It has been a long road for Kelani Jordan to finally sit atop the WWE NXT women’s division. On Sunday night, she finally got there.
Jordan defeated Kendal Grey in one of the best women’s matches of the year to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Heatwave.
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Kelani Jordan enters the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on April 28, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (WWE via Getty Images)
She always lamented bigger opportunities passing her by. This time, Jordan had her chance and took it. She nailed Grey into the turnbuckle as the champion was on the apron. Grey’s momentum carried her into the ring and Jordan was lined up for a perfect split-legged moonsault.
Jordan pinned Gray and became the new champion.
Grey tried her best to put Jordan away multiple times. She hit Jordan with an avalanche reverse Spanish Fly, but there was nothing she could do to put her opponent away. Grey had Jordan on the ropes again, picked her up and nailed her with her knee. Still, Jordan wouldn’t quit.
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NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey speaks during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on June 30, 2026. (WWE via Getty Images)
The lack of quit in Jordan propelled her to the victory and launched her first title reign as NXT women’s champion.
Jordan has held singles titles before, but never the NXT Women’s Championship. She was the first NXT women’s North American champion and even held the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) Knockouts Championship for a brief moment.
Jordan held the NXT Women’s North American Championship until she lost it in a gauntlet to Fallon Henley at Halloween Havoc 2024. She was the TNA Knockouts champion until she lost it at NXT Gold Rush last November to Lei Ying Lee in a triple-threat match.
Kelani Jordan enters the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on Jan. 13, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. (Conor Kvatek/WWE via Getty Images)
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But getting her opponent one-on-one seemed to be paramount for Jordan. She used her gymnastics background to counter Grey’s amateur wrestling abilities and came out the winner.
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