Ace Austin has re-signed with TNA Wrestling.

The news was first confirmed by Austin himself, who told Denise Salcedo via Instinct Culture that he has “more goals to fulfil and championships to win”. Details of the contract weren’t provided, though this is the first confirmation of a talent remaining with the Anthem-helmed promotion in the wake of their reported new pay-per-appearance stance on contracts.

Real name Austin Highley, the 27-year-old’s accomplishments in TNA range from being a three-time X Division and two-time World Tag Team Champion to being voted the X Division Star and Tag Team of the Year, alongside competing in the 2020 Match of the Year. One accolade missing, however, is the TNA World Championship, which Austin alluded to Salcedo was his goal moving forward (H/T Fightful):

“I am a three-time X-Division Champion, a two-time Tag Team Champion. There’s still one missing and it means a lot to me, to complete that collection. When there is still opportunity on the table, you have to reach the peak before you can look towards the next peak, and I am still climbing.”

Would Ace Austin Ever Join WWE?

Though TNA has been Ace Austin’s home since early 2019, he came close to signing with WWE only months prior.

As Ryan DePolo, Austin wrestled on a July 2018 edition of 205 Live, delivering a solid performance that reportedly resulted in emails afterward from both William Regal and Scott Armstrong, seemingly regarding an offer of employment. However, Ace politely declined, telling Tommy Dreamer on his House of Hardcore podcast that it “wasn’t the avenue” he wished to travel at that point (H/T Fightful):

“It went great and I think I did a very good job with what I was given. The feedback I got from that was even better. I got emails from Scott Armstrong and [William] Regal after. It could not have gone better, but that wasn't the avenue I wanted to go in 2018. I felt like I was too young to go down that road.”