Jinny (wrestler)

Jinny
Jinny in 2016
Birth name	Jinny Sandhú
Born	(1987-09-28) 28 September 1987 (age 37) London, England, U.K.
Alma mater	Birmingham City University (BSc)
Spouse(s)	Gunther ​ (m. 2022)​
Children	1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Jinny[1] Jinny Couture[1]
Billed height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[1]
Billed weight	136 lb (62 kg)
Billed from	Knightsbridge, England
Trained by	The Projo[1][2] Jimmy Havoc[1][2]
Debut	4 January 2015
Retired	14 January 2023

Jinny Hahn^[3] (née Sandhú; born 28 September 1987) is an English retired professional wrestler.

She is best known for her tenures in WWE, where she performed on the NXT UK brand, Progress Wrestling (PROGRESS), Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where she performed under the ring name Jinny Couture, Pro-Wrestling: EVE (EVE) and Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw).

Early life

Jinny Sandhú^[4][5] was born in London^[1][6] and grew up in Knightsbridge.^[7] Sandhú first started watching wrestling when she was nine and was influenced by Jushin Liger, Lita, Ted DiBiase, Sherri Martel, Victoria and Trish Stratus.^[2][7] Sandhú earned a BSc in psychology from Birmingham City University in 2012.^[8]

Professional wrestling career

Progress Wrestling / PROGRESS (2014–2020)

Sandhú was trained by Progress Wrestling and was the first female graduate of Progress's Projo wrestling school.^[2][1] In January 2015, now worked under the ring name Jinny, she had her first singles match at Progress ENDVR:8, defeating Pollyanna.^[9] At ENDVR:12, Jinny defeated Toni Storm.^[10] At ENDVR:15, Jinny defeated Leva Bates.^[11] At Chapter 28, Jinny defeated Storm in a re-match.^[12] At Chapter 34, Jinny and Marty Scurll defeated Laura Di Matteo and Mark Haskins.^[13] At Chapter 36, Jinny, Alex Windsor and Dahlia Black defeated Pollyanna, Nixon Newell and Di Matteo.^[14] In August 2017, Jinny and Deonna Purrazzo defeated Black and Dakota Kai.^[15][16][17] At Chapter 66, Jinny and Mercedes Martinez defeated Storm and Shazza McKenzie.^[18] Jinny and Austin Theory defeated Kay Lee Ray and Will Ospreay at Chapter 67.^[19] At Chapter 69, Jinny defeated Storm to win the Progress Wrestling World Women's Championship for the first time.^[20] Jinny successfully defended the championship against Kai.^[21] On 30 December, she lost the title to Jordynne Grace, ending her reign at 224 days and with 6 title defenses.

Independent circuit and Pro Wrestling: EVE / EVE (2015–2019)

Jinny made her debut for Pro Wrestling Chaos in 2015. At Pro Wrestling Chaos 20, she was defeated by Bates.^[22] Jinny became the inaugural South Coast Queen Of The Ring Champion by defeating Lana Austin in 2015.^[23] In 2016, Jinny made her Pro Wrestling: EVE debut and was defeated by Jetta.^[24] On 15 July 2017, Jinny defeated Emi Sakura.^[25] In 2017, Jinny and Jetta were defeated by Sierra Loxton and Melina.^[26] In 2017, Jinny won the Maiden of Chaos Championship by defeating Martina, making her the inaugural champion.^[27]

Revolution Pro Wrestling / RevPro (2016–2018)

Jinny, now worked under the ring name Jinny Couture made her Revolution Pro Wrestling debut in June 2016, defeating Addy Starr.^[28] In 2017, she defeated Veda Scott.^[29] Jinny won the RevPro British Women's Championship after defeating Purrazzo in At The Cockpit 25, making her the inaugural champion.^[30] She successfully defended the title against Millie McKenzie and Bea Priestley.^[31] Jinny lost the title to Jamie Hayter in 2018, ending her reign at 147 days.^[32]

Westside Xtreme Wrestling / wXw (2016–2017)

In 2016, Jinny debuted for German wrestling promotion, Westside Xtreme Wrestling and defeating Black. Later that same night, she was defeated by Alpha Female in a Fatal 4-Way match that also included Shanna and Melanie Gray.^[33] In 2017, Jinny defeated Thunder Rosa.^[34]

WWE (2017–2023)

Signed and early appearances (2017–2018)

In April 2017, Jinny took part in WWE's WrestleMania 33 Axxess,^[35] where she was defeated by Toni Storm on two days of the axxess.^[36] A little over a year later, in June 2018, it was announced that WWE had signed her to a contract.^[37][38] Around that time, Jinny was announced as one of the four women who would compete in a Fatal 4-Way match to determine the number one contender for the NXT Women's Championship on Day 1 of United Kingdom Championship Tournament.^[39][40] At the event, Jinny was injured during the match,^[41] forcing her out of it and the match was later reverted to a triple threat match between Storm, Killer Kelly and Isla Dawn.^[42][43][44]

In July, Jinny took part of the 2018 Mae Young Classic, where she was defeated in the first round by her rival Storm.^[45]

NXT UK (2018–2022)

Shortly after her participation in the Mae Young Classic, Jinny was announced as part of the women's roster in the newly created NXT UK brand. After a series of vignettes promoting her debut, Jinny made her television debut on the 7 November episode, where she attacked Dakota Kai from behind after she lost a match against Toni Storm.^[46] Jinny would then enter a tournament for the inaugural NXT UK Women's Championship, where she would defeat Millie McKenzie in the first round,^[47] only to be eliminated from the tournament by Storm in the semi–finals.^[48]

On the 15 May 2019 episode of NXT UK, Jinny alongside the debuting Jazzy Gabert interrupting a match between Killer Kelly and Xia Brookside, attacking the two in the process and taking on Gabert as her enforcer. On the 19 June episode of NXT UK, Jinny, as well as other women, competed in a battle royal to determine who will get a future opportunity for the NXT UK Women's Championship. In the match, Jinny got eliminated by Brookside. On 17 July episode of NXT UK, Jinny defeated Brookside, thanks to Gabert's interference. Following this, Jinny and Jazzy went on to feud with Rhea Ripley and Piper Niven, where they ultimately came out on the losing side of things in various tag and singles matches. Jinny defeated Amale on the 19 December episode of NXT UK, where after the match, Jazzy refused to continue to beat down Amale, which led to the two parting ways as they went into 2020. On 2 April 2020, Jinny teamed with Kay Lee Ray in a successful effort against Niven and Dani Luna.

On 24 September 2020, Jinny made her return to NXT UK television, staring at Ray after her successful title defense against Niven. The following week, Jinny made her return to the ring by defeating Brookside and claiming she would be even more ruthless than ever before. On 5 November 2020, Jinny defeated newcomer Aleah James in a fairly fast squash match. After the match, Jinny called out Niven, claiming that she lacked killer instinct and the determination to be champion. During a Falls Count Anywhere championship match between Ray and Niven on 19 November 2020, she first attacked Niven at ringside, costing her the match and allowing Ray to retain. On 26 November 2020, Jinny defeated Isla Dawn, and after the match, she mocked Niven, saying that she hoped she was watching from the hospital. Tensions continued to boil between Jinny and Niven, and eventually a match between the pair was announced on the first episode of NXT UK in 2021, where the winner would be the next to challenge Ray for the championship. On 7 January 2021, Jinny successfully defeated Niven after interference from Joseph Conners, whom Jinny seemed to have aligned herself with. Two weeks later, on the 21 January episode of NXT UK, Jinny was defeated by Ray, who retained her championship despite interference from Conners. Following this, Jinny and Conners would continue to feud with Niven, who gained an unlikely ally in Jack Starz. On the 11 March episode of NXT UK, Jinny and Conners were defeated by Niven and Starz in a mixed tag team match. Conners eventually defeated Starz in a singles match, thus ending the feud between the two teams.

Jinny would then begin to feud with Aoife Valkyrie, saying that Valkyrie avoided her since her arrival in NXT UK. On 22 July episode of NXT UK, Jinny would appear on Noam Dar's Supernova Sessions, where she vowed to end Valkyrie, and later that evening, Valkyrie handed Jinny a feather to signal that she accepted her challenge. On the 29 July episode of NXT UK, Jinny defeated Valkyrie following a distraction from Conners. It was then announced that Jinny would face Valkyrie again, but this time it would be in a no disqualification match where Conners was locked in a cage; Jinny failed to win that match. The following week, Jinny claimed that although she lost the match, she won the war. On 16 September episode of NXT UK, Jinny found that Dawn had invaded her dressing room. The following week, Jinny defeated Dawn. Jinny developed an issue with Amale, and on the 27 January 2022 episode of NXT UK, Jinny defeated her by pinfall. This would be Jinny's final match in NXT UK and WWE overall.

Retirement

In 14 January 2023, after a year inactive, Sandhú announced her retirement from wrestling on her Twitter account due to an injury, later revealed as a concussion.^[49]

Other media

Sandhú had an uncredited role on season 3 of the British crime drama series, DCI Banks.^[50]

From 2021 to 2022, Sandhú, alongside with Benjamin Webb, better known by the ring name Trent Seven, co-hosted the show, WWE The Run-In.

Personal life

Sandhú met Austrian professional wrestler Walter Hahn, better known by the ring name Gunther, when they both wrestled on the independent circuit, and began dating while in NXT. They were married in 2022, upon which she adopted her husband's last name, Hahn.^[51][52][53] and had a ceremony with friends and family in 2023. On 27 December 2023, they welcomed their first child, a boy.^[54]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	DCI Banks	—	Uncredited role (season 3)
2021-2022	WWE The Run-In	Herself	Co-host

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Chaos
  • Maiden of Chaos Championship (1 time)^[55]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 103 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 100 in 2021
• Progress Wrestling
  • Progress Women's Championship (2 times)^[56]
• Revolution Pro Wrestling
  • RevPro British Women's Championship (1 time)^[57]
  • RevPro British Women's Title Tournament^[58]
• South Coast Wrestling
  • South Coast Queen of The Ring Championship (1 time)^[59]

References

1. "Jinny". Cagematch. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
2. Quant, Tony; Docking, Neil (3 March 2018). "Trailblazer Jinny leading women's revolution in British wrestling". Mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
3. "WWE Couple Gets Married". 12 July 2022.
4. "Jinny Sandhu". LinkedIn. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
5. "Jinny Sandhu". LinkedIn. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
6. Giménez, Alejandro (5 June 2018). "WWE contrata a la luchadora independiente Jinny para la división de Reino Unido". Solowrestling (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2018.
7. "Interview – 'The Knightsbridge Fashionista' Jinny". TheBritishWrestlingRevival. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
8. "Gunther would have already married his fiancée". SuperLuchas.com. Súper Luchas. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
9. "ENDVR:8". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
10. "ENDVR:12". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
11. "ENDVR:15". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
12. "Progress Chapter 28: Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
13. "Progress Chapter 34: Keep It Unreal". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
14. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Progress Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need A Bigger Room ... Again « Events Database « Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
15. "Progress New York City". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
16. "Mae Young Classic's Dakota Kai to compete at Progress New York City on Aug. 12". WWE. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
17. "Progress Boston". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
18. "Progress Chapter 66: Mardi Graps". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
19. "Progress Chapter 67: Bourbon Is Also A Biscuit". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
20. "Progress Chapter 69: Be Here Now". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
21. "Progress Chapter 71: F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S." Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
22. "Pro Wrestling Chaos 20 - The Chaos Awakens". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
23. "SCW Trick Or Treat". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
24. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "EVE Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's Pro-Wrestling: EVE « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
25. "EVE But First, Some Rebellion". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
26. "PWC Chaos B Ballin'". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
27. "PWC Coalition Of Chaos - Evening Show". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
28. "RevPro Live At The Cockpit". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
29. "RevPro Live At The Cockpit 21". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
30. "RevPro Live At The Cockpit 25". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
31. "RevPro High Stakes 2018". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
32. "RevPro Live In Southampton 3". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
33. "wXw Femmes Fatales". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
34. "wXw Fight Forever Tour 2017: Köln". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
35. "WrestleMania Axxess matches to feature Superstars from NXT, 205 Live, the U.K. Championship Tournament, Progress and Insane Championship Wrestling". WWE.com. WWE. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
36. "WWE WrestleMania Axxess 2017 - Tag 2". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
37. "Report: WWE Signs Jinny Of Progress Wrestling To UK Contract". Fightful. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
38. Datta, Soumik (6 June 2018). "WWE Rumor Mill: WWE apparently signs top Progress Wrestling Champion to a WWE UK deal". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
39. Csonka, Larry (18 June 2018). "WWE Tapes Day One Of The 2018 WWE UK Championship Tournament Today". 411Mania. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
40. Greer, Jamie (25 May 2018). "Huge UK Indie Women's Fatal 4-Way Announced for WWE UK Special". lastwordonprowrestling.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
41. "Match Stopped Due To Injury During The U.K. Championship Tournament Tapings - Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com.
42. "Toni Storm, "Killer" Kelly and Isla Dawn vie for NXT Women's Title opportunity in Triple Threat Match". WWE. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
43. Sandhu, Chamatkar (18 June 2018). "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Night 1 recap". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
44. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament 2018 - Tag 1". Cagematch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
45. "Mae Young Classic field widens with addition of international standouts, "American Ninja Warrior" pioneer". WWE. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
46. Trionfo, Richard (7 November 2018). "WWE NXT UK Report: Storm Versus Kai". PWInsider.
47. Trionfo, Richard (14 November 2018). "WWE NXT UK Reports: NXT UK Women's Title Tournament Announced, Bate Versus Drake, Seven Versus Gibson, and More". PWInsider.
48. Trionfo, Richard (21 November 2018). "WWE NXT UK Reports: The Women's Tournament Continues, Mark Andrews, Jordan Devlin, Ligero, and More". PWInsider.
49. Johnson, Mike (14 January 2023). "NXT UK Star Jinny Announces Retirement". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
50. "Jinny Sandhu". Starnow. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
51. Hamdy, Ahmed (12 August 2022). ""I had an immediate crush on him" - 4 current WWE couples who met on NXT". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
52. Esposito, David (14 January 2023). "WWE NXT UK Star Jinny Announces Retirement". eWrestlingNews.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
53. Rueter, Sean (14 January 2023). "WWE NXT UK talent Jinny announces her retirement". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
54. McGeorge, Alistair (27 December 2023). "WWE superstar Gunther becomes a dad as wife Jinny gives birth to first child". Metro. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
55. "Maiden Of Chaos Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
56. "Progress Women's Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
57. "RevPro British Women's Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
58. "RevPro British Women's Title Tournament". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
59. "South Coast Queen Of The Ring Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 October 2020.

External links

• Jinny on WWE.com
• Jinny's profile at Cagematch.net