How Jordynne Grace Makes an IMPACT! in Pro Wrestling and Powerlifting

Jordynne Grace is a phenomenon. The 26-year-old from Austin, TX (real name: Patricia Parker) has become a dual-sport superstar, winning titles in both professional wrestling and powerlifting. As one of the most recognizable stars currently running the ropes in IMPACT! Struggle Airing on AXS TV, “Thick Mama Pump” sat down with Muscle & Fitness to discuss her origins in grappling, her love of lifting, and the historic championship challenge coming up at the 20th annual Slammiversary pay-per-view.

“As a kid, I really gravitated toward strong wrestlers, so Beth Phoenix was my number one,” says Grace, who was a huge WWE fan and grew up watching wrestling on TV. Power wrestlers like Chyna and Beth Phoenix helped break the mold and provide a much-needed breath of fresh air from the cover girl look that was prevalent during WWE’s Attitude Era in the late ’90s and early ’00s.

Jordynne Grace knows that strong girls rule

“I think (I liked the stronger girls better) because they were so different from what WWE mostly had at the time. They had the search for divas, which were people who were models who were basically looking for a modeling job, and [had] never fought at all. That was what I grew up watching. it is very good to see that kind of women (as Phoenix and Chyna). We must appreciate diversity in terms of race, height, nationality. I think it’s important for kids to see that because they can relate to that.”

Grace started lifting weights at just 12 years old, knowing that muscles would be necessary if she wanted to follow her dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. “That was my mindset,” she remembers. “The first step in wrestling, for me, was lifting weights and getting stronger.” By the time Grace turned 14, she had already signed up for both amateur and professional wrestling training sessions. “I would use what I learned in amateur wrestling to improve as a fighter. [pro] fighter,” she says. The now multi-champion remembers that the first time she entered the ring, she felt good. “I saw so much fighting a kid that when I finally got in there, it felt like second nature.” Her debut would come in 2011.

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Professional wrestling has evolved since the Attitude Era of WWE. And unlike those old days of Diva Search, where women were often taught a less aggressive style to present a sexier image to the public, the girls now learn the ropes alongside the boys. “Where I come from, there was no difference in training,” says Grace. In fact, as a professional wrestler, “Thick Mama Pump” has earned a reputation for being as tough as anyone in the locker room, even taking on the boys in countless intergender matches across the United States. This 5’3″ dynamo has become a social media sensation and one of the most famous wrestlers on circuit not signed to a WWE contract. Jordynne Grace doesn’t fit in with sexist ideas of how she should be a wrestler, and fans of hers passionately love her for it. With her wide frame and her quads, this warrior could outclass and outclass most men.

Grace has already achieved many milestones and was the first woman to enter AEW’s “Over Budget Battle Royale” and almost won, eliminating brian cage in the process. “That was a big moment for me,” she remembers. And, shortly after garnering everyone’s attention that night, IMPACT! Wrestling announced that they had signed Grace to a two-year contract. IMPACT! it is the former home ground for many of today’s WWE Superstars, including Drew McIntyre, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode and Xavier Woods. Many critics feel that being successful on IMPACT! is a great indication of being able to do it anywhere. In 2018, Grace lifted the first Knockouts Championship from him. Since then, he has become one of the companies’ most decorated stars. She says that there is nothing she wants more than to get that title back, and that she will have a shot at Slammiversary.

Courtesy of Jordynne Grace

Jordynne Grace knows that success takes hard work

“Usually I try to go to the gym every day,” she says. “If it’s not a hard day then I try to do some kind of mobility training, but I try to go at least once a day. Recently I have been doing twice a day because I really hate doing cardio. I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that, so I try to break it up into a different time of day.”

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For maintaining his flexibility in the ring, and recover after strenuous lifting setsGrace has also taken up yoga. “It’s really hard to lift weights along with professional wrestling, so I started doing yoga just because in the last year or so, doing weightlifting competitions with wrestling has been crazy. With yoga, I’ve been trying to get my body feeling better again.” And it’s not just the physicality of it all that makes lifting and wrestling difficult to juggle. Our girl has been known to leave the ring after a live event and head straight on a four-hour drive to do the 6am powerlifting competition weigh-in.

So does Grace have a preference over wrestling or weightlifting? “It’s hard to say, because they both mean completely different things to me. Pro wrestling pays the bills and I’ve been doing it forever and I love it but powerlifting is something different. There’s no ‘if’, ‘and’ or ‘but’ about it, you can lift the weight or you can’t, so I feel a different kind of satisfaction when I’m able to do something in a competition.” And, speaking of doing ‘something’ in competition, Grace broke 3 Georgia state and national records in a World Natural Powerlifting Federation (WNPF) competition last year, in the 165-pound weight class. Incredibly, he squatted 320 pounds (150 kilograms), benched 210 pounds (95 kilograms), and deadlifted 355 pounds (161 kilograms). Then in February, at an unauthorized weightlifting competition, Grace showed further progress by breaking all of those numbers to total 1,065 pounds (483 kilograms).

Balancing wrestling and lifting continues to bring challenges, but Grace takes it all in with a good…well…Grace! Recently, the fighter was forced to drop the heavyweights for a short time after a bad landing in a match caused her back pain. So instead, she switched to Powerbuilding training while she recovers. “It’s like a program that’s kind of somewhere between weightlifting and bodybuilding,” says Grace. “Basically, it’s not 100 percent complete weightlifting.” Powerbuilding is a great way to work on muscle development and strength earnings at the same time.

Jordynne Grace hopes to become Queen of the Mountain

Like IMPACT! celebrates its 20th pay-per-view Slammiversary on June 19, available on FITE.TV and “Thick Mama Pump” hopes to be at her best to crush 4 other opponents in her quest to regain the Knockouts title in a “Queen of the Mountain” match. While Grace has already accomplished so much, there are still plenty of dream matches for her, so who does she have in mind? “Dakota Kai would be great to fight with,” says Grace. “And I think Rhea Ripley. That is a dream couple that many people have chosen, and it is also one of mine.” The powerhouse is also excited about the prospect of wrestling reuniting again with Athena, who last wrestled her some 10 years ago. But right now, there’s nothing more important than winning that shiny Knockouts title. “Slammiversary is going to be amazing,” says Grace, who is excited at the prospect of being victorious in the historic show.

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Jordynne Grace is not only an inspiration when it comes to her athleticism, but she’s also a shining light to others who may feel like they don’t fit a certain mold. With a huge following on social media, Grace has to deal with negative comments like many of us, but the star says she’s learning that paying attention to trolls is giving them exactly what they’re looking for. “One of the most important things to understand is that loving your body is really a process, it’s a day-to-day thing,” says Grace. “Look at your body as a whole, instead of ‘I hate how fat my thighs are’ or ‘I hate my stomach’ and things like that. Be aware of all the things your body does for you on a daily basis and once you realize that, it becomes ten times easier to love yourself.”