so much fun, because I feel like we have a lot of chemistry with each other just ’cause we know each other so well,” Serrano said. “We started in ‘[WWE] NXT’ with each other, and we became friends. So, I’m excited to be able to work with her ... Being back with Daria [Rae], as well.”
For Serrano, the distinction is clear: familiarity does not make those potential meetings less important. It can instead make them more meaningful. Wrestlers who have spent years learning each other’s rhythms often have a foundation that can translate quickly when they are paired together, whether as allies or opponents. Serrano’s comments suggest she sees that pre-existing connection as an opportunity rather than something to move beyond.
Indi Hartwell Stands Out After First TNA Match
Hartwell is the most immediate possibility from Serrano’s stated list of dream opponents because the two have already crossed paths in TNA competition. Their tag match gave viewers an early look at how their histories may intersect under the TNA banner, even if it did not yet provide a direct singles confrontation.
The result also leaves room for Serrano to pursue a response. Hudson and Hartwell earned the win over Serrano and Brookside, and a defeat in a wrestler’s first outing can become an important piece of an early TNA story. Serrano avoided taking the submission herself, which preserves the possibility that she can argue she was not decisively beaten in her debut.
Nothing in Serrano’s comments established a specific next match or declared an active rivalry with Hartwell. Still, her enthusiasm about working with her former NXT colleague adds context to their first TNA encounter. It is a relationship based on genuine familiarity, but their current places in the Knockouts division mean that friendship does not have to prevent competition.
The potential appeal of a Serrano-Hartwell match rests in that combination. Both women arrived in TNA with previous experience at a high-profile developmental level, and both have personal knowledge of one another dating back to their time in NXT. A singles match would offer a more focused opportunity to explore that connection than the tag match on Impact.
Daria Rae Also on Serrano’s Wish List
Serrano also singled out Daria Rae as someone she wants to work with again. Like Hartwell, Rae represents a familiar face from an earlier part of Serrano’s career. Serrano did not provide a timetable for a reunion in the ring or explain what format she hopes it might take, but simply naming Rae indicates that reconnecting with former colleagues is among her priorities in TNA.
That sentiment fits the wider nature of a move from WWE to TNA. A roster change can bring a performer into a new competitive structure while also reconnecting them with wrestlers whose careers have taken different paths. In Serrano’s case, the move has created an immediate opening to revisit those relationships in front of a different audience and within the Knockouts division.
Her comments did not rule out any other potential opponents, nor did she frame Hartwell and Rae as the only matches she wants. They were the two names she chose when discussing the opportunity ahead, which makes them notable as Serrano’s TNA tenure begins to take shape.
Brookside Partnership Begins With a Setback
Serrano’s first match also connected her to Xia Brookside, the reigning Knockouts World Champion. Teaming with the champion placed Serrano beside one of TNA’s central figures from the start, though the pairing did not produce a winning debut.
Brookside and Serrano fell to Hudson and Hartwell when Serrano’s team was beaten by submission. Because Serrano was not the wrestler who submitted, the match result did not settle her standing against either opponent on an individual level. It did, however, establish that she will have to fight for momentum in a division that includes not only the champion but also fellow newcomers and familiar rivals.
There is no indication yet that Serrano is targeting Brookside’s championship, and her public comments centered instead on the opponents she would most enjoy facing. Even so, sharing a team with the Knockouts World Champion naturally puts Serrano close to the title picture and gives her an early association with the championship level of the roster.
Gratitude and Opportunity Define Serrano’s Early TNA Run
At this stage, Serrano’s TNA story is still in its opening weeks. Her debut on August 27 created the surprise, her subsequent match on Impact delivered the first in-ring result, and her remarks on Busted Open Radio offered a clearer view of her outlook.
She has made it clear that she appreciates the welcome she has received, particularly after a major career transition following her April WWE release. She also has a sense of the matchups that excite her, with Hartwell and Rae standing at the top of that early list.
The immediate record shows a loss in her first TNA match, but it also shows a wrestler entering the company with established connections, unfinished competitive possibilities, and a desire to make the most of a new opportunity. Serrano’s next appearances will determine whether the chemistry she described with Hartwell and Rae develops into prominent TNA programs, but both names have already become central to the conversation surrounding her arrival.
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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.