Amid controversy surrounding WWE’s decision to rebrand its upcoming NXT vs. TNA special, Bully Ray has offered a creative justification for the move, arguing the new “Showdown” moniker is a better fit for the angle than the original “Invasion” title.
Speaking on Busted Open After Dark, the veteran performer shifted the focus from public relations to storytelling, positing that the name “Showdown” more accurately reflects the on-screen narrative between the two promotions.
Bully Ray questioned the logic of the original branding, given that the two companies were actively collaborating just months ago. He contrasted the current angle with the hostile takeover storyline from WWE’s past involving WCW and ECW.
“I was scratching my head about the whole ‘Invasion’ name,” Bully said. “Because how do you have an invasion when just a couple of months ago—maybe six months ago, however long—it’s been, these two brands have been working together? Everything has been going pretty well up until just a couple of weeks ago.”
He elaborated that the current conflict is not an outside attack but rather the result of a new relationship beginning to break down, making a competitive “Showdown” a more logical description.
“This wasn’t like the ECW/WCW invasion of WWE back in the day… These are two brands that have gotten together, brand new relationship, and now things are starting to go a little bit wrong,” he explained. “So it’s no longer an invasion. It’s a showdown, which I think is a far better name for this upcoming PLE—Showdown instead of Invasion.”
The rebranding from “Invasion” to “Showdown,” which was announced live during the September 30, 2025, episode of NXT, followed significant international backlash. According to a report from WrestleVotes, the change was a response to criticism over scheduling the event on October 7, the anniversary of the 2023 Hamas attacks. A report from the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom on September 29 had condemned the branding as an act of “extreme insensitivity” and a “preposterous decision.” The special event, set to air on the CW Network, will feature men’s and women’s Survivor Series-style elimination matches, as well as a title-for-title match between NXT Tag Team Champions DarkState and TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardys.