WWE Rumors on New Women’s Titles and Joe Hendry; Jordynne Grace’s TNA Contract Update

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

WWE Potentially Adding New Women’s Titles

As WWE’s women’s roster looks to be as good and deep as it has ever been, the promotion could take advantage of this opportunity by adding more titles into the division.

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE has had internal conversations about adding a women’s intercontinental title and United States title.

On Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Mukherjee), Dave Meltzer confirmed the addition of two championships “is being talked about” with one on each brand.

The current main-roster championships in the WWE women’s division include the world championship (Raw), WWE championship (SmackDown) and tag team championships (both brands).

Adding titles is a shorthand way to elevate a star by giving them a championship without necessarily putting them into the main-event mix for the other belts.

But there is also the negative effect where too many stars having titles can dilute the value of all of the championships.

To paraphrase Syndrome said from The Incredibles: If everyone is super, then no one is.

As with everything in wrestling, the idea isn’t as important as the execution. If Triple H and the creative team have a good plan to introduce new titles and can make them feel like important, there’s no reason not to do it.

WWE Reportedly Interested in Signing Joe Hendry

NXT fans got a surprise at the end of Heatwave on Sunday when TNA star Joe Hendry’s face flashed across the screen as the show was going off the air.

Per Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), WWE has interest in signing Hendry when he becomes a free agent: “When queried about WWE’s interest in Hendry after his current TNA contract ends, sources responded emphatically, ‘who wouldn’t?'”

In the meantime, Brennan did note that Hendry is going to play a significant role as part of next crossover between NXT and TNA.

Following Ethan Page’s win in the fatal four way match for the NXT title, a quick video flashed showing Hendry turning to face the camera with a huge grin on his face.

WWE @WWEUNBELIEVABLE. #NXTHeatwave pic.twitter.com/XZidS5X79z

Hendry’s first NXT appearance on June 18 was not a stellar one, as he was the first person eliminated in a 25-man battle royal to determine the No. 1 contender for Trick Williams’ title at Heatwave.

He did shout to Frankie Kazarian, who eliminated him from the battle royal, that quote “this isn’t over” as he was walking up the ramp.

There was a commercial for NXT during Monday’s episode of Raw that featured the same clip with Hendry smiling, indicating he could make an appearance on Tuesday night’s show.

Joe Hendry @joehendryWWE just said my name https://t.co/1ngO528AbP pic.twitter.com/oLWDltuIxe

Given how positive the reaction was to Hendry’s brief debut, WWE should bring him back in at least for a feud. He’s great at getting himself over, particularly with the internet wrestling community, and it only helps NXT create buzz by taking advantage of its partnership with TNA to give him a platform to showcase himself.

It’s unclear how much time is left on Hendry’s TNA contract, but WWE is putting in a good effort right now to make an impression on him when he can negotiate a new deal.

Jordynne Grace Reveals TNA Contract Details

Staying with TNA stars, current knockouts world champion Jordynne Grace could set off a bidding war between various promotions in the near-future.

Appearing on the Gigantic Pop Podcast with Matt Morgan (starts at 7:45 mark), Grace revealed her contract with TNA expires in January 2025.

Grace did not elaborate about what her future plans might be, but it’s safe to assume that WWE will have interest. She has been a key figure in the NXT-TNA crossover, starting at the Royal Rumble when she was a surprise entrant in the women’s Rumble match.

WWE brought Grace back in May when she was revealed as the challenger for Roxanne Perez’s NXT women’s title at NXT Battleground. Perez won the bout to retain her title following interference from Tatum Paxley and Ash By Elegance.

Grace, after issuing an open challenge for the knockouts title at Against All Odds, got her revenge when Paxley showed up to answer the call. The Juggernaut pinned Paxley to retain the championship.

Shawn Michaels, who runs creative in NXT, has spoken very highly of Grace. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if AEW tried to make her an offer, especially now that the women’s division is being booked much better.

Whatever ends up happening, Grace has almost certainly made herself a lot of money when she does become a free agent between her success in TNA and appearances in NXT.

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