Jordynne Grace’s open challenge in TNA was answered by the obvious choice from NXT
Jordynne Grace’s open challenge in TNA was answered by the obvious choice from NXT
TNA had wrestling fans buzzing to find out who would answer the open challenge from Jordynne Grace at Against All Odds (June 14, 2024). The reveal turned out to be the obvious choice from NXT.
Grace stood in the ring awaiting her opponent to defend the Knockouts Championship. Enter Tatum Paxley.
Hmm, I have to be honest. That moment of surprise was a dud. I’m not knocking Paxley. She was the simplest option based on events that transpired at Battleground when Grace lost to Roxanne Perez in NXT. The majority of fans didn’t recognize her music, so there was no pop. By the time Paxley walked to the ring, many fans still didn’t seem to know who she was.
To Paxley’s credit, she won over some support through unhinged antics, a few cool moves, and showing guts to kick out of Grace’s power offense. For example, Paxley was smooth on a rolling neckbreaker off the second rope.
Grace lived up to her Juggernaut moniker with a musclebuster and a jackhammer suplex.
Grace fired up to close with a spinning backfist, a rolling Death Valley Driver, and a pumphandle driver for victory.
Overall, it was a solid match. Paxley just didn’t have the star power to live up to expectations of the mystery surprise. She did well in the ring to showcase her character and make the contest competitive. Still though, it was cool to see the Forbidden Door revolving between WWE and TNA.
It will be interesting to see if a partnership between TNA and NXT continues to develop over time. In the short-term, it appears that TNA has Grace’s next challenger lined up from their own roster. Ash by Elegance (aka Dana Brooke) attacked Grace after the match, but Grace came back with a crushing spinebuster to stand tall. Ash has been milling around the title picture lately, and her shot could be next.
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