WWE NXT Star Kendal Grey Reacts To John Cena Choosing Her For Iron Survivor Match

In years past, multiple WWE legends were assigned the task of naming the competitors in the "WWE NXT" Iron Survivor Challenges. For the 2025 iteration, however, 17-time world champion John Cena took it on as a sole responsibility, with former amateur wrestler Kendal Grey emerging as one of his five personal picks for the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge.

While appearing on "Busted Open After Dark," Grey recalled her reaction to learning that Cena had specially selected her for the big match. "I was speechless," she said. "First off, when I knew that John Cena was talking about me and watching my work, it was scary, but also validating. I am working hard and people are seeing that. It's like a full circle moment because my dad and I and my older brother used to watch WWE. My dad actually took us to some SmackDown events. I have a picture when I was like eight years old with a 'you can't see me' chain. So knowing that I went from the kid that used to watch John Cena to having John Cena pick me to be in the Iron Survivor match was like a full circle moment, it's just insane to even think about."

According to Grey, she had no prior knowledge of Cena's selections before they aired on the November 25 edition of "NXT." As such, Grey says she was shocked by the news, especially given that she is still considered very new to the professional wrestling business. Beyond that, Grey saw it as an opportunity to not only show Cena, but also the women of "NXT," that she can stack up against the best.

Grey went on to win the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge at "NXT" Deadline by pinning Lola Vice for her third overall fall.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open After Dark" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.