IMPACT Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace spoke with Sports Illustrated ahead of tonight’s Slammiversary pay per view, where Grace will be taking on Deonna Purrazzo. Highlights are below.
Says she was excited when Purrazzo got signed by IMPACT:
I’d worked with Deonna a lot on the independent scene before she got signed to WWE, and she was on the list of women I hoped Impact would sign when [WWE] did the mass release. When I found out she was working with Impact, I was super excited. You can tell when there’s chemistry or when there is none at all, and she’s one of those people I click with. It probably has a lot to do with our age and how we have a similar mentality when it comes to wrestling
On her feud with Taya Valkyrie and how Taya is one of the best in the world:
Our entire feud, we never had a bad match. I learned so much from her. A few months ago, I did a run-in on Taya when I hit her with a kendo stick. I hit her super hard and it shattered. I came to the back and she had someone taking a picture of her back. There was blood and red marks, and I know this is going to sound stupid, but I started crying because I felt terrible. She was like, ‘It’s wrestling, I knew it was going to happen.’ That’s the moment I realized Taya is one of just the toughest people I’ve ever met. I’ve seen some of the videos of her matches in Mexico, but I’d never really realized how insane she is. She’s a legend and one of the best wrestlers in the world.
What it’s like to be the champion:
When you’re chasing the title, you know where everything you do is leading. But when you have the title, you don’t know what’s going to come next. You never know who is going to step up.
How her performance at ALL IN leading to her getting signed by IMPACT:
I was building popularity on the independent scene up to that point, and I really lucked into that spot. I don’t know how I got it or why it happened, but that completely changed the trajectory of what I was planning to do in my career and where I was headed. Very shortly after that, Impact became the first company to offer me a contract. I’d been wrestling for seven years at that point, and I still wasn’t sure if I would ever get a contract. That moment took me completely by surprise.