Former WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michelle has signed a contract with TNA Wrestling. The announcement was made through a video released (see below) by TNA featuring Michelle signing the deal alongside TNA executive Carlos Silva and wrestling veteran Tommy Dreamer.
Silva indicated that Michelle will serve in a backstage role working with the women’s division.
“Candice, it’s so great that you’re going to be part of the TNA team, be behind the scenes with us as a former champion, bringing all of that experience to all the women here at TNA,” Silva said. “It’s going to be great. We’re just so happy and I’ve got your contract here. I think it’s got everything that we talked about and we just look forward to building this together.”
Michelle said the opportunity came through a phone call from Dreamer on December 26.
“I was actually praying, you know, with what I do back home and I help build people’s dreams. I said, ‘How can I do this on a bigger level?’ And it was on December 26th and my phone rang and it was Tommy Dreamer. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, you work through Tommy Dreamer?'”
Michelle said the idea of working behind the scenes initially caught her off guard.
“It kind of scared the crap out of me, because I thought, ‘Can I do that?’ And when he asked me to come back and help behind the scenes, I didn’t know if I had that in me,” Michelle said. “But stepping foot in here, the company you guys have built… from everybody, from talent to crew to makeup, I felt right at home.”
She credited her long relationship with Dreamer as a factor. “Thank you so much. It feels good to be home with wrestling,” Michelle said. “I’ve been loyal with Tommy for 20 years, loyal to the business, and I didn’t know that this could come back. And so to give me a platform so that I can help build this with you guys and be a small little piece of that and see where I can fit in there on any angle, it’s just really a dream come true.”
Michelle’s TNA involvement dates back to January 15 when she appeared in the front row during the premiere of TNA iMPACT on AMC. She was introduced on air by TNA personality Gia Miller. She was later spotted backstage at a taping in Albuquerque, New Mexico and appeared at TNA’s No Surrender event and television taping on February 13 and 14 in Nashville.
In earlier comments made during a virtual signing with East Coast Autograph Auctions, Michelle said standing near the ring reignited her connection to wrestling. “When I came to TNA, I didn’t know really how I would feel, and that first moment standing by the ring – it wasn’t even a second where I thought, ‘Wow, I just really miss it,'” she said.
Michelle was hired by WWE in 2004 after participating in the WWE Diva Search. She became the first former Diva Search contestant to win a WWE championship when she defeated Melina for the Women’s Championship at Vengeance in 2007. Her career was cut short by injuries, including a shattered clavicle in 2008. She was released from WWE in June 2009.
Her last match took place in December 2017 at Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore 36 in what was billed as her retirement match, where she defeated Lisa Marie Varon. Dreamer is currently part of TNA’s creative team.
Specific contract terms were not disclosed.
EXCLUSIVE: @DIVACANDICEM officially signs her TNA contract! pic.twitter.com/h1U6YaiqMY
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) March 13, 2026
