Kendal Grey reveals ongoing issues from ear injury ahead of WWE NXT Heatwave

WWE NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey has opened up about her recent ear injury.

A few weeks ago, Grey faced off against Lola Vice in an underground match with her NXT Women’s title on the line. However, during the bout, Grey suffered a concerning injury when she collided with the ring steps and started bleeding from her ear.

Now, recently speaking on Busted Open Radio, Grey opened up about the issues stemming from the ear injury, ahead of her title defense at NXT Heatwave.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s 100%, for sure. I mean, I still have ringing of the ear. I still feel like I’m not 100% balanced, but we’ve been doing a lot of rehab for it. We’ve been doing a lot of stuff to try to get everything back to normal, but it is a slower process.

“But I think, in my mindset, like I said, I’m crazy. My No. 1 priority isn’t fully recovering, it’s defending this championship. So I’m gonna do whatever it takes, whether I’m not 100%, whether I’m 100%, going into Sunday, going into Heatwave. I’m gonna defend this no matter what,” she added.

“I definitely try to [block it out]. I feel like there’s been times, even in amateur wrestling, I go in being injured and I know that that might be a target that people try to attack. And I know that Kelani likes to play dirty, and I know she probably will be coming for my ear, and I’m gonna have to do everything in my power to avoid that.

“But at the end of the day, when I’m in that ring, it’s a fight. I’m not worrying about my ear. I’m not worrying about not being 100%. I’m worrying about doing what I gotta do, and that’s retaining the NXT Women’s Championship,” the champion finished.

Grey is scheduled to defend her title against Kelani Jordan at WWE NXT Heatwave on August 30, 2026, at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas.