Michigan State Gymnast Lea Mitchell To Debut As Kelani Jordan On WWE NXT Level Up

Former Michigan State gymnast Lea Mitchell is set to make her televised in-ring debut on "WWE NXT Level Up" this Friday. Mitchell will perform in a match for the first time on WWE programming using the ring name Kelani Jordan. She is set to go one-on-one with Wendy Choo in a bout taped after last night's episode of "WWE NXT" at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Mitchell was offered a WWE contract in August 2022 following a successful tryout in Nashville, Tennessee ahead of SummerSlam. 

Mitchell has performed at various "NXT" house shows in recent weeks, with her most recent bout taking place on April 28 in Jacksonville, Florida, where she and former "NXT" Women's Champion Roxanne Perez defeated Kiana James and Monika Klisara. She has participated in two non-televised singles matches so far in her pro wrestling career, losing to Zoey Stark on March 24 and tasting defeat against Cora Jade on April 14. Her first match in WWE came two months after being offered a WWE contract, where she took part in a Halloween Costume Battle Royal, which was won by Thea Hail at an "NXT" live event in Melbourne, Florida. 

Mitchell joined MSU in 2017-2018 and went on to win 23 career event titles in gymnastics. She also became a three-time team co-captain, a five-time WCGA Scholastic All-America honoree, and four-time Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree. Additionally, Mitchell achieved being the second MSU gymnast ever to reach CoSIDA Academic All-American status. In 2021, Mitchell became the first MSU female student to receive the Big Ten Conference Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award. After Mitchell was offered a contract by WWE, MSU Gymnastics wrote on social media, "Congrats to Lea Mitchell – who has always be a super star for us – but is now one of @WWE's new Super Stars!!"