Santino Marella Weighs In On NXT & TNA Feud: ‘We’re Not the Secondary Brand’

Santino Marella recently shared his thoughts on the feud between NXT and TNA. NXT and TNA have begun feuding in earnest after the TNA roster invaded NXT this week, leading to a massive brawl between the two rosters to end the show. TNA talent have expressed frustration with the storyline in how NXT was making decisions regarding their titles without any input, leading into the major storyline that kicked off in full this week.

Marella, the Director Of Authority for TNA, spoke with WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard about the tensions between the two, noting that they are not a secondary brand and intend to prove such.

“I’ll tell you when things changed,” Marella said. “It was fun, a win–win situation having our talent go there, having their talent come here,” Santino said. “But all of a sudden, when they had two of our top titles, the atmosphere backstage changed a little bit. I think we kind of decided we have to take it into our own hands. We’re not going to be walked all over. We’re not the secondary brand.”

He continued, “When it comes to money and television exposure, that’s one thing. When it comes to actual in-ring talent, we’re not the secondary brand—and we’re not going to be portrayed like that. So yeah, we did what we had to do, and we’re going to continue to do what we have to do until we feel like we’re the victors in this.”

TNA presents Victory Road tonight on TNA+, while NXT presents No Mercy on Saturday on Peacock and Netflix internationally.