At times, it can be easy to forget that some of our favorite’s athletes and entertainers weren’t always the stars they are today. They are human beings with a past, who in many cases, lived relatively normal lives, worked regular jobs and paid their bills the same as the rest of us. This is true for almost entertainers, including WWE superstars.
These days, WWE’s Women’s division features some of the most beautiful and talented females in the world today. However, before they were famous, these ladies were either paying their dues or in some cases pursuing other interests.
Given that most of WWE’s top female performers are still fairly young, they grew up an era when cell phones and digital cameras were everywhere, providing fans with a glimpse at what these athletes were doing (and looked like) before they became household names.
Ever wonder what Alexa Bliss was doing before she became “The Goddess of WWE”?
Was Sasha Banks always “The Boss”?
Could there have possibly been a time when the world wasn’t “ready for Auska”?
We are about to get an answer to all these questions and much more. With that in mind, it’s time to take a look at 20 images of WWE’s top female stars, before they were famous.
20 Alexa Bliss
26-year-old Alexa Bliss is one of the top female stars in the world of professional wrestling. The 5-foot-1 superstar was overshadowed by stars like Sasha Banks and Bailey during her time in NXT – WWE’s developmental promotion – but would go on to have an amazing run after being called up. Despite having only been a member of WWE’s main roster since 2016, Bliss has already the Women’s Championship 4 times. Moreover, the blonde bombshell made history by becoming the first person to win both versions of the women’s title (Raw and SmackDown). Known for her cosplay-inspired ring attire and aggressive tendencies in the ring, Bliss has become quite popular amongst members of the WWE Universe. Folks may also recognize Bliss from her appearances on the popular E! reality television shows Total Divas –a program she’s been featured on since 2015.
Before becoming famous, Alexa Bliss, whose real name is Alexis Kaufman, was a cheerleader.
In fact, she had a great deal of success cheering in college at the University of Akron, a Division 1 school. These photos show a teenage Bliss cheering while attending Hilliard Davidson High School. Even at a young age, it appears she was able to exude confidence in front of a crowd.
19 Nia Jax
Standing at 6-feet tall and weighing roughly 275 pounds, Sydney, Australia’s Nia Jax is the largest female on the WWE roster. She recently captured the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34, after defeating Alex Bliss.
Outside the ring, she is known for promoting body positivity. When discussing the issue, Jax has been quoted as saying, “The advice I have always taken from my mom is that beauty does not come from the out, it comes from within. My mom has always told me that no matter how beautiful you are on the outside, if you have an ugly personality and aren’t a good person at heart, then that does nothing for you.Loving yourself and being happy and positive, that’s where true beauty comes from. I get styled and have pounds of make-up put on which is cool and all, but if I walk out with a bad attitude and have crappy negative ways, then nobody would think twice about me. I definitely feel that if somebody is struggling with themselves and how they look, they need to really channel the positivity within.”
Prior to joining WWE, Nia Jax was a plus-sized model. The photo here is from one of her photo shoots, taken back in the day.
18 Bayley
Known for her warm personality and giving hugs to her fans, California’s Bayley is a fan favorite in World Wrestling Entertainment. The 28-year old has won both the NXT (WWE developmental) Championship as well as the RAW Women’s Championship. The 5-foot-6 star is a member of the female wrestling stable known as the Four Horsewoman alongside other female stars like Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair.
In this image, we see Bayley, who in those days was known as Pamela Martinez holding up photos of the legendary Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
As we can see here, she has been a fan of wrestling since childhood. When looking back at her days as a fan, Bayley told Wrestling Inc, “ I loved The Rock. He was my favorite for a long time. And then, when the Hardys and Lita got together, that's when I was like, 'oh my God, I'm obsessed!' It just became a huge, weird obsession. Not 'weird' like I would stalk them or anything, but you just couldn't see my walls in, like, my room. And I would hang posters of Lita, and Trish [Stratus], and stuff from my ceiling and my friends probably thought I was like crazy. 'Why do you have women hanging in your room from the ceiling?' That's weird, right?"
17 Carmella
Carmella, at press time, is the current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion. After signing with World Wrestling Entertainment, the 5-foot-5 blonde began her journey as a manager. In those days, she managed the tag team of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady (Big Cass). She would eventually separate from the duo and begin her career as a singles competitor and was called up to the SmackDown roster in 2017. Carmella has had a very successful run thus far. Besides capturing the title, she also became the first female Money in the Bank winner. The 30-year-old successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and defeated Charlotte Flair for the strap. Her father, Paul Van Dale, was also a professional wrestler who was primarily used as an enhancement talent (jobber) in the 1990s. Outside the ring, she is a certified personal trainer and a fitness instructor.
In this shot, we see Carmella, then known as Leah Van Dale, performing as a member of the New England Patriots cheerleading squad.
She was the Patriots' cheerleader for 3 seasons (2008-2010). After her stint in New England, Carmella became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers dance team, known as the Laker Girls, for the 2010-2011 season.
16 Paige
Norwich, England’s Paige is the current (on-screen) general manager of SmackDown. However, prior to suffering a career-ending injury, she was also an outstanding in-ring performer. The 5-foot-8 brunette singed with WWE back in 2011 and went on to establish herself as on one of the top female wrestlers in NXT (WWE’s developmental promotion). In fact, she was the inaugural NXT Women’s Champion and held the title on 2 separate occasions. She made an immediate impact after being called up to the main roster in 2014 – winning the WWE Divas Championship from AJ Lee during her debut. Unfortunately, Paige suffered multiple injuries throughout her career. She was sidelined for a good portion of 2016 -2017 with a neck injury. Following her return, she would form a faction with wrestlers Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville known as Absolution. Her comeback would be short-lived, as she would ultimately end up re-injuring her neck and was forced to retire from in-ring competition last April at the age of 25.
Here we see Paige as a young teenager in her ring gear.
Believe it or not, Paige (aka Saraya-Jade Bevis) made her wrestling debut when she was just 13 years of age. She comes from a wrestling family with her mother, father, and brothers also competing inside the squared circle.
15 Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks, known to her fans as “The Boss”, is easily one of the most popular women on WWE’s Raw roster. The 5-foot-5 Boston product made a name for herself in NXT, by winning the Women’s Championship from Charlotte Flair. During her time in developmental, “The Boss” went on to become one of the promotion's top stars (male or female) and was called up to the main roster during the summer of 2016. Since making it to the big show, the 26-year-old has gone on to capture the RAW Women’s Championship on 4 separate occasions. Banks, alongside her opponent Charlotte Flair, became the first female performers to headline a pay-per-view event at Hell in a Cell, back in October of 2016. That same year, they also became the first women to main even Raw since Trish Stratus and Lita in 2004. Banks come from a family of high-profile entertainers. Her famous first cousins include rapper Snoop Dogg, singer Brandy Norwood, and musician Ray J. Her husband is Sarath Ton – a costume designer for World Wrestling Entertainment.
Here we see a young Sasha Banks performing at an independent show, prior to becoming a megastar.
Before she was known as Sasha Bank, she performed as Mercedes KV – a play off of her given name, Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado.
14 The Bella Twins
Nikki and Brie Bella, collectively known as the Bella twins are arguably the two biggest female stars associated with the sport of professional wrestling.
Nikki Bella is a 33-year-old native of San Diego, California. During her time in WWE, she has managed to capture the WWE Divas Championship on 2 separate occasions. Her second title reign, which lasted 301 days, is recognized as the longest in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Her twin sister Brie Bella, who is also 33, has also had an outstanding career in WWE. Brie managed to capture the WWE Divas Championship when she defeated Eve Torres on Monday Night Raw in 2011.
Both twins are romantically involved with other high profile wrestlers. Brie Bella is married to Daniel Bryan, and the couple recently welcomed their first child. Nikki Bella is dating WWE’s top star John Cena, after the two recently split for a brief period.
Outside the squared circle, The Bella Twins have been featured in their own E! reality shows Total Bellas after appearing on another E! program, Total Divas.
Before taking WWE by storm, The Bella Twin, then known as Stephanie and Brianna Garcia-Colace, worked at everyone’s favorite family restaurant chain. This photo shows the young Bella twins posing for some photo ops.
13 Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair is arguably the top all-around female performer in professional wrestling at the moment. She had a total of 6 championship reigns since signing with WWE back in 2012. She was the final Divas Champion before the title was discontinued. Moreover, she is the only woman to hold the NXT, Raw, SmackDown, and Divas titles. The 32-year-old is also known for being the first female performer (with Sash Banks) to headline a WWE pay-per-view – having done so at Hell in a Cell back in 2016. The 5-foot-10 blonde further cemented her legacy after ending Auska’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34, last April. The native of Charlotte, North Carolina is the daughter of the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, who is widely considered one of the greatest performers to ever set foot in the ring. Her half-brother David Flair was also a professional wrestler who had a noteworthy run in World Championship Wrestling back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
It’s a little-known fact, but Charlotte Flair made her television debut with her father in 2000, when she was just 13 years of age.
Here we see a teenage Charlotte accompanying her hall of fame father to the ring during his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
12 Asuka
Asuka is a professional wrestler out of Osaka, Japan. She is best known for having the longest undefeated streak in World Wrestling Entertainment history at 914 days. The 5-foot-3 superstar is also known as the longest reigning NXT Women’s Champion, having held the title from an impressive 510 days. She will go down in the history books as the first female to win a Royal Rumble match, after winning the inaugural WWE Women’s Royal Rumble last January. Her monumental win streak came to an end at WrestleMania last April at the hands of Charlotte Flair. Outside of the world of pro wrestling, Asuka has worked as a graphic designer and video game reporter.
While fans in the US may have only become familiar with Asuka in the last few years, the 36-year-old has been performing in her home country of Japan since 2004.
In Japan, she wrestled under a variety of names including Ramen Woman, Skull Reaper Kana, and Princess Kana. However, during her time in Japan, she enjoyed the most success under the name Kana. For those who may be wondering, her real name is actually Kanako Urai. This fun, throwback photo gives some of her newer fans a glimpse into what Asuka looked like during the early portion of her career.
11 Ronda Rousey
Prior to signing with WWE, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey was one of the biggest stars the sport of mixed martial arts has ever seen. As an MMA fighter, Rousey is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. In those days, she was known for her armbar submissions, which helped her win several fights – often in the very first round. The 5-foot-7 grappler went undefeated for several years, from 2011 to 2015, before suffering her first lot to former boxing champ Holly Holm. Her rivalries with MMA standouts like Miesha Tate and Bethe Correia lead to increased interest in the UFC women’s division. She recently decided to take a break from cage fighting and signed with World Wrestling Entertainment. The former UFC champ made her debut last April WrestleMania and helped fellow Olympian Kurt Angle Defeat the duo of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The California product can currently be seen each and every week on WWE’s flagship program, Monday Night Raw.
Here we see a photo of Ronda Rousey from her time as an Olympic Judo competitor. Despite the fact that the blonde WWE Superstar won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, she still didn’t become a household name until she captured the UFC Women’s Championship several years later.
10 Billie Kay
Billie Kay is a wrestler out of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia who is currently a member of WWE’s SmackDown roster. She is known as ½ of the IIconics (aka the Iconic Duo) with her partner, and fellow Aussie, Peyton Royce. Prior to making her NXT debut, Kay competed in the all-female promotion shimmer, under her real name, Jessie McKay.
Here we have a photo of the 5-foot-8 brunette before she signed with WWE. When talking looking back and reflecting on her start in the industry, she told Vulture Hound, “I started watching wrestling when I when I was about ten years old, my big brother sat me down in front of the TV and forced me to watch it with him and his friends, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The Rock was definitely my biggest inspiration for wanting to get into the wrestling industry. I’d probably say WrestleMania XIX with him and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is a match that stands out to me as one of the moments I realized that I needed to be in this industry because I want to make people feel the same way he made me feel.” Now that she’s a part of the main roster, Kay has a chance to follow in her hero’s footsteps.
9 Natalya
Natalya Neidhart is one of the most established veterans in WWE’s women's division. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada she is a member of the legendary Hart wrestling family. Her father is ½ of the legendary tag team known as The Hart Foundation, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. Her uncles, through her mother Ellie Hart, include former wrestling legends like Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Owen Hart. The 5-foot-5 blonde’s grandfather is the legendary Stu Hart. While she has no shortage of famous relatives, Natalya has had an outstanding career in her own right. She has won both the SmackDown Women’s Championship and the Divas Championship. The 36-year-old is married to fellow pro wrestler TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd ) who trained at the legendary Hart Dungeon in Canada. Natalya also became something of a reality television star when she appeared on the E! series Total Divas. In fact, she is one of the only main cast members who has been featured in all 7 seasons – the other two being the Bella Twins. She currently perform on the Raw Brand and can be seen on Monday nights.
Before establishing herself as one of WWE’s top female workers, Natalya spent some time honing her craft on the independent circuit. Here we see a photo from Natalya’s day in the indies.
8 Mandy Rose
New York’s own Mandy Rose is known as one of the most beautiful female performers in World Wrestling Entertainment. The 5-foot-4 blonde made her television debut on WWE Tough Enough – a competitive reality television show. Moreover, the 26-year-old has also appeared on the hit E! series Total Divas. When discussing her journey being a reality television star to competing in the ring, Rose told WWE.com: “Reality TV has its perks and has given me a ton of exposure, not only in WWE but also in mainstream media. However, training and performing in NXT has captured my heart and soul. I know that, someday, I’ll look back and cherish every moment I spent with NXT. The camaraderie amongst the athletes and training staff is invaluable. Performing for live audiences and seeing the fans’ faces is a thrill like no other. In short, I’m hooked, and I’m not stopping until I become the greatest female Superstar the NXT Universe has ever seen.” While she didn’t become a major star in NXT, Rose still managed to get promoted to the main roster and currently performs on the SmackDown brand.
Before becoming a pro wrestler, she was a fitness competitor who took first in the World Bodybuilding Fitness & Fashion Boston Show, back in 2013. This is a pic from her bodybuilding days.
7 Naomi
Naomi is a wrestler out of Sanford, Florida who currently performs on the SmackDown brand. The 5-foot-6 starlet started her journey to stardom back in 2012 as a member of the Funkadactyls. As a Funkadactyl, Naomi and her partner Cameron accompanied wrestler Brodus Clay to the ring and often performed dance routines with him in the ring. Both Cameron and Naomi would end up separating from Clay to pursue their own singles career. While Cameron would struggle in the ring, Naomi went on the become a star. In fact, the 30-year-old is a 2-time WWE Women’s Champion and also has the distinction of being the first African-American woman to capture the SmackDown version of the title. More recently, this past April at WrestleMania 34, the former Funkadactyl won the inaugural WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal. When she isn’t wrestling, fans can catch Naomi on the E! hit reality television series Total Divas. She has been a main cast member every season so far, with the exception of the 6th installment. She is currently married to Jonathan Fatu (Jimmy Uso) – one half of the tag team known as The Usos.
Here we see Naomi, then known as Trinity McCray dancing for the NBA’s Orlando Magic. She was a Magic dancer from 2007 to 2009.
6 Ruby Riott
Edwardsburg, Michigan’s Ruby Riott currently competes on WWE’s Raw brand. She is the leader of an all-female faction known as the Riott Squad which also features wrestlers, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. When talking about her journey into the world of professional wrestling, the 27-year-old told the Miami Herald, “ I’m a little bit different than a lot of my peers,” she said. “I was introduced to independent wrestling when I was 15-years-old. My childhood best friend and her whole family adored it, and we used to go watch her older brother do it. The lights and the costumes -- however, kind of mediocre that they were because of the budget that they had -- it was still very much something I wanted to try. I actually chose to do it when I was 19 and started training. The moment I stepped into a professional wrestling ring you couldn’t get me out of it.”
Years before becoming the leader of her own stable, Ruby Riott was known by another ring name, Heidi Lovelace. In those days she was a member of a tag team known as Team Slap Happy.
5 Sonya Deville
Sonya Deville is a 24-year-old MMA fighter turned pro wrestler out of Shamong Township, New Jersey. She currently performs on SmackDown alongside her partner Mandy Rose. When recounting her journey through NXT, the company ’s developmental promotion, Deville told WWE.com, “My first time being inside the Performance Center was for the WWE Tough Enough tryouts, and although I knew hardly anything about sports-entertainment, I knew I wanted to be a part of this place. All I knew was that I loved to fight, I loved to perform, and I loved being inside the WWE Performance Center. Here we are almost two years later, and my mindset is the same as day one: I love being here and I love fighting, and with NXT, I get to do that almost every single day of the week. My life is amazing. I get paid to hurt people.”
Prior to becoming a sports entertainer, as we see here, Deville was an MMA fighter with a 2-1 professional record.
As 5-foot-7 brunette told WWE.Com, “When I was 14 years old, I said, “Mom, I want to fight MMA.” My mom hardly knew what MMA was because there was no women’s division in the UFC, and UFC president Dana White had said at the time, "Women will never fight for my company." But I knew that wasn't true, and I knew women in sports, in general, were on the rise."
4 Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon is an on-air authority figure and occasional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment. The 41-year-old brunette is currently the commissioner of Monday Night Raw. Behind the scenes, McMahon serves as the company’s Chief Brand Officer (CBO). She is a member of the famous McMahon wrestling family, which includes her father Vince, mother Linda, and brother Shane. She is also married to former champ Triple H. As of 2017, Stephanie McMahon is worth an estimated 62.7 million dollars. The 5-foot-10 starlet will likely inherit a significant portion of the company from her father at some point down the road.
In this photo we see a very young Stephanie McMahon being photographed with legendary wrestler Andre The Giant.
Apparently, the wrestling heiress has very fond memories from when this image was captured. She has been quoted as saying, “My very favorite wrestler of all time was Andre, the Giant. He was sort of like my best friend, believe it or not, and I have a picture in 'People' magazine of me sitting on his lap when I was 8 years old after 'WrestleMania I.' Photos like this help to reiterate Andre’s reputation as a gentle giant behind the scenes – though we has feared and respected inside the squared circle.
3 Mickie James
Mickie James is a wrestler out of Richmond, Virginia who currently performs on RAW. She rose to prominence back in 2005 after being involved in a storyline with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, in which James portrayed a stalker. Over the course of her career, she has captured the WWE Women’s Championship on 5 separate occasions. She left the company in 2010 and returned as a veteran presence, for her most recent stint, which began in 2017.
When explaining the difference between herself and some of today’s current stars, the 38-year-old has said, “ We sometimes have different opinions because I am very much into the entertainment aspect of wrestling as well, which is the generation I grew up in. I am a serious wrestler, but I also love to throw in a little comedic moments and different things that perhaps they didn't think about because sometimes it is focused on the wrestling part of it," she said. "I kind of help them blend the two in some aspects. Just giving a different opinion and coming from a woman who has been in this industry for almost 20 years and see what works and what doesn't work.”
In this throwback photo, we see a young Mickie James striking a pose for the camera.
2 Peyton Royce
Peyton Royce is a 25-year-old sports entertainer who originally hails from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The 5-foot-7 Aussie made a name for herself in NXT alongside her partner Billie Kay. Collectively Royce and Kay are known as the IIconics and recently made their main roster debut on SmackDown last April.
Here we see Royce, whose real name is Cassandra MacIntosh, posing for the camera, prior to her days in NXT.
In those days, she performed under the ring names Cassie and KC Cassidy. When asked about her keys to success while coming up in the business, Royce was quoted as saying, “For myself, consistency was really big. This might sound obvious, but it is so important to train constantly. You can never learn too much. I work every day with these incredible coaches at the Performance Center, and I still learn something new every day. Consistency in training is very important. Wrestling on different shows with a whole bunch of different opponents who come from different areas of life. It’s just so important to get as much experience as you possibly can and just always trying to evolve yourself and create something that no one’s seen before. It’s really… it’s on yourself. You can’t expect anybody else to make you succeed; you have to do it yourself.”
1 Becky Lynch
Limerick, Ireland’s Becky Lynch can be seen on Tuesday nights performing on WWE SmackDown. The 31-year-old redhead is a former SmackDown Women’s Champion and the first grappler to hold that particular title. Even early in her career, it was clear that Lynch knew how to connect with the fans. As she explained to Bleacher Report,“ When I was on the independent circuit, I always played the heel role, but I always felt that no matter what, I was able to connect with the fans,' Lynch said. "Whether I was good or not, there was a connection there because I think I just really love wrestling. If you're a fan, you love wrestling. When you can feel that radiating off somebody, I think you tend to gravitate toward them. "I think that's the same with a lot of the babyfaces throughout WWE history. Fans pick up on that energy. It's a passion we have for the industry. That resonates with them." She is also a member of WWE’s Four Horsewoman alongside stars like Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte Flair.
Before she became WWE champ, Lynch worked as a flight attendant. In this photo, we see the Irish superstar smiling for the camera, while in uniform.