.jpg) Rayne in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ashley Nichole Simmons[citation needed] (1986-02-05)February 5, 1986 (age 40) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.[citation needed] |
Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Amber Lively Ashley Lane Ashley Rayne Lexi Lane Madison Rayne |
| Billed height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 120 lb (54 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Seattle, Washington[2] Columbus, Ohio[3] |
| Trained by | Jeff Cannon[4] |
| Debut | 2005[5] |
| Retired | January 1, 2026 |
Ashley Nichole Lomberger[3] (néeSimmons;[citation needed] born February 5, 1986), better known by herring nameMadison Rayne, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. She is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is also acoach for the women's division. She is best known for her tenure withTotal Nonstop Action/Impact Wrestling in its Knockouts women's division, where she was a five-timeKnockouts World Champion and three-timeKnockouts World Tag Team Champion.
Rayne began her wrestling career on theindependent circuit, wrestling under the namesAshley Lane andLexi Lane. She joined the all-female promotionShimmer Women Athletes in 2007, where she was one half of the first-everShimmer Tag Team Champions, along withNevaeh. In 2009, she signed with TNA, aligning herself withAngelina Love andVelvet Sky as part of thevillainous stableThe Beautiful People. In March 2010, alongsideLacey Von Erich and Velvet Sky, she won theTNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship; all three women defended the title simultaneously under theFreebird Rule. In April 2010, she won her first of fiveTNA Knockouts Championships. In addition, she was the first wrestler to hold both titles concurrently. She has also competed inRing of Honor and took part inWWE's2018 Mae Young Classic.
Ashley Nichole Simmons[6][7] was born inColumbus, Ohio,[citation needed] on February 5, 1986.[6][8] She grew up inWest Lafayette, Ohio,[9] with her two older brothers.[10] During high school, she was thehomecoming queen and avarsity cheerleader. She also rantrack and was a member of the drama club.[1][6][11] After graduating high school, she studiedradiology part-time at college while starting her wrestling career on theindependent circuit.[1] She later saw a poster for a local promotion, contacted the promoter, and began training soon after.[1] She left college to pursue a full-time wrestling career, having had a 4.0GPA at the time of leaving.[10] After completing her training under Jeff Cannon, she began her wrestling career in her home state ofOhio.[4] Her first match took place in her former high school and was refereed by formerWWE DivaIvory.[4]
Under thering nameLexi Lane, she made her debut for Ohio Championship Wrestling (OCW) on March 13, 2005, event inCoshocton, Ohio, where she teamed up with trainer Jeff Cannon in a losing effort to Cruz Sangria and Jayme Braxton in amixed tag team match.[12] The following month, Lane made hersingles match debut and defeated Jayme Braxton withIvory as thespecial guest referee.[12] At the June 18, 2005, event, Lane defeated Brian Biggs in anintergender match.[12] The following month, Lane competed against Jayme Braxton, losing to her twice.[12] At the OCW event on August 13, Lane teamed up with Scotty Sabre in a winning effort against Jayme Braxton and Matt Masonalso in a mixed tag team match.[12] On November 12, Lane defeatedHailey Hatred in a singles match. On February 11, Lane competed againstShantelle Taylor in a winning effort. On the March 11, Lane unsuccessfully challengedShark Boy for the OCW Cruiserweight Championship in a five-person match, which was won by Vic Montana.[12] On May 12 and 13, Lane competed againstHeather Owens in a losing effort.[12]
Lane entered a feud withJessicka Havok on June 10, after Lane defeated Havok by disqualification.[12] On October 7 and 8, Lane defeated Havok in singles matches.[12] On November 11, Lane teamed up withTraci Brooks in a winning effort against Havok andODB in a tag team match.[12] At the OCWStairway to Stardom event on January 13, 2007, Lane competed against Havok in a singles match which ended in a no-contest.[12]
At the March 13OCW Ladies Night event, Lane defeated ODB in finals of the tournament to become the promotion's first ever OCW Women's Champion.[6] On April 27, Lane made her first title defense againstSassy Stephie.[12] The following month, Lane once again defeated Stephie in another title match.[12] At the OCWFan Appreciation Night, Lane successfully defended her title against Angel Dust.[12] On August 25, Lane successfully retained her title against Stephie and Dust in atriple threat match. The following month, Lane teamed up withNevaeh in a losing effort to Stephie and Dust in a tag team match. On November 24, Lane lost the Women's Championship to Nevaeh. Lane regained it in May 2008, but lost it toSara Del Rey in February 2009.[6]
On October 13, 2007, she made her debut inShimmer Women Athletes asAshley Lane.[6][13] AtVolume 15, Lane teamed withLorelei Lee in a losing effort toPortia Perez andNicole Matthews.[13] AtVolume 16, Lane lost to Alexa Thatcher.[13]
Lane then formed a tag team with Nevaeh, and they made their debut in loss to The Experience (Lexie Fyfe andMalia Hosaka) atVolume 17, but then scored a win againstThe Minnesota Homewrecking Crew (Lacey andRain) atVolume 18.[4] AtVolume 19, Lane competed in abattle royal, which was won byJetta. Later that night, Lane teamed up with Nevaeh where they defeated the duo of Veronika Vice andCat Power,[4] but lost toThe International Home Wrecking Crew (Rain and Jetta) atVolume 20.[13] On October 19, Lane and Nevaeh emerged victorious from a six-team tag teamgauntlet match to crown the firstShimmer Tag Team Champions.[13] Later that evening, they successfully defended the titles against theCanadian NINJAs (Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews).[13] AtVolume 23, Lane and Neveah successfully defended their titles against The International Home Wrecking Crew (Rain and Jetta) in a two out of three falls match.[14] AtVolume 25, Lane and Neveah successfully defended their championships againstAmazing Kong andSara Del Rey.[14] AtVolume 26 on May 3, 2009, Lane and Nevaeh lost the Shimmer Tag Team Championship to the Canadian NINJAs.[6][13]
AtVolume 27, Lane and Nevaeh lost to the team ofMelanie Cruise andWesna Busic in a tag team match.[14] AtVolume 28, Lane and Naveah defeated Kacey Diamond andSassy Stephie.[14] Because of agreement with Shimmer andRing of Honor (ROH), Lane made her debut for ROH on April 19, 2008, where she competed in aFour Corner Survival match againstDaizee Haze,Lacey, andMsChif, which was won by MsChif.[citation needed] Lane later left ROH after debuting inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in January 2009.[6]
On October 1, 2011, Lane returned to Shimmer asfan favorite, calling out former partner Nevaeh for turning on MsChif andJessie McKay during a tag team match. Nevaeh in turn claimed that Lane had turned her back on Shimmer by leaving the promotion in 2009, which led to a brawl between the two. Later that night, Nevaeh defeated Lane in her return match.[15] AtVolume 44, Lane teamed withMia Yim in a losing effort against Nevaeh and Sassy Stephie.[16]
On July 8, 2017, she made her returns inShimmer Women Athletes as Ashley Lane atVolume 92, defeatingTaeler Hendrix and atVolume 93 was defeated byVeda Scott. The following day, she defeatedVeda Scott atVolume 94. On November 11, Hottest Free Agents (Ashley Lane andDeonna Purrazzo) defeated Blue Nation (Charli Evans and Jessica Troy) atVolume 97 and the following day, atVolume 98, she and Deonna Purrazzo were defeated by Totally Tubular Tag Team (Delilah Doom andLeva Bates) in a tag team match for theShimmer Tag Team Championship.
On October 20, at Shimmer Volume 105, she was defeated by Dust in a Heart of Shimmer Championship Match.
In 2009, Lane took part in the first season ofWrestlicious, which began airing on television in March 2010. In the promotion, she played in the role of "Cheerleader"Amber Lively.[17] She debuted in the third episode ofTakedown (aired on March 17), teaming withLacey Von Erich and winning by disqualification against the team ofDraculetta andWhite Magic.[18] On the April 7 episode ofTakedown, Lively participated in aHoedown Throwdownbattle royal to determine the top two contenders for theWrestlicious Championship, but failed to advance.[19]
AsMadison Rayne, she made her debut for Remix Pro Wrestling (RPW) on April 24, 2010, at theRemix Pro Throw Down For The Pound 2 event inMarietta, Ohio, where she defeatedNevaeh andSojournor Bolt in a triple threat match.[12] Rayne made her debut for Purks International Championship Wrestling (PICW) on August 10 event inCedartown, Georgia, where she defeated Tracy Taylor.[12] On April 2, 2011, at theRemix Pro Throw Down-Hoedown For The Pound 3 event, she defeatedSara Del Rey in a singles match.[12]
Rayne made her debut forFamily Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) at theFWE Fallout pay-per-view, where she was defeated byTara withChristy Hemme as thespecial guest referee.[12][20] On September 22, 2012, Rayne made her debut for Northeast Wrestling, teaming up withRosita to defeatThe Beautiful People (Angelina Love andVelvet Sky) in a tag team match.[21] Rayne made her debut for National Wrestling Superstars (NWS) on December 12, 2012, at theNWS Jingle Brawl, where she, along with Danny Demanto, accompanied Nikki Addams where Addams competed against Nikki Richardson.[12] Later that night, Rayne teamed up with Demanto in a losing effort to Chris D'Andrea and Rosita in a mixed tag team match.[12] The following night, Rayne teamed up with Demanto in a winning effort defeating D'Andrea and Rosita in a rematch.[12]
Lane debuted inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Madison Rayne on the January 8, 2009, episode ofTNA Impact!, where she was defeated byAwesome Kong.[6] She returned on the February 12 episode ofImpact! in aKnockoutsgauntlet match, and was one of the finalists, but was eliminated bySojo Bolt.[22] The following week, she began her first storyline by slapping and walking out on her tag team partnerTaylor Wilde in a match againstThe Beautiful People (Angelina Love andVelvet Sky), and her character becamevillainous in the process.[6] On the March 5 episode ofImpact!, Rayne aligned herself with The Beautiful People after assisting them in winning a four-way tag team match.[6] AtDestination X in March, Rayne made her pay-per-view debut, teaming with Love and Sky againstThe Governor, Taylor Wilde andRoxxi in a losing effort.[23]
Rayne's hazing continued after The Beautiful People won anImpact! tag team match against Awesome Kong andRaisha Saeed, after which Rayne tried to cut the braided hair of theTNA Knockouts Champion Kong.[24] With Sky in her corner, Angelina Love faced Kong and perennial nemesis Taylor Wilde in a three-waycage match for the Knockout Championship atLockdown, which Love would win.[25] The following week onImpact!, Mi Pi Sexy had a celebration with male dancers and named Rayne an official member of the Beautiful People. However, the celebration was cut short by Kong.[26] Kong continued her attack on Mi Pi Sexy and proved her dominance by making her way through Rayne, Sky andCute Kip, who Love brought back to stop her, instretcher matches on the following weeks ofImpact!.[27][28][29]
AtHard Justice in August, Rayne cost Love her Knockouts Championship when her interference in the match backfired.[6] On the following episode ofImpact!, Rayne was scheduled to face Love in a match, but before it started, Love attacked her from behind.[30] After Love had pinned Rayne, Sky showed up holding a brown paper bag and put it on Rayne's head to humiliate her.[30] Rayne was then saved byTara andChristy Hemme.[6] On the September 10 episode ofImpact!, Rayne and partner Roxxi lost to The Beautiful People in a match that was part of a tournament to crown the inauguralKnockouts Tag Team Champions.[6]
The following week, Rayne, after helping Love and Sky advance to the finals of the tournament, was welcomed back into The Beautiful People.[6][31] AtNo Surrender, Rayne replaced Love, who had been released from her contract due towork visa issues prior to the event, and teamed up with Sky in the tournament finals, where they were defeated by the team ofSarita and Taylor Wilde.[6]
On the October 1 episode ofImpact!, The Beautiful People apologized to the TNA fans and wrestlers for their behavior, blaming their past actions on Love. They invited the Knockouts Tag Team Champions, Taylor Wilde and Sarita, down to the ring to prove their apology was genuine and expressed their desire for a competitive match atBound for Glory. The Beautiful People shook their hands, but then attacked them. As they began to lose the advantage in the assault, the debutingLacey Von Erich took out Wilde and Sarita. The three then posed in the ring, welcoming Von Erich into The Beautiful People.[6][32] Rayne gained her first victory in TNA on the October 8 episode ofImpact! by scoring the deciding fall in an eight-wrestler elimination match where she, Sky,Alissa Flash andTraci Brooks defeated Sarita, Taylor Wilde,Hamada and Christy Hemme after the interference from Von Erich.[33]
The three then won their first match as a team, defeatingODB, Tara and Awesome Kong,[34] but was unsuccessful in their Tag Team title rematch at Bound For Glory.[35] On the October 22 episode ofImpact!, The Beautiful People began appearing in backstage segments they dubbed as theirreality show "The Meanest Girls", an allusion to the 2004 teen comedyMean Girls.
In the pilot episode, The Beautiful People attacked Taylor Wilde and Sarita, and engaged in afood fight, with The Beautiful People coming out on top.[36] In the sequel, which aired on the November 5 episode ofImpact!, the Beautiful People attacked ODB, setting up a six-wrestler tag team match atTurning Point, for both the Knockouts Championship and the Knockouts Tag Team Championship.[37] At the pay-per-view, the Beautiful People were unsuccessful, as ODB pinned Rayne to win the match for the reigning champions.[38] Around this time, the Beautiful People began using a weapon dubbed Lacey's Ugly Stick, a pinkside-handle baton.[39]
Angelina Love returned to the company on the January 14, 2010, episode ofImpact!, but instead of re-joining The Beautiful People, she attacked them.[40] Several weeks later on March 8, Rayne and Velvet Sky defeated the teams of Love and Tara, and Sarita and Taylor Wilde in a three-way match to win the vacant Knockouts Tag Team Championship.[41] Under theFreebird Rule, all three members of The Beautiful People were considered champions, and any combination of two members were permitted to defend the title.[10] AtLockdown in April, Rayne and Sky partnered against Tara and Angelina Love in a tag team cage match, during which Rayne pinned Tara to win Love's Knockouts Championship.[10][42] With the win, she became the first person to hold both the Knockout Championship and the Knockouts Tag Team Championship simultaneously. The following month atSacrifice, Rayne defeated Tara in aTitle vs. Career match, causing Tara to retire from TNA and ending the storyline rivalry between Tara and The Beautiful People.[43] AtSlammiversary VIII Rayne retained her title against Roxxi in another Title vs. Career match.[44]
On July 11 at theVictory Road pay-per-view, Madison Rayne defended herKnockouts Championship againstAngelina Love in another Title vs. Career match[citation needed] with the added stipulation that Madison would lose the title by disqualification if eitherVelvet Sky orLacey Von Erich interfered; the match ended when a villainess masked with a motorcycle helmet attacked Angelina and Madison was disqualified. losing the title.[45] Prior to the match, it was decided that the title would change hands by disqualification if either in the match.[45] However, the title was returned to her on the July 22 episode ofImpact! as there was no proof that the masked woman was either Sky or Von Erich.[46][47]
After weeks of arguing amongst each other over Rayne's attitude, theBeautiful People agreed to a truce on the July 29 episode ofImpact!.[48] However, on the following episode ofImpact!, Rayne and the mystery woman inadvertently cost Sky and Von Erich theKnockouts Tag Team Championship in a match againstHamada andTaylor Wilde, when their interference backfired.[49][50] The following week, Rayne lost the Knockouts Championship to Angelina Love, after a distraction caused by Velvet Sky attacking the mystery woman.[51] Rayne received her rematch for the title on the following week's episode ofImpact!, but was again defeated by Love, after an interference from Velvet Sky. After the match Rayne and the mystery woman beat down Love and Sky.[52] Rayne's mysterious ally was finally unmasked and revealed asTara on the September 2 episode ofImpact!, when the two of them defeated the Beautiful People in a tag team match.[53] At theNo Surrender pay-per-view, Rayne was defeated by Velvet Sky in a singles match.[54] On the September 16 episode ofImpact!, Rayne and Tara turned on Lacey Von Erich, after she and Rayne failed to regain the Knockouts Tag Team Championship from Hamada and Taylor Wilde. Von Erich was then saved by Love and Sky, who took her back into the Beautiful People.[55] On the September 30 episode ofImpact!, Rayne signed a waiver to allow Tara to return to the ring, after losing a Title vs. Career match, which was supposed to end her TNA career.[56]
Rayne attempted to regain the Knockout Championship in a four corners match with Love, Sky and Tara on October 10 at theBound for Glory pay-per-view, but was unsuccessful, when Tara pinned Sky to win the title. After the match, the outraged Rayne went afterspecial guest refereeMickie James, but ended up being laid out by her.[57] On the October 14 episode ofImpact!, Tara laid down for Rayne and let her pin her to win the championship back, making her a three-time Knockout Champion.[58][59] On the December 16 episode ofImpact!, Rayne and Tara defeated Mickie James andMiss Tessmacher to advance to the finals of a tournament for the vacated Knockouts Tag Team Championship.[60] The following week, they were defeated in the finals by the team of Angelina Love andWinter.[61]In 2011, Rayne would start a rivalry with Mickie James over the Knockouts Championship, and would successfully defend the title against her atGenesis, and atAgainst All Odds in aLast Knockout Standing match, both times after interference from Tara.[62][63] Afterwards, Rayne, claiming to now be done with James, announced the beginning of an open challenge series intended to find her new opponents, and, as part of it, successfully defended the Knockout Championship against former KnockoutsODB,Roxxi andAlissa Flash.[64][65][66] However, during the storyling, Tara began claiming that Rayne had gone too far in her brutality towards James, but was forced to follow her orders due to being under exclusive contract with Rayne and not with TNA.[67] After Rayne lost her title to James atLockdown, ending her reign at 188 days, James agreed to give her a rematch for it on the condition that if she is unable to regain the title, Tara would be released from her contract with Rayne.[68][69][70] On May 15 atSacrifice, Tara turned on Rayne during her match with James, costing her the Knockout Championship and guaranteeing herself a release from her contract with Rayne.[71][72] Rayne attacked Tara on the June 9 episode ofImpact Wrestling, costing her and Mickie James their tag team match against Angelina Love and Winter.[73] The two faced each other in a singles match on the July 14 episode ofImpact Wrestling, where Tara was victorious after distracting Rayne with her pettarantula Poison.[74] Rayne returned on the September 29 episode ofImpact Wrestling, defeating Tara to earn a shot at the Knockouts Championship atBound for Glory.[75]
On October 16 at theBound for Glory pay-per-view, Rayne was defeated byVelvet Sky in the four-way title match, which also includedMickie James andWinter.[76] On the following episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne aligned herself with the returningGail Kim and the Vice President of the Knockouts Division,Karen Jarrett.[77]
On the November 3 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne and Kim defeated TnT (Brooke Tessmacher andTara) to win theKnockouts Tag Team Championship.[78] The following week, they made their first title defense, defeating Mickie James and Velvet Sky.[79] On December 11 at theFinal Resolution pay-per-view, Rayne caused a distraction during aKnockouts Championship match between Gail Kim and Mickie James, costing James the title.[80] After Karen Jarrett was, in storyline, fired from TNA on the December 15 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne took over her role as the Vice President of the Knockouts Division,[81] untilSting revoked her power on December 29 episode ofImpact Wrestling.[82] Later that same night, Rayne interfered in the main event between Gail Kim and Mickie James, once again costing James the Knockouts Championship.[82] On the January 5 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne and Kim retained their titles against James and Traci Brooks.[83] On the January 19 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne was defeated by James in asteel cage match.[84] After walking out on Gail Kim at theAgainst All Odds pay-per-view, Rayne became the number one contender to her Knockouts Championship by winning abattle royal on the February 16 episode ofImpact Wrestling.[85] In the following weeks, tension between Rayne and Kim began show, with the two negatively interfering in each other's matches.[86][87] On the March 8 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Kim and Rayne lost the Knockouts Tag Team Championship toEric Young andODB.[88] On March 18 at theVictory Road pay-per-view, Rayne failed to capture the Knockouts Championship from Kim.[89] On the March 29 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Kim and Rayne reconciled and remained together as a team.[90]
The July 5 episode ofImpact Wrestling saw the culmination of a several month long storyline, when Rayne revealed refereeEarl Hebner as her secret crush.[91] On the August 2 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Hebner helped Rayne win a four-way match over Gail Kim, Mickie James and Tara to become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship.[92] On August 12 at theHardcore Justice pay-per-view, Hebner helped Rayne defeat Miss Tessmacher to win the Knockouts Championship for the fourth time.[93][94] Rayne lost the title back to Tessmacher on the following episode ofImpact Wrestling in a match refereed by the debutingTaryn Terrell.[95][96]
Rayne returned to TNA on the November 15 episode ofImpact Wrestling, where competed in a battle royal to become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship, but failed to win after being eliminated by ODB.[97] Rayne faced off against the returning Velvet Sky on the December 13 episode ofImpact Wrestling, where she was defeated by Sky.[98] On March 17, 2013, Rayne made an appearance at TNA'sKnockouts Knockdown pay-per-view to congratulate and crown her former tag team partner Gail Kim, who was named "Queen of the Knockouts".[99] Rayne would later stop appearing on television due to being on alegitimatematernity leave.[100] On July 3, Rayne announced on herTwitter account that her contract with TNA had expired.[101]
Rayne returned to TNA on the December 12 episode ofImpact Wrestling, savingODB, who was being attacked byLei'D Tapa and Rayne's former partner, theKnockouts ChampionGail Kim, establishing herself as aface in the process.[102] Rayne made her in-ring return on the December 19 episode ofImpact Wrestling, when she teamed with ODB to defeat Lei'D Tapa and Gail Kim, after Rayne pinned Kim.[103] On the January 2, 2014, episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne defeated Kim in an open challenge match, thus earning a match for the Knockouts Championship.[104] On January 16 at theImpact Wrestling: Genesis special episode, Rayne defeated Kim to win the Knockouts Championship for a record-tying fifth time.[105] On the January 30 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne and her formerThe Beautiful People partnerVelvet Sky teamed up in a tag team match, which they won against Kim and Tapa.[106] The rivalry between Kim and Rayne continued as the two competed in astreet fight on the February 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, which Kim would win after a distraction by Lei'D Tapa.[107] The following week on the February 27 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne once again reunited with Sky in a tag team match against Tapa andAlpha Female, which they would lose when Tapa pinned Rayne.[108] On March 2, both Rayne and Gail Kim were part of a group of TNA wrestlers that took part inWrestle-1'sKaisen: Outbreak event inTokyo, Japan. During the event, Kim defeated Rayne in a non-title match.[109] A week later at theLockdown pay-per-view, Rayne defeated Kim in asteel cage match to retain the Knockouts Championship.[110]
After ending her rivalry with Kim, Rayne entered a storyline withAngelina Love, who returned on the March 13 episode ofImpact Wrestling, with the intent to reunite The Beautiful People.[111] On the March 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Velvet Sky would accept Love's offer, while Rayne would decline and was attacked by Love as a result.[111] On the March 27 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne was defeated by Love due to interference from Sky. On the April 3 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne teamed withBrittany against The Beautiful People, and came out on the losing side when Love pinned Brittany.[112] On April 27 at theSacrifice pay-per-view, Rayne lost the Knockout Championship to Love, ending her reign at 101 days.[113] After this, Rayne would enter a storyline in which Brittany would attempt to get involved in Rayne's feud with The Beautiful People, only to be repeatedly rejected.[114][115] On the May 29 episode ofImpact Wrestling, after Rayne refused to be Brittany's tag team partner, Brittany would confront Rayne and confess her attraction towards her, only to be rejected.[116] On the June 5 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne received her rematch clause against Love in a losing effort, after a distraction by Sky.[117] On the June 12 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne was defeated by Gail Kim in a number one contender's match, which also involved Brittany.[118] On the July 3 episode ofImpact Wrestling, during an in-ring segment, Rayne was attacked by Brittany after she promised to remain friends with Rayne.[119] The feud between Brittany and Rayne culminated in ano count-out,no disqualification match on the July 17 episode ofImpact Wrestling, which Rayne won.[120]
Rayne competed in a #1 Contender's match againstTaryn Terrell on the August 27 episode ofImpact Wrestling, but was unsuccessful, despite showing signs of avillainous turn.[121] On the October 8 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne became the number one contender toHavok's Knockouts Championship, after defeating Angelina Love and Taryn Terrell in athree-way match. After the match, Rayne continued displaying her heel persona when she left Terrell to be attacked by Havok.[122] Rayne received her title opportunity on the following week's episode ofImpact Wrestling but was unsuccessful in winning the championship from Havok.[123] On the October 29 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne turned heel by attacking Taryn Terrell during their tag team match against The Beautiful People, allowing Love and Sky to win.[124]
On the January 30, 2015, episode ofImpact Wrestling, the villainous Rayne unsuccessfully challenged Taryn Terrell for the Knockouts Championship in a three-way match, also involving Gail Kim.[125] On theTKO: Night of Knockouts edition ofImpact Wrestling on April 24, Rayne competed in a four-way number one contender's match against Angelina Love,Brooke and Gail Kim, which was ultimately won by Brooke.[126] On the September 2 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne andAngelina Love came to the aid ofVelvet Sky, who was being beaten down by Dollhouse membersRebel,Jade andMarti Bell, turningface and reformingThe Beautiful People in the process.[127] During October and November (taped in July), she participated in theTNA World Title Series, where she ended third of her block, tied with Brooke, failing to advance to the finals.
Rayne started competing individually after winning a match againstVelvet Sky for a title shot againstGail Kim. She participated in athree-way match against Gail Kim andJade for theTNA Knockouts Championship, which was won by Jade.[128] On the August 25 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne competed infive-way match against the championSienna,Marti Bell,Jade andAllie for theTNA Knockouts Championship, which was won by the latter.[129] On September 8, 2016, Rayne was announced as a new member of TNA's creative team, replacingChristy Hemme, who left TNA earlier in April 2016.[130] Since then she has been acting as a female color commentator during the Knockouts matches. On April 6, 2017, during the episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rayne slowly became avillainess once again and participated in a gauntlet match to become number one contender forRosemary'sKnockouts Championship, which was won byODB. She left the promotion in July 2017. On October 13, 2017, it was announced that Rayne would be attending tryouts at theWWE Performance Center.[131]
On November 8, 2017,Ring of Honor announced that Lomberger was signed to compete for ROH for the first time in nine years. She debuted at the Survival of the Fittest event in Oklahoma City in singles competition againstDeonna Purrazzo.[132]
On January 10, 2018, Rayne was announced to compete in theWomen of Honor Championship tournament.[133] Rayne was defeated by Mandy Leon in a first-round match that was uploaded on February 21, 2018. On July 21, 2018, in the ROH TV Tapings, she was defeated bySumie Sakai in aWomen of Honor World Championship Match, that was uploaded on August 31. On September 19, Rayne announced that she signed one-year deal with ROH.[134] On December 14, atFinal Battle (2018) Rayne participated in aFour Corner Survival match for the Women of Honor World Championship, where she was unsuccessful to capture the title after being eliminated byKelly Klein.[135] Rayne and ROH came to terms on her release from her contract on February 28, 2019, reportedly due to creative differences.[136]
On July 30, 2018, WWE announced that Simmons would compete asAshley Rayne in the 2018Mae Young Classic tournament.[137] She was eliminated in the first round after losing toMercedes Martinez.[138]
On the November 29 episode ofImpact!, Rayne returned as a heel in a three-way match between herself,Laurel Van Ness andK. C. Spinelli in a losing effort.Rayne once again returned on the May 17 episode ofImpact! on commentary during a knockouts match betweenTessa Blanchard andKiera Hogan. After the match, Madison Rayne came down to the ring to save Hogan from the assault by Tessa Blanchard. On the May 31 episode ofImpact!, she defeated Blanchard. AtSlammiversary XVI, she unsuccessfully challengedSu Yung for the Impact Knockouts Championship.[139] On August 24, 2018, Rayne's profile on Impact's website was moved to the alumni section.[140]
On March 1, 2019, one day after her release from ROH, Rayne signed a multi-year contract to return to Impact Wrestling.[141] In her first match onImpact! since her return, Rayne unsuccessfully challengedJordynne Grace to become the #1 contender for the Impact Knockouts Championship.[142] On the July 17 episode ofImpact!, after Rayne lost to Grace in a triple threat match that also involved Hogan, Rayne joined forces with Hogan by attacking Grace, turning heel in the process.[143]
During 2020, Rayne transitioned into a more active role in commentary along with her husbandJosh Mathews, being the first female figure on the commentary on a weekly basis.[144] On theCountdown to Hard to Kill pre-show forHard to Kill (2021), Rayne announced her retirement from the wrestling business. She made her final appearance on Hard to Kill proper, presenting the Knockouts Tag Team Championship belts toKiera Hogan andTasha Steelz alongside former championship partner Gail Kim.
On the August 12, 2021, episode ofImpact!, Rayne returned to Impact Wrestling, attackingTaylor Wilde during her match againstTenille Dashwood, and aligning with Dashwood after the match.[145] In October, Rayne entered a tournament to determine the inauguralImpact Digital Media Champion, where she lost toChelsea Green in the first round;[146] however, Rayne replaced Dashwood to compete againstJordynne Grace in the final atBound for Glory, where she lost.[147] Rayne wrestled her final match on the August 11, 2022 episode of Impact against Mia Yim, in a losing effort, ending her third tenure with the company.[148]
All Elite Wrestling announced in August 2022 that Rayne had signed as acoach for the promotion's women's division.[3] She is also set to compete as a wrestler.[149] Rayne made her in-ring debut for the promotion on the August 5 episode ofAEW Rampage.[150] On August 10 atAEW Quake by the Lake, Rayne was unsuccessful at winning theTBS Championship againstJade Cargill.[151]
Rayne appeared on January 18 atThe Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life, where she was defeated byROH Women's World ChampionAthena, if Rayne won, she would have received a title match.[152] Rayne made herRing of Honor (ROH) return on the March 2, 2023, episode ofROH on Honor Club, where she alongsideSkye Blue defeatedThe Renegades (Charlette Renegade and Robyn Renegade).[153] During a dark match with Robyn Renegade on the April 13 episode ofHonor Club, Rayne suffered a foot injury.[154] Rayne returned on the December 12, 2024 episode ofHonor Club.
Rayne had her final match on January 1, 2026 on ROH where Rayne andDeonna Purrazzo lost toBillie Starkz andDiamanté. Following the match, Rayne announced her retirement from in-ring competition.[155]
Simmons married Jesse Cabot on February 8, 2011.[citation needed] Their daughter was born on August 29, 2013.[156] Simmons and Cabot divorced in 2015. Later that year, in August, Simmons married Impact Wrestling commentator Josh Lomberger (better known asJosh Mathews).[157]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickie James (hair) | Madison Rayne (championship) | Cincinnati, Ohio | Lockdown | April 17, 2011 | [68] |
Madison RayneKnockouts championshipTara (career)Sacrifice 2010
Announcer Josh Matthews (Josh Lomberger, 34), and wrestler Madison Rayne (Ashley Simmons Lomberger, 29), were married last month
Rayne has a new gimmick wearing a tiara and a sash and waving to the people like Miss America, probably stemming from the fact she was Homecoming Queen in high school.
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