Wynonna Judd arrives on The Voice as the Knockout round begins

The stakes just keep getting higher and higher on season 24 of The Voice.

In tonight's episode, the Battles conclude to make way for the Three-Way Knockouts. Coaches Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani, and John Legend can feel the competition's intensity as they gear up to make some tough cuts. Reba thinks more tears lie ahead for her. "Your heart hasn't hardened yet," long-time coach John jokes. But Reba's team is up first in the Knockouts, and she immediately has a tough decision to make between soulful country-rock singer Jacquie Roar, singer-songwriter Alison Albrecht, and gritty soul-country singer Tom Nitti. Thankfully, she and the rest of the coaches won't have to prepare for these major decisions all alone — they'll have the help of this season's Mega Mentor, country icon Wynonna Judd.

It feels right that Reba gets to hang out with Wynonna first since the two go way back. Reba tells us that if she could bring one album to a desert island, it would be a Wyonna record — an insanely huge compliment to drop so casually. All of that to say, having Wynonna next to her must ease Reba's angst just a little bit. Plus, in this round, she'll have not only a steal at her disposal, but a save — so if any decision gets a little too stressful, she'll be able to keep two artists from one of her Knockouts. She might need it here. In rehearsals, all three artists impress in different ways. Wynonna is taken by Alison's storytelling ability (and both the redhead country queens love her choice to perform Carole King's "It's Too Late"). She feels a kindred spirit with Jacquie's big, bold country voice, and she's thoroughly surprised by the sound that comes out of Tom Nitti's mouth, reminding everyone not to judge a book by its cover.

All three artists offer something very different and during performances, different coaches latch on to different aspects of what the artists do on stage. All of them agree that Jacquie Roar and her passionate, rock-forward version of Maren Morris's "Girl" offers the full package. "You're a force of nature on stage," Reba tells her before declaring her the winner of the Knockout. Alison Albrecht is praised for her tone (John actually calls her his "favorite voice" of the three), but she just doesn't have enough stage presence to entice a steal or save, so she is officially cut. But Tom Nitti and his take on the Temptations' "(I Know) I'm Losing You" is full of fire, and he winds up surprising more than just Wyonna with his dip into Motown.

Just as Tom is about to thank Reba for being his coach, Reba pushes her save button. She's not letting him go — but her plan to keep two of her aces might be foiled. As Reba gets up to hug her artist, Gwen uses her steal. "Stopped in your tracks," John says to Reba before she chases Gwen out of her chair. "This must be a malfunction here, right Gwen?" Reba asks in disbelief that she might have to fight to keep one of her artists. Gwen doesn't put up much of a fight when it comes to pitching herself to Tom, though. She just lets him know that she's a huge fan of his. Meanwhile, Reba heaps on the praise, making sure Tom knows just how special she thinks his voice is.

Of course, he's staying with Team Reba. It's no contest. While Reba may have looked like she was sweating the competition, she had all the confidence in the world. "Gwen try to steal Tom?" she says to the camera. "No, that wasn't gonna happen."

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.

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