WWE's Kelani Jordan Talks First Year in NXT, 2024 Goals, and Becoming No. 1 Contender at Deadline

WWE's Kelani Jordan talks about her first year in NXT, becoming the number one contender at Deadline, and what she hopes to inspire in others moving forward

By Matthew Aguilar

Five WWE NXT superstars will battle it out in the second-ever Women's Iron Survivor Challenge at tonight's NXT Deadline, all in hopes of becoming the number-one contender for Lyra Valkyria's NXT Women's Championship. One of NXT's brightest talents Kelani Jordan is right in the midst of that mix for a Title shot, though she is also looking to make a statement that she is one to watch. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Jordan all about her first year in NXT and what she hopes to accomplish at Deadline and over the next year in NXT, and while there are several elements she hopes to focus on in 2024, one of her biggest goals is to inspire others who want to jump into the world of wrestling.

Jordan has been open about having a bit of a chip on her shoulder coming into this match, especially after being so close to walking away the winner of the recent NXT Women's Breakout Tournament.  "Oh, man. If I come... Well, not if. When I come out of this match as the winner and being the number one contender, possibly going against Lyra whenever that may be, it would be amazing because like you said, I'm only a year into this," Jordan said.

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(Photo: WWE)

"So, it would be a testament to how hard I've worked. It'd be a testament to the great training I've gotten at the Performance Center. And it would show that, hey, I may not have won the Breakout Tournament, but we all know who really broke out. So, when I become the number one contender, everyone better watch out because I'm coming," Jordan said.

This is only the second iteration of the Iron Survivor Challenge, but despite the recent introduction of the match, Jordan has been studying up. "Yeah, so I've already been studying the Iron Survivors from last year, both the men's and women's. So, I have an idea of how I want to approach it depending on when I go out. If I'm more towards the first couple of superstars throughout, I know I have to be smart because stamina and endurance come into play, and fatigue can set in being in there for 25 minutes," Jordan said.

Jordan knows though that time is of the essence, and there will be small windows that she has to take advantage of if she's one of the first in the match. "So I know if I'm one of the first people, I've got to be smart, but still capitalize on a time where there's only a few people in there. But then if I'm towards the end, use my freshness and ability for the people who are fatigued," Jordan said. "Even though the time's a little bit shorter, I know I have to go in there ready to get pinfalls because the time is limited."

It's hard to believe that Jordan has only been wrestling for a year, and she wants to improve every facet of her ability in the ring over year two. That said, inspiring others is perhaps closest to her heart. When we asked what she hoped to accomplish. most in 2024, Jordan said, "I think for just learning more about who Kelani Jordan is, because just developing myself, understanding more of who I am. Especially because wrestling is foreign to me, so I just want to get better in the ring at wrestling itself, but also inspiring others. I think that would be a successful year if I'm able to inspire other people if they want to go into wrestling that they can do it."

"Obviously the goal is to get better and better in the ring, but I also want to relate to the fans. I want to be authentic. I want to be someone that they can look up to and be like, 'Because Kelani did it, I can do it too.' So, if I'm able to inspire just one person next year, then that's still amazing for me," Jordan said.

WWE NXT Deadline:

  • WWE NXT Championship Match: Ilja Dragunov (C) vs Baron Corbin
  • Men's Iron Survivor Challenge Match: Dijak vs Trick Williams vs Josh Briggs vs Bron Breakker vs Tyler Bate
  • Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match: Tiffany Stratton vs Lash Legend vs Blair Davenport vs Kelani Jordan vs Fallon Henley
  • North American Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (C) vs Dragon Lee
  • Steel Cage Match: Roxanne Perez vs Kiana James
  • Carmelo Hayes vs Lexis King

NXT Deadline takes place on Saturday, December 9th.

Will Kelani come out on top at NXT Deadline? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

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