Madison Rayne is a professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action (TNA). She has spent most of her career wrestling independent promotions such as Ohio Championship Wrestling as Lexi Lane, SHIMMER and Ring Of Honor as Ashley Lane, and now Madison Rayne, TNA Knockout.
Real Name : Ashley Simmons
Alias(es) : Madison Rayne, Ashley Lane, Lexi Lane, & Amber Lively
Date Of Birth : February 5, 1986 Height : 5’3 Weight : Approx. 115lbs
Pro Debut : 2005
Wrestling Organization : Total Nonstop Action (TNA)
Trainer(s) : Jeff Cannon
Finisher(s) : The Dys-Lexi-a
Independent Circuit
Ashley Simmons started her professional wrestling career shortly after graduating high school, training with Jeff Cannon and using the name Lexi Lane. She competed in the fifth annual Women’s Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) Elite 8, losing in the first round to Faith. Early in 2007, still using the name Lexi Lane, she began wrestling in Ohio Championship Wrestling (OCW). On March 10th, OCW held their first annual ladies night promotion. Lexi competed against O.D.B, Sassy Stephanie, and Hailey Hatred to become the first ever OCW Women’s Champion. She held the title for approximately eight months before losing it to Nevaeh in November. On October 13th, still working for OCW, she debuted in SHIMMER as Ashley Lane losing both her tag match with Lorelei Lee and her singles match against Alexa Thatcher.
On March 22, 2008, Lane was eliminated in the first round of the second annual OCW Ladies Night tournament, but went on to win her singles match against Jessicka Havok. In April, Ashley appeared again in SHIMMER teaming with Nevaeh. The duo lost their debut match facing The Experience, but scored the upset win against the Minnesota Wrecking Crew later that same evening. On April 19th, Lane appeared in Ring Of Honor wrestling in a Four-Corner Survival match facing Lacey, MsChif, and Daizee Haze. Lexi Lane regained the OCW Women’s Championship on May 10th once again from Nevaeh. On July 5th, Lane and Nevaeh beat the tag team of Verinica Vice and Cat Power, but lost later that evening to The International Home Wrecking Crew. On October 19th, 2008, Ashley Lane and Nevaeh emerged victorious in a Six-Woman Tag Team Gaunlet Match becoming the first ever SHIMMER Tag Team Champions and successfully defended them later in the evening against the Canadian Ninjas. Lane made her second, and final, appearance for Ring of Honor in December during Southern Hostility. As a replacement for MsChif, she competed against Sara Del Ray, Serena Deeb, and Daizee Haze.
At this point, Simmons had held the OCW title for almost nine months before losing it to Sara Del Rey in February of 2009. Lane and Nevaeh continued to defend their tag titles for SHIMMER until May 3rd, 2009, they were lost to Potia Perez and Nicole Matthews.
Madison Rayne in Total Nonstop Action (TNA)
Simmon made her iMPACT! debut on January 8th, 2009, using the name Madison Rayne. She entered the ring from the audience to face Awesome Kong for a chance at a TNA contract and n$25,000. she was brutally beaten around the ring by Kong, and pinned in minutes. Rayne returned on February 12, competing in a Gaunlet match as an official TNA Knockout losing to Sojourner Bolt. Two weeks later, she tagged with Taylor Wilde against Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. During the match, she became angry with Wilde, slapped her, and walked out leaving Love and Sky to beat Wilde.
Madison Rayne in Mi Pi Sexy
On the March 5 episode of Impact! Rayne aligned herself with The Beautiful People and became their pledge after helping them get the win during a Four Way Tag Team match. A week later, Rayne lost her Mi Pi Sexy initiation match against Taylor Wilde. At Destination X she debuted as part of Mi Pi Sexy losing to Wilde, Roxxi Laveaux, and The Governor. The following week, she competed in a singles match against The Governor and lost again, but this time, Mi Pi Sexy attacked The Governor, knocking her unconcious, and cut chucks of hair off her head.
Madison Rayne and The Beautiful People
Following the haircut incident, Madison Rayne began accompanying Love and Sky to the ring. As The Beautiful People faced Kong and Raisha Saeed, her outside interference won The Beautiful People the match. After winning, they all tried, unsuccessfully, to cut Kongs hair as part of a new “you lose, you get a makeover” gimmick. On April 2nd, Rayne was again tested by The Beautiful People pitting her against Tayor Wilde. Rayne lost the match, but managed to cut some of Wilde’s hair in the end. A few weeks later, Rayne, Love, and Sky finally cut Kong’s hair, sending her into a rage. At Lockdown, in April, she participated in the “Queen Of The Cage” match, but was eliminated early. On May 1rst, Rayne was booked in a match with Kong where she not only lost, but took three Awesome Bombs and an Implant Buster. Personally, I thought she was dead. Her next appearence was on June 11th, scheduled to compete against Tara. At the end of the match, she took a Widow’s Peak before losing. At TNA Hard Justice, Madison Rayne appeared at the side of the Beautiful People as they fought ODB and Cody Deaner for rights to the Knockout Championship. The match was essentially lost due to Madison accidentally spraying hairspray in the eyes of Velvet Sky causing her to lose the match and the title for Angelina Love. The following iMPACT! she was unceremoniously dumped by the Beautiful People and assaulted several times by Love. Weeks later after a vain tag team effort between her and Laveaux facing off against former team mates Love and Sky, she apologized to the duo and was re-accepted back into the group. At No Surrender, she and Velvet Sky represented Mi Pi Sexy losing the first ever TNA Knockout Tag Team Championships.
I wasn’t privy to Madison Rayne wrestling until she joined the TNA Knockout ranks, so I’m basing my opinions on her current performances. It’s obvious to me she’s still not comfortable in her role. Her interviews are unremarkable, I see many mistakes in her matches, and her haircut reminds me of Terri Runnels. These are traits of in-experience and nothing more. While she has yet to win her first match in the promotion, coming back from the beating she took from Kong speaks volumes about her motivation. Given time and training, she could become a decent TNA wrestler for the Knockout division.