Stephanie Vaquer
Ana Stephanie Vaquer González (born March 29, 1993) is a Chilean-Mexican professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand. Vaquer is best known for her time with the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where she is a former CMLL World Women's Champion and CMLL World Women's Tag Team Champion with Zeuxis; she was the first luchadora in CMLL history to have held both titles simultaneously and did so until her departure from CMLL in July 2024.[1] She had also wrestled for American promotion All Elite Wrestling and British promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling due to the two organizations' partnerships with CMLL. She is also known for her stints in major Japanese promotions such as World Wonder Ring Stardom, Ice Ribbon, Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where she is a former Strong Women's Championship title holder.[2][3] Professional wrestling careerEarly career (2009–2018)Vaquer began training in Chile for a career in professional wrestling under Paul Slandering. She debuted in February 2009, but the earliest known documented matches featuring Vaquer occurred in August 2010 at small events in Chile, where she went by the ring name Dark Angel.[4] On December 22, 2013, she made her debut in Mexico in a match against Heroína in the Arena Coliseo Coacalco.[5] In Mexico, she would later train under Ricky Marvin, Último Guerrero,[1] Gran Apache, and Villano IV.[6] International promotions (2018)In 2018, Vaquer made her debut in Japan for the women's promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, wrestling 5 matches over 3 weeks from July to August, including a title match. That same year, she was part of a try-out for American promotion WWE, which was being held in her home country of Chile.[7] Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2019–2024)Vaquer began wrestling in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico in August 2019, becoming CMLL's first female South American wrestler.[1][8] She was initially a seasonal guest for CMLL, as she alternated her time in Mexico with wrestling matches in Chile & Japan.[7] She would later join the promotion full-time. On February 10, 2023, Vaquer and Zeuxis defeated Marcela and Princesa Sugehit.[9] On March 21, they defeated Las Chicas Indomables (La Jarochita and Lluvia) to become the first Occidente Women's Tag Team Champions. The win marked Vaquer's first title in CMLL.[10][11] On September 16, at the CMLL 90th Anniversary Show, Vaquer and Zeuxis defeated Las Chicas Indomables again, this time to become the first CMLL World Women's Tag Team Champions.[12] On September 29, at Noche de Campeones, Vaquer defeated La Catalina to win the vacant CMLL World Women's Championship.[13] On November 14, Vaquer had her first victorious World Women's Championship defense, where she defeated Lluvia.[14] On July 10, 2024, it was revealed that Vaquer was leaving CMLL, with both the CMLL World Women's Championship and CMLL World Women's Tag Team Championships being vacated in the process.[15] New Japan Pro-Wrestling / World Wonder Ring Stardom (2023–2024)On April 27, 2023, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) announced that Vaquer would represent CMLL in a four-woman single-elimination tournament on May 21 at Resurgence to crown the inaugural Strong Women's Champion.[16] At Resurgence, Vaquer lost to Mercedes Moné during the semi-finals of the tournament.[17] On November 10, at Lonestar Shootout, Vaquer challenged Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women's Championship, but was unsuccessful.[18] On March 10, 2024, Vaquer wrestled on night 2 of the 2024 Cinderella Tournament hosted by NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, defeating Giulia to capture the Strong Women's Championship thus becoming a triple champion between CMLL and NJPW.[19] On April 12 at Windy City Riot, Vaquer successfully defended her Strong Women's Championship against AZM. On May 11, at Resurgence, Vaquer successfully defended her Strong Women's Championship against Alex Windsor.[20] On June 30 at Forbidden Door, Vaquer lost the Strong Women's Championship to Mercedes Moné by submission, ending her reign at 112 days.[21] Revolution Pro Wrestling (2024)On May 17, 2024, Vaquer debuted for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) on Fantastica Mania: UK show 1, defeating Kanji. On the second Fantastica Mania: UK show, Vaquer successfully defended her Strong Women's Championship against Rhio.[22][23] She was scheduled to wrestle Dani Luna for the Undisputed British Women's Championship during an August RevPro event, but the match was cancelled after Vaquer signed with WWE.[24] All Elite Wrestling (2024)On the May 29, 2024 episode of Dynamite, Vaquer made her All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut, confronting AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Moné. Vaquer made her AEW in-ring debut on the June 29 show of Collision, defeating Lady Frost. On June 30 at Forbidden Door, Vaquer failed to win the TBS Championship from Moné in a Winner Takes All match and also lost her Strong Women's Championship in the process.[25] WWE (2024–present)On July 10, 2024, WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and head booker of WWE's developmental brand NXT Shawn Michaels announced that Vaquer had officially signed with the company.[26] She made her WWE in-ring debut at a live event in Mexico City on July 13, where she defeated Isla Dawn.[27] She later announced that she would be joining the NXT brand.[28] Vaquer made her on-screen debut appearance via satellite on the September 24 episode of NXT during the in-ring press conference between NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez and Giulia to announce her intention to challenge the NXT Women's Championship, turning face for the first time in her career.[29] At Week 2 of NXT's CW premiere on October 8, Vaquer made her official NXT appearance to join Giulia take out Perez and Cora Jade.[30] Vaquer made her televised in-ring debut on the October 15 episode of NXT in a winning effort against Wren Sinclair. Afterwards, she would be ambushed by Jade and Perez until Giulia came to make the save, and it was later announced that Vaquer and Giulia will take on Perez and Jade in a tag team match at Halloween Havoc, which they won after Vaquer pinned Perez.[31][32] At NXT Deadline on December 7, Vaquer competed in the Iron Survivor Challenge to determine the number one contender for the NXT Women's Championship, where she would lose.[33] Personal lifeVaquer has described Mexican luchadora Reina Dorada as her closest friend.[34] She holds both Chilean and Mexican citizenship.[35] On March 4, 2023, Vaquer filed a criminal complaint against then-AAA World Trios Champion Rogelio Reyes (best known as El Cuatero), who she had started dating when both worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). According to the complaint, Reyes choked her and threw her against a wall. On March 9, CMLL released a statement stating that they "energetically condemn any form of violence against women and reiterate our commitment to promote a life free of violence and harassment in our staff and attendees to our arenas."[36] On March 10, after a show for AAA in the city of Aguascalientes, Reyes was arrested on an arrest warrant in Mexico City and charged with femicide and domestic violence.[37][38] Championships and accomplishments
References
External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Stephanie Vaquer.
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