Jakara Jackson Reveals She Earned WWE Contract Despite Day-One Concussion

Recently released NXT star Jakara Jackson has revealed she suffered a significant injury during the tryout that led to her signing with WWE.

Speaking to Rob & Matt on the Stardom Cast podcast (per Fightful), Jackson recalled her experience at the high-profile WWE tryout held in Las Vegas during SummerSlam week in August 2021. She revealed that on the very first day of the multi-day event, she sustained a concussion.

“Taking those first bumps, it was insane. I ended up getting a concussion on the first day, at the end of it all. It’s just because my poor neck wasn’t used to throwing myself into the ground. It happens. You get whiplash. I completed my first day. The next day was promos and then there was more in-ring stuff after. After the first day, I was definitely beat up, I was like, ‘I don’t have a concussion.’ I’ve never had a concussion in my life. Next day, I showed up and killed the promo part. That’s the fun part to me. It was time for training again and I didn’t have to do it. I was like, ‘I’m not going to make it if I can’t complete this tryout. I was doing anything and everything I could. Zoey Stark was one of the talents there guiding the whole tryout along. I remember going up to her and going, ‘What can I do to make myself stand out and keep myself in the game?’ She just said, ‘Be a team player.’ I was yelling and screaming for everybody. Triple H walked up to me and he told me, ‘This happens. You’re going to be alright.’ He was really reassuring, which I think was a sign because I ended up being the second person called to be signed. I guess my efforts really helped,” she said.