Exclusive: Jordynne Grace Reacts To Winning Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship
Earlier this week in an Impact Wrestling match in Mexico, Jordynne Grace defeated Taya Valkyrie to become the new Knockouts Champion. It is Grace's first Impact championship and she talked about it when she spoke to Wrestling Inc. on The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast.
"It feels like it's long overdue to be honest," Grace said before discussing her journey to win the title. "It's been a lot of fun. I've had a lot of really good matches with all of the women there. There's been so many times when I've thought I was gonna win it but ended up not winning it. I was a little bit surprised to actually win it in Mexico."
Grace has been with Impact for nearly a year-and-a-half so many were surprised to learn that this is her first title with the company including a fellow Knockout.
"You know what's so funny is that when I won it at the show, Jessika Havoc came up to me and was, 'Oh, this is your first time winning it? I didn't even realize that you hadn't won it before,'" Grace recalled before saying it's a compliment that some people think she doesn't need a title to get over.
Grace has embraced being a role model to young women even if that means being vocal about things that others aren't as vocal about.
"I've always strived to be a role model and always strived to do the right thing and say my beliefs out loud even if everyone didn't agree with them. I feel like I'm trying to be the best role model I can be but it's a lot of pressure [laughs]," Grace said before being asked about dealing with trolls on social media.
"I probably have not been as cognizant as I should have been in the past. But I've made a New Year's Resolution to try to not respond to a lot of the negativity on social media and stay away from the drama."
Grace's title win came against Taya Valkyrie and those two have worked together a lot recently. Grace talked about the creativity that Valkyrie brings to the ring.
"Taya is awesome. She always has ideas and trains before the matches that she has. She comes into the matches with ideas and she trains with John [Morrison] a lot. I think that he helps her come up with a lot of stuff and all of the stuff she brings to the table is really, really good," stated Grace.
Just as Grace influences many young women today, she was influenced by those that came before her. Grace was asked which Knockouts have made the biggest impressions on her.
"Gail Kim is one of the people that I've looked up to for a long time. It's really an honor to be working with her and she is one of the main reasons that I've gotten to the level I've gotten to in Impact," said Grace before calling Kim the mom of the Knockouts locker room.
"No one is afraid to talk to her about anything. If we have any problem with the office, we can talk to her about it and we know she's not gonna go and say anything unless it's with our blessing. And she gives really good advice."
Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace can be seen every Tuesday night, 8/7c, on AXS TV as part of Impact Wrestling.
Jordynne's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of today's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon: by clicking here. The full interview can be heard via the embedded audio player below: