Jordynne Grace on Knockouts title win, Queen of the Mountain match, more

[Chris]

Credit: Denise Salcedo

Jordynne Grace made history against last Sunday by competing in the first-ever Queen of the Mountain match at Impact Slammiversary, winning the title to begin her second reign as Knockouts Champion.

Following the show, I talked with her about her victory, the ins and outs of the match itself, her recent reinvention, and body transformation.

Some interesting quotes are below, but please watch the whole video on YouTube above.

"Everybody was freaking out."

Last Sunday's match was unlike any other when it comes to the rules. The competitors involved had to hang the championship instead of pulling it down like a normal ladder match. However, not everyone gets the opportunity to hang the belt as the competitors qualify within the match by pinning someone at some point in the match. However, if you are pinned, you must spend two minutes locked inside a penalty box. It's a fun concept, but a complicated one.

"We really had an uphill battle because a) in the first women's anything, there's always so much pressure on the girls to do an amazing job. And then 2) people already hate that kind of match. People were talking about how stupid it was and how complicated the rules were, so we really had two uphill battles to fight through."

It was the most nervous she had ever seen any of the competitors prior to a match.

"Before the match, everybody was freaking out. I've never seen a group of girls that anxious before a match before. Even in the Ultimate X match, no one was that nervous. But I think it was because there were the rules and we had to think about who was in the box at a certain time and that was complicated in of itself.

"Actually something that we were told was gonna happen during the match didn't happen which was that the timer was not on the Titantron. I think everybody was just so relieved that no one got hurt and it went as well as it did. Everybody was doing these high risk spots and I was like, 'I pray that I am in position to catch people and that no one gets hurt.' And we did it, and I think we killed it.

"Watching everybody's feedback and seeing that everybody really seemed to enjoy the match, I was over the moon about it. It could have not gone better for us."

Grace was thankful that Impact management trusted this group of Knockouts to take on the first-ever match for the women.

"It's incredible that they are handing us the ball like this and trusting us to do it, because they could have given these matches to any other Knockouts at any other point in time, like, before I was here. I feel like they trust this group of Knockouts enough to go out and do these kinds of matches and do them well. I feel that says a lot about the current Knockouts division, how much they trust us, and how much they respect us."

A title run with fans in attendance

The result saw Grace winning and becoming Knockouts Champion for a second time, ending the reign of Tasha Steelz. The two will rematch at next month's Against All Odds.

"I feel awesome about that. Physically, I feel exhausted, it was a really, really long weekend and the tapings afterward were really long, but I feel great. I feel proud, I feel motivated. I am just ready to represent the Knockouts division as best as I can."

Grace is no stranger to holding the title after her first run in 2020. However, the landscape in wrestling during that time was different due to the pandemic. She talked about how that impacted her first reign and what she plans on doing differently this second time around.

"2020 was a difficult time period for me to be Knockouts Champion because I won it and basically immediately, the pandemic happened. So I did a lot of my title defenses and lost my title with no fans. I feel like that almost wasn't really fair to me as a champion to have to go through that. And it's really been an uphill battle to get back to this title. I felt the only thing I can do to get back to this title was reinvent myself and I think I've done that. I started leaning into powerlifting a lot more.

"The less I thought about the Knockouts title, the more I feel like they wanted to give me the opportunity again. I just kept focusing on myself. I was just like 'Don't worry about who has the title. Don't worry about the opportunities anybody else is getting because all you can do is focus on yourself.' I feel like that has finally paid off."

Grace wants to bring more eyes to the Knockouts division and Impact.

"I feel like we put out such an incredible product and the women are given more opportunities here than any other promotion. I feel like fans need to start watching Impact Wrestling and see these things. A lot of people still have in their head that 'Back in the day, they messed things up a little bit,' but it's a completely new crew now. Everything is different and I think we need to be given that opportunity again to be one of the top companies. We need more eyes on us and that's my goal as champion."

Reinvention

Those that have been following Grace and Impact have most likely noticed a change in Grace's presentation. Grace said she has been working a lot harder in the gym and leaning into powerlifting a lot more.

"I just think over time, hearing and reading these comments no matter what my body looked like at the time, there was always something negative about it. I thought to myself, 'I need to stop worrying about these people and worry about the way I wanna look.'

Grace noted that she does more cardio now on top of powerlifting. She also walks on the StairMaster carrying ankle weights four-to-five times a week. She also consistently goes to the gym five-to-six times a week. If she takes a day off, she does yoga or gets a massage. In order to slim down for Queen of the Mountain, she did all this consistently for six weeks.

To hear more, watch the video above.

 

[Leon TrotSky]

The timer not being on the tron was something I noticed, yes, good to see they worked through it

 

[Swerve]

Great interview.