WWE has loosened the locks on its own forbidden door. Since Paul “Triple H” Levesque took the reins as WWE Chief Content Officer, the global leader in sports-entertainment has been open and willing to send its talent to other promotions for one-off matches. Shinsuke Nakamura squared off against The Great Muta during his retirement tour in Pro Wrestling NOAH. NXT’s Charlie Dempsey competed in a couple of contests for All-Japan Pro Wrestling. Shayna Baszler showed off her cage-fighting roots during WWE WrestleMania 40 weekend when she fought at GCW Bloodsport. The crossovers have also gone the other way, as TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace entered the Women’s Royal Rumble this past January.
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While Grace’s WWE Royal Rumble participation aligned with the premium live event’s surprise nature, her return to WWE is what really came off as unprecedented. Grace, still reigning as TNA Knockouts Champion, made a shock appearance on WWE NXT and was announced as NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez’s next challenger.
Jordynne Grace Releases Forbidden Door-Inspired Shirt
Jordynne Grace is having fun with the circumstances surrounding her WWE return.
Sharing on social media, the TNA Knockouts Champion revealed that she has released a “prohibited portal” shirt, with the aforementioned aliterated words in the WrestleMania font.
“Prohibited portal” is a parody of the “forbidden door” terminology AEW coined to describe when it crosses over with other companies, namely New Japan Pro Wrestling. It is also the name of a culminating crossover pay-per-view, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, which is an annual event in June.
One person who does not care for the “forbidden door” terminology is WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Speaking at the WWE Royal Rumble post-show press conference, Triple H praised Grace while dismissing the “stupid and silly” crossover term.
“I want to thank [TNA] for allowing her to be here and allowing her to participate in the Royal Rumble. I thought she had a spectacular showing tonight. She’s an amazing talent. It’s exciting to be able to branch out,” Triple H said. “I’m not going to use all the cliche terms about what door people go through or anything like that because it’s stupid and silly. Partnerships and opportunities like this come along for some people once in a lifetime. I’m glad she had that opportunity. It’s well deserved, she’s an incredible talent.”
Grace makes her singles WWE debut next Tuesday, June 4th on WWE NXT.
