TNA’s Xia Brookside on Channeling Her Dark Side & ‘Lockdown’ Showdown

Xia Brookside was tired of playing nice. The TNA women’s wrestler reached a breaking point, betraying Léi Ying Lee at the aptly named Rebellion and signaling her next chapter. This onscreen attitude adjustment translated into success. The twenty something later defeated Lee to win the TNA Knockouts World Championship in July at Slammiversary. 

The daughter of British wrestling veteran and WWE coach Robbie Brookside has made a name all her own. Wearing the title serves as vindication for all the long travel days and disappointing setbacks. It’s Brookside’s time. She looks to continue to prove that by defending against Elayna Black at Lockdown, an all steel cage Pay-Per-View, on August 23. 

Here Brookside chats about being the bad girl, representing the company at the top, and more. 

Almost a decade ago, I remember talking to you while you were part of the WWE Mae Young Classic. Fast forward to today, and you’re gearing up for one of the biggest matches of your career so far in TNA as the Knockouts Champion. 

Xia Brookside: Oh my gosh. You have just completely blown my mind. That’s incredible. Yeah, that’s what? Eight years ago?2018? Wow…So much has changed. I’m a completely different person. That is just wild. Looking back at the Mae Young Classic, I was so young. I was 18, 19, I think at the time. Now I’m sitting here, the Knockouts World Champion? It’s just surreal.

What does it mean for you to hold the gold? 

It’s an absolute honor, but it does go to show how much I did to get it. Like, I really worked my ass off and really traveled the world, moved around through countries. I did everything that it takes. And I’m not stopping. There’s still so much more to do and so many more places to go, but it’s great. You really do have to sit down and have these moments and look back and think, “What were you doing 10 years ago?” Imagine sitting down with that girl now.

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What does your dad think of all this as you continue the family legacy? 

I mean, he loves it. He’s proud of me for doing it, but we have always kept everything separate. I think this is the first time we’ve really sat and connected on such a moment. He is proud, and it’s nice. 

We’ve seen this big character change from you. How did that come together? You’ve really taken ownership of it.

it was something I was fighting for, and no one could see it for the longest time. Now to finally get it, and see the shock backstage. The day that I turned heel was the day that it was decided that I was going to win. Now to progress and dive deeper into who that is and where she goes from here is awesome. I was a babyface for so long. Ten years of my career I spent as a babyface. So it’s exciting. It’s new, it’s fresh, and no one ever expected it. So it’s fun.

Where are you finding inspiration?

Probably the years I worked my ass off and got nothing. No, I’m kidding. Just TV characters. At first, I thought Harley Quinn was a big one. Someone that can smile and do all these things. I still laugh, and I’m still smiling, but now you hate me for it. So really, nothing has changed, but everything has changed. Like I’m not just going to tell you I hate you, and now you boo me. I want you to really hate me. To the point you get in your head about why you hate me. It’s just kind of building a deeper, darker character than just being a heel that walks out and flips everyone off. And there’s nothing wrong with doing that. I just personally want you to really hate me. In the early 2000s, late 90s, wrestlers had to be protected because there were fans that wanted to attack them because they hated them so much. I want to create that.deep hatred. I’m starting to get it with a few people from the tweets that I’m getting. I’m like, “This guy really hates me. This is great! They believe it.” That’s when you invest in it. You watch a movie, you’re invested, you hate the characters. That’s what I want. .

You share a lot of similarities with your opponent at Lockdown. Elayna also experienced her own setbacks and share of disappointment before coming to TNA. 

I think the best comparison between the two of us is we will do whatever it takes, and I think that’s what’s going to make it such a great match to watch, and even be a part of. I’m going to walk out beat up and bruised and battered, and I want that. I want us to go out there and beat the living daylights out of each other. It’s not something that you see so much with two girls to really go through hell with each other. Lei and I were both beat up, and it hurt. Let Elayna and I go out there, leave all the cards in the ring and put on a great match. 

Have you done a cage match before?

I have not. This company is full of surprises for me. They’ve thrown a lot at me that I haven’t done before, and I have gotten through every single one. So I know I’m going to get through this.

How are you preparing for it?

I’ve been studying and seeing what other cage matches have been like. I’m not afraid. It’s going to suck. I know it’s going to suck. Being rammed into a cage is going to suck. There’s not much you can really do to prepare for that. There’s just certain things that you figure out on the day and just be ready because it’s going to hurt. But it’s going to be worth it because it’s going to be an incredible Pay-Per-View. I know we’re going out there and leaving every part of ourselves in that ring. I know every other match is going to do the same thing too.

What’s the vibe you’re getting in the locker room with you as champ? 

I mean, it’s great. It’s a very supportive locker room. It always has been. We are blessed to have that, and I just have to stay at the top. I just have to focus on making the time that I have as champion where I leave my name in the history books and make everyone proud. I think the Knockouts have so much about them and so much history of being the strongest women’s division in the world. I’m the leader of that right now. It’s an honor to hold it, but it’s also a lot of weight to carry. These girls have done a lot for decades, that it’s a lot of weight to carry, but I’m going to carry it. I’m going to do my best with it, the best that I can.

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There has been a lot of teases about new Knockouts coming into the fold. Many from the independent scene have also been throwing their name out there. Anyone in particular you want to see in TNA? 

There’s a lot of women out there. I think the girls that are putting their names out there are the girls that are actually out there right now fighting on social media to be noticed. They are the girls that deserve it. Every single one of them because it’s hard to speak up. It’s hard to fight for what you want. But they’re doing it. One isn’t more than the other. They all deserve it because they are all fighting, and they all want to be part of the Knockouts. 

What are your overall thoughts on the company investing in having another championship, the TNA Television Championship? 

Personally,  I think it’s great because whilst I’m holding the Knockouts World Championship, everyone else is concerned about the new shiny belt. So, they’re kind of distracted, which is great for me. Go fight over that title, and I will just be here holding my Knockouts World Championship whilst you all fight over the TV Championship.

During those moments of disappointment on your journey, has there been anyone that helped you along and kept you motivated?

Mydad has been my biggest one for that. He stayed away from the wrestling conversations, and we have kept our paths parallel. They don’t cross at all, but he has always been the one to pick up the call. When you’re 17 in Japan for the first time, and you spend a month by yourself in an apartment, he was the one who picked up the call. So it has to be him. There are friends that I have that have supported me. I have friends that I started training with.12, 13 years ago. It makes me sound so old, but they’re still here with me. I have great support. I have great friends, great family. The Knockouts have been awesome for me. TNA has been the family that I needed. The last two-and-a-half years, they have built my confidence. They have built my confidence. 

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What about in TNA? 

Honestly, I’m going to say everyone I’ve ever spoken to in that locker room. They are so supportive. I mean, Gail [Kim] and Tommy [Dreamer] were huge when I first came in because I didn’t really know everyone else backstage, but they believed in me. They pushed me and then you have the writers right now  believing in me finding new versions of myself that I didn’t even know existed. It really has just been everyone, and I know it sounds so boring to not sit here and list them. But if I sat here and listed everyone, we would be here for a long time. All of the girls are amazing. Every single knockout in that locker room has been supportive.

How have you found the balance of your personal life and what you’ve created in wrestling? I’d imagine that’s hard to do, especially on social media. 

I was raised in the wrestling industry before social media. I knew when I started wrestling. When social media just started coming around, like my early teens, I knew what I wanted to do. I’ve always been very careful about what goes out there because I already knew the industry. I’m very fortunate, I’ve been so fortunate to really not receive that much stuff online, and I really try to keep my social media positive. If someone does say something, I will say what I need to say back…People are going to say things, but it’s okay. Social media is not real life. I will disconnect. I call my dad every day, I call my mom every day, and find the things that matter. What matters? Because in 10 years time, that fan, or that hater, whatever it is, they’re going to have no idea who you are. You’re going to have no idea who they are, and everyone’s just going to move on with their lives. Hopefully, people just are not that mean to me on social media going forward. Well, I want you to be mean, but there is a difference between being mean to a character and mean to the person. There is a line.

As we look toward Bound for Glory, the biggest show of the year for TNA, what do you see for the Knockouts that we haven’t seen before? What are your goals for not only yourself, but the Knockouts division as the leader right now?

I am so excited because I missed BFG last year. I was so sick that I had to make the call two hours before my flight. I was like, “I can come, but I’m dying, and I’m going to make everyone sick.” I hadn’t left my couch for two weeks. It was that bad. I’m personally just excited to be able to go to BFG this year, and I will be walking in as the TNA Knockouts World Champion. I think there is a lot of opportunity for the girls right now going into having a TV championship. having this title, having the Knockouts tag team titles. We are getting so much time on TV, and just making the most out of every moment that we have. I’m not saying it like we need to do that. We will continue to do that. So it’s just a great opportunity that now there are three titles that you guys can hold. We are getting bigger and better every single week. Look at us at the start of the year, and look at where we are now. We’re constantly growing and putting on these great matches. And I just think it’s going to get better.

I think we need another all-women’s Knockouts Knockdown. That’s something I would also like to see. 

That would be fun. I’m not going to lie, a few of us have spoken about it. Well, we’ll see what happens. Also, a reality TV show. would be fun.

TNA Lockdown, August 23, 6/5c, Pay-Per-View and TNA+

TNA Thursday Night iMPACT!, Thursdays, 9/8c, AMC and AMC+

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