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Heading into NXT Battleground, Shawn Michaels hinted that there could be plenty of surprises at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the presence of TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, hinting at even more Forbidden Door moments potentially on the books.
Technically, that did happen, as Dana Brooke returned to NXT under her new TNA moniker Ash by Elegance, and she played into the finish of Gace's match against Roxanne Perez, interfering alongside Tatum Paxley before being laid out by the “Juggernaut” moments before she was pinned by Roxanne Perez with the Pop Rocks, but with seemingly an entire roster of “Impact players” at HBK's disposal, deploying Brook, who no one in the UFC Apex recognized instead of, say, Gail Kim, Rosemary, Tasha Steele or even Masha Slamovich – Shayna Baszler's opponent from Josh Barnett's Bloodsport – felt underwhelming to say the least, as fans quickly pointed out on social media.
Why didn't NXT do more? Why didn't WWE allow NXT to do more? Case in point, on multiple occasions, Wes Lee took a beating from the members of Gallus, first during his match for the North American Championship against Joe Coffey and Oba Femi, and again later in the show, the trio jumped him in the back. On both occasions, it felt like the perfect time to run out Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel, and/or Myron Reed to help protect their former member of The Rascalz, but no one ever arrived. Why didn't a member of TNA come out to challenge either Femi or Women's NXT North American Champion Kelani Jordan at the end of their matches when it could have just added a little more excitement?
In the end, this show wasn't particularly groundbreaking and didn't serve as WWE's answer to the Forbidden Door, but instead featured no true debuts and no title changes, as no one held the Women's North American Championship when the night began. Even if most of the expectations surrounding the show were fan-made, in the end, it's hard to say HBK and company delivered on them in a meaningful way.
WHAT.
JUST.
HAPPENED???With a little bit of chaos, @roxanne_wwe defeats @JordynneGrace 🤯#NXTBattleground pic.twitter.com/a4g1rD6up4
— WWE (@WWE) June 10, 2024
Drew McIntyre praised Jordynne Grace ahead of NXT Battleground.
While Jordynne Grace didn't come out on top at NXT Battleground, her program with Roxanne Perez has gotten her plenty of flowers from around the professional wrestling world, including from Drew McIntyre, the multi-time WWE Champion who is set to challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, Scotland. Despite having never shared the ring together over their respective runs through the professional wrestling world, McIntyre has kept a watchful eye on Grace over her illustrious career and believes she is one of the best around.
“So, this is what I’ll say (about the idea of appearing at WWE Clash at the Castle in Scotland): Wrestling is at its best when anything is possible and anything can happen. It feels like we’re in a period of time in wrestling where absolutely anything can happen at any time. What do we know has happened? So, Jordynne Grace has appeared and has done phenomenally well and is challenging for the NXT Championship, and what I will say is I think that Jordynne is such an awesome representative of TNA. She’s someone that really inspires me,” Drew McIntyre explained to Cultaholic via Post Wrestling.
“When I talk to — even wrestling students back home about getting better, I get them to rate themselves as wrestlers and I do the same thing. I rate myself and go, ‘What am I out of 10 on physique? What is my promo? What is my match quality?’ Rate myself on everything and then go, every three months or so, can I improve by one point? And so I feel like that’s the journey I’ve been on the last — well, I look at Jordynne and she is, to me, she is world-class in all areas. So, I think that she is an awesome representative. I think she’s shown tremendous leadership, and in my view, she’s the biggest star in the company, and she’s done an amazing job, and she’s continuing to do an amazing job. So that’s all I’m gonna say about that is I’m supportive of what she’s doing as a colleague. I think it’s amazing that both companies are working together, and no matter what happens and when it happens, whatever TNA wrestling asks me to do, I’ll be there.”
Would it have been cool to see Grace leave NXT Battleground with the NXT Women's Championship over one shoulder and the TNA Knockouts Championship over the other? Most definitely, but hey, in the end, her stock has unquestionably gone up over the past few weeks and will continue to rise into the future if she uses this momentum to her advantage. All in all, keep an eye on the “Juggernaut,” as she's having a certified moment.
