Name: Jordynne Grace
(Wrestler that Powerlifts:200lb Bench 230 squat)
Nickname(s): The Last Pure Athlete, Thick Mamma Pump
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 150lbs
Age*: 22
From: Austin, Texas, USA
Started training: 2011
Trained by:
Grace credits “The Road” as her trainer
Signature moves:
Spinebuster
Bearhug
Fall From Grace
(Double Leg Slam)
Bio:
Jordynne Grace lives in the United States, I live in the England. She has never wrestled in England or appeared on English television (yet). She has never wrestled for Ring Of Honor or TNA/Impact Wrestling (again yet) and I do not watch much American independent wrestling. In another era I would never have been able to see Grace wrestle or even learn who she is. Thankfully we do not live in that era and thanks to one of our American readers recommending I check out her work and I am now a huge fan of ‘The Last Pure Athlete’.
The first thing that struck me when looked up Jordynne is how strikingly unique she looked, obviously she is drop dead gorgeous but there is also Zero doubt that she could kick my ass. I did a little research on her, watched a couple of matches and decided that I would love to find out more about her wrestling journey and I reached out to her by email. Thankfully she got back to me and, despite the time difference, we were able to organise an interview.
Grace grew up watching WWE and TNA, she was particularly fond of the X Division. In 2011, at the age of 14, she began wrestling training, mainly as a hobby because she wasn’t involved in any extracurricular activities at school. She enjoyed her training so much that wrestling soon went from being a hobby to being something she wanted to dedicate her life to. She felt so strongly that professional wrestling was the career for her that she made bold decision to graduate high school a year early so that she could relocate to an area where the indy scene was big enough for her to support herself. As my knowledge of the American education system begins and ends in what I have seen on television and in movies I asked Grace if early graduation is a common and if it is an easy thing to do. Jordynne told me “it’s definitely not a common thing. In fact, most people don’t even realize it can be done. It was an inconvenience, but not difficult for me at all really. I did a summer of college classes and my third year I went to an extra college class on top of my high school ones in order to do it.it was completely my idea. I always hated school, and it was way better to get out than drop out. I graduated number four in my class out of over 400 students.”
So to summarise Grace gave up her summer so that she could take extra classes, then took extra classes on top of the usual amount while at the same time continuing her wrestling training. And she did this at the tender age of 16/17. And she finished in the top 1% of her class. I’m sure we can all agree that that is an impressive amount of dedication for anyone to show let alone someone so young.
Unfortunately Grace’s relocation didn’t go quite to plan. Originally she moved to St. Louis, which turned out to be a “huge bust”. She moved there to be near to SHIMMER but that didn’t work out (she hasn’t wrestled for them, yet) and she decided to once again relocate. Thankfully this time the move paid off and Grace told me “The east coast is the best place for me. I’ve made more money and had more visibility here than I ever have anywhere else.”
In her young career Grace has already appeared for over 50 different promotions across North America (she made her debut in Mexico for Lucha Libre Femenil at the age of 17) and has earned a reputation as one of the most promising performers, male or female, around. She wrestles a tough brawling style and possesses a vast array of power moves and submissions that allow her to take advantage of her powerful frame, Grace can bench press close to 200lbs and squats 230lbs. This ability to lift and her all round athletocism has earned Jordynne the nickname ‘The Last Pure Athlete’.
On top of being an accomplished singles competitor Grace has also started building a reputation as a successful tag team wrestler. She and her partner, LuFisto, wrestle as the team of PAWGs (an acronym for Phat Ass White Girls) and have wrestled numerous times for various promotions. The duo are so physically imposing that they often wrestle intergender matches and have competed for tag team gold in divisions comprising almost entirely of men.
I asked Grace about whether she has a preference for singles or tag matches. As always she seemed to answer me openly and honestly “I prefer singles if I really want to stand out at a show. I love the spotlight, and sometimes it’s hard to share it. That being said, Team PAWG blew up pretty quick and everybody loves it. I love it. It’s fun and different than anything I’ve done before, and LuFisto is one of the best in the world. Also it’s pretty great being paid the same amount for essentially half the work. Oh, and BREAKS. Pretty much in love with the fact that I can hand over the reins sometimes.”
As always I asked what Grace’s longterm goal is and what she hopes to achieve in wrestling. She told me “I just want to keep traveling and making money. My life is pretty great, and anything that comes along to make it greater, I’ll welcome it. I think people often make the mistake of wanting more and wanting more and wanting more. I’m in a place right now where I’m really financially stable, a decent wrester, I sell a lot of merch at shows, and I’m loving my life.”
Jordynne Grace is one of the best wrestlers I have had the fortune to stumble across and I strongly recommend you check out some of her matches online. I spent well over a hour being impressed by matches between Grace and various opponents such as LuFisto, Tess Valentine, Maria Manic, Veda Scott and Mia Jim (Impact Wrestling’s Jade). Given she is only 21 years old it is genuinely scary how good, nay great, she will become in the future. On behalf of the entire Calling Spots team I would like to thank Jordynne for taking the time to answer my questions and I wish her the very best for the future.
Social Media:
Facebook – Jordynne Grace (@jordynnenation)
Inst@gram – jordynnegrace
Twitter – JordynneGrace
