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Shock WWE Return For Fandango

By Lyle Kilbane • Published 5th February 2025
Fandango WWE

There was a blast from the past on NXT as a former WWE star now with TNA returned to the brand where the fans still sing along with their song.

The partnership between TNA and WWE was in full effect at the Royal Rumble as TNA World Champion Joe Hendry appeared in the Royal Rumble. That came one year after TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace made her WWE debut in the Royal Rumble as well. Grace was back in the 2025 Rumble but this time it was as a fully-fledged WWE Superstar after The Juggernaut signed a five-year deal with the company.

TNA and WWE’s relationship mainly centres around crossovers with NXT talent, and it was an NXT champion that was in the sights of one TNA star.

The February 4 edition of NXT saw Lexis King holding court with his Heritage Cup when a very familiar song struck up. Fandango’s theme music played and as the crowd sang along, the former WWE star returned to the brand where he originally made his name.

Fandango is now better known in TNA as JDC and he introduced himself to King as part of The System. JDC noted that he was there to take gold back to his group and had arranged with NXT General Manager Ava that he’d challenge for King’s Heritage Cup on the following week’s show.

When Was Fandango In WWE?

Fandango – then known as Johnny Curtis – was part of the NXT brand dating all the way back to its roots as a competition series. He made his debut as his ballroom-dancing alter-ego in early 2013 but Fandango’s official in-ring debut on the main roster took place at WrestleMania 29 where he picked up a shock win over Chris Jericho.

The rowdy post-WrestleMania crowd at Raw turned “Fandango-ing” into a short-lived phenomenon as they sang his song mercilessly, which caused it to shoot up the charts thanks to streaming. That proved to be the height of his time in WWE and he was released by the company in 2021.