Kelani Jordan isn’t taking back her controversial comments about women getting attention in WWE for their bodies and catchphrases instead of their wrestling abilities. The reigning NXT Women’s Champion made it clear that she still believes what she said, and she thinks fans have been overlooking what she brings to the ring for far too long.
During an October 28, 2026 interview with The Wrestling Classic, Jordan was asked about a previous NXT promo where she took aim at the way certain women receive attention. The interviewer brought up her statement that people only care about women who fit certain narratives, specifically those with “fat asses and catchphrases,” instead of recognizing the most talented athletes.
Jordan was asked whether she still stood by those comments and if that promo represented a major turning point in her WWE career. She didn’t hesitate to defend what she said.
“Yes. I That was one of the biggest turning points in my career and also the evolution of Kelani Jordan.”
Jordan explained that she believes too much attention is given to things outside the actual wrestling. In her eyes, her athletic ability and championship accomplishments should speak for themselves, but she feels fans sometimes get distracted by other things.
“So yes, I still stand by that because I think people sometimes forget about the talent that’s in the ring. They’re so drawn to other things and I’m like, ‘Hello, the most elite athlete is literally standing right in front of you.’ And I think they forget history making North American champion, TNA, now NXT Women’s Champion. I just feel like sometimes they just tend to forget and so I’m back in the ring again. They’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is why, you know, Kelani is Kelani.'”
The conversation then turned to whether Jordan felt people had failed to take her seriously despite everything she had already accomplished. After becoming the inaugural NXT Women’s North American Champion and later winning the TNA Knockouts Championship, Jordan believed she had already proven herself. However, she felt her previous cheerful personality caused people to see her differently.
“Yeah, I think people I feel like a lot of times like when you’re all like rainbows and butterflies, people are like, ‘Aw, she’s so cute.’ But they don’t always take you seriously. They may love you in the beginning, but when it’s time to truly get after truly chase like a champion or someone with more equity and more experience, you want to make sure like they’re you’re believable.”
Jordan went on to explain that she was tired of being viewed as someone who might pull off an upset rather than a legitimate threat to the top names in the division. That frustration ultimately pushed her to change her approach.
“Like you are actually maybe the underdog, but you on a right day you could win and I think that was kind of I always was like the black What’s it called? The black horse black dark horse in the match and the dark horse and I was like, ‘I’m tired of being the underdog. Like I know what I bring to the table. I just think people I need to change something.’ And that’s when I changed like, you know, no more happy-go-lucky.”
Jordan’s comments offer a pretty clear explanation for why she’s become more aggressive in NXT. She’s no longer interested in being the smiling newcomer who patiently waits for opportunities, and she’s certainly not apologizing for calling out what she believes gets certain women noticed.
Whether fans agree with her original comments or not, Jordan clearly feels that her accomplishments deserve more attention than appearances and catchphrases. Now that she’s holding the NXT Women’s Championship, she’s determined to make sure nobody overlooks her again.
Do you agree with Kelani Jordan that WWE fans sometimes pay more attention to appearances and catchphrases than actual wrestling talent, or do you think she’s being unfair to the rest of the women’s division? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
