Fort Pierce is close to home for rising WWE NXT superstars Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice

The finals of the WWE NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament featured two rising NXT superstars with South Florida ties.

Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice reached those important finals by each going 2-0 in the tournament. In a solid, physical battle, Vice then beat Jordan to win it all at Halloween Havoc Night 2, earning an NXT title shot.

Prior in the tourney, Jordan defeated Izzy Dame and Ariana Grace. Vice eliminated Dani Palmer and Karmen Petrovic. That led to an All-South Florida finale within a year of their debuts.

Says something of the pro wrestling/sports entertainment talent in South Florida.

Blake Howard (Blake Chadwick) is another. After working the indies in South Florida (including Coastal Championship Wrestling) and abroad — as a commentator, ring announcer and interviewer — he signed with WWE. There he joined Byron Saxton on commentary for NXT Level Up, which is 10 p.m. Fridays on Peacock. He is also a ring announcer and host at NXT Live house shows (no TV).

The three have appeared on NXT Live house shows at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce, not too far from where their family and friends could conjugate to cheer their respective favorite. Sometimes you just want to cheer the heel, especially when you’re related or know them personally, and they do.

It’s a grand stepping stone to the next level, and their close supporters know that.

Proud is a word that comes to mind when speaking to family and friends about “their” superstar or talent on the show.

Here is my video interview with Lola Vice of WWE NXT.

Here is my video interview with Kelani Jordan of WWE NXT.

Maybe we will see Kelani Jordan, Lola Vice and/or Blake Howard during NXT Live is at the Havert L. Fenn Center on Saturday, Dec. 16 in Fort Pierce.

The Fenn hosted NXT in September with its largest crowd to date there. Up-close-and-personal, fans enjoyed the event, watching the action, vocalizing their opinions/expressing themselves, buying merch, obtaining autographs and taking selfies.

Especially those”babyfaces” competing in the main event, they will take time afterward to interact with fans.

About Jordan and Vice

Originally from Georgia, Jordan moved to South Florida, attending Boynton Beach High School. WWE superstar/brand ambassador Titus O’Neil is from Boynton Beach. Jordan met O’Neil at her WWE tryout in Nashville, bonding through that Boynton Beach connection.

In South Florida, she trained at the prestigious American Twisters Gymnastics in Coconut Creek, where she was coached by Gary Anderson and Christy Ramirez. Coconut Creek is also the home base of American Top Team, where Loureda trained in MMA.

Albeit different, Loureda’s MMA (and taekwondo) background has helped her progress to a degree into that pro wrestling style.

Albeit different, Jordan’s gymnastics background has helped her progress to a degree into that pro wrestling style.

Jordan, 25, earned a scholarship to NCAA Division I Michigan State, where she earned CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I At-Large Third Team accolades in 2022, becoming just the second Spartans gymnast all-time to reach CoSIDA Academic All-American status. She was also the recipient of the 2021 Big Ten Conference Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award, becoming the first MSU female student-athlete to receive that honor and only the second Spartan overall. She won 23 career event titles, with 10 on floor, five in the all-around, four on vault, three on bars and one on beam. She is a three-time team co-captain (2020-22), five-time WCGA Scholastic All-America honoree (2018-22), four-time Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree (2019-22).

Vice, 25, the first Cuban American woman signed by WWE, grew up in Miami in the 305. A teakwondo master, Vice excelled at a very young age in professional MMA, fighting for Bellator. Her father is an accomplished taekwondo instructor in Miami, and her sister is into taekwondo, MMA and WWE.

Representing American Top Team, Loureda was 4-1 for Bellator MMA. An actress, model, brand ambassador, commentator, host, fighter, pro wrestler, superstar, sports entertainer, she is very active on social media, meshing sport with entertainment. Her top priority, her main focus is climbing the ladder in WWE, while adding some Latina flare.

Prior to joining the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, she received her first taste of pro wrestling training through WWE alum Gangrel at the Coastal Championship Wrestling Training Facility in (South Florida) Pompano Beach.

Vice and Jordan have come a long way, since training at the WWE PC. They are learning from an exceptional coaching staff and creative unit, under the leadership of Matt Bloom, Sara Amato and HBK Shawn Michaels.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lolavicewwe

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kelani_wwe

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WWEPC

NXT on the road and at the WWE PC

For NXT Live house show tickets (no TV), go to: etix.com. Tickets start at just $10.

NXT TV is live on the USA Network at 8 p.m. Tuesdays from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. To find out more information on how to attend NXT free at the WWE PC, visit wwe.com/nxtlive.

NXT Socially Acceptable

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WWENXT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WWENXT/

Web: https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ5v_MCY6GNUBTO8-D3XoAg

My Pro Wrestling and MMA Talk on the Web and Social Media

Web: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/

Twitter: @jimmyv3

YouTube: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingSouthFlorida/

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