Karlee Leilani Perez (born April 19, 1986) is an American actress, model and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring nameMaxine. She is also known for her appearances with Lucha Underground under the ring name Catrina between 2015 and 2016.[1][5][6]
After returning to wrestle in September 2010 on the third season of NXT under the name "Maxine",[11] she became the acting General Manager of FCW, and formed a villainous group with Aksana, Lucky Cannon and Damien Sandow.[12] On an episode of FCW TV, Maxine defeated Aksana after an inference from Aksana's "husband", Goldust.[13] On an episode of FCW TV, after Naomi lost to Aksana in an FCW Divas Championship match, Maxine attacked Naomi, but was stopped when AJ Lee came to Naomi's aid. On the February 17 episode of FCW TV, Maxine defeated Kaitlyn.[14] On the April 7 episode of FCW TV, Maxine interfered in an FCW Divas Championship match between AJ Lee and Aksana, helping Aksana defeat AJ to win the championship.[15] On the March 11, 2012 episode of FCW TV, Maxine was fired from the position of the acting General Manager, and was later replaced with Summer Rae.[16]
NXT and main roster (2010–2012)
On the August 31, 2010 episode of NXT, it was announced that she would be part of the all-female third season of NXT as Maxine, with Alicia Fox as her mentor.[5][17] On the September 7 episode of NXT, she competed in a "Dance Competition" and a "Capture the Flag" contest unsuccessfully, and also teamed with Fox in a loss to fellow rookie Diva Naomi and her mentor Kelly Kelly.[5][18] On the September 21 episode of NXT, Maxine lost to AJ, and later that night failed to win the "Talk the Talk" challenge.[19] On the October 5 episode of NXT, Maxine lost to Aksana, and unsuccessfully competed in a "Mechanical Bull Riding" contest and a "Talent Show" contest after Hornswoggle shoved a pie in her face.[20] On October 12 episode of NXT, she unsuccessfully competed in a "Name that Tune" contest and a "Power of the Punch" contest.[21] The next week on NXT, Maxine won her first singles match by defeating Kaitlyn, but unsuccessfully competed in the "Who's That Body" contest and the limbo contest, although host Matt Striker incorrectly declared Naomi the winner without her successfully completing the round Maxine failed.[22] On the October 26 episode of NXT, Maxine lost a match to Naomi, but won a "Halloween Candy" contest.[23] On the November 2 episode of NXT, Maxine lost a "Kissing" contest, and was later that night eliminated from competition.[24][25] After her elimination, Maxine later made an appearance on the season finale on November 30, 2010, where she teamed with Alicia Fox and Aksana in a loss to AJ and The Bella Twins.[26]
After a period of absence from WWE programming, Maxine began appearing on the fifth season of NXT, named NXT Redemption, returning on the August 16, 2011 episode and attacking AJ. She established herself as the on-screen girlfriend of Derrick Bateman, and the pair feuded with AJ and Titus O'Neil,[27] which resulted in Maxine and Bateman losing to AJ and O'Neil in a mixed tag team match on the September 6 episode of NXT Redemption.[28] While trying to sow discord between AJ and her on-screen boyfriend Hornswoggle, Maxine would trade victories with AJ in a series of matches from August to October.[29][30][31][32] On the October 26 episode of NXT Redemption, Bateman proposed to Maxine in the storyline, which she would accept.[33] On the November 2 episode of NXT Redemption, Bateman and Maxine became known as "Beta-Max", and they competed in a six-person mixed tag team match along with JTG in a loss to AJ, O'Neil and Percy Watson.[34]
On the November 30 episode of NXT Redemption, Maxine lost a match against her former mentor Alicia Fox, when she was accidentally distracted by Derrick Bateman and his mother, and ended up leaving the arena with Johnny Curtis,[35] resulting in Maxine breaking up with Bateman on the December 7 episode of NXT Redemption. On the January 4, 2012 episode of NXT Redemption, Maxine and Curtis interrupted Bateman's match with Darren Young, causing him to lose by announcing that she and Curtis were getting married in Las Vegas.[36] On the 100th episode of NXT Redemption, Maxine and Curtis' wedding ceremony was interrupted by Bateman, who presented security camera footage in his locker room of Curtis stealing Bateman's iPad and sending an e-mail to Theodore Long about getting rid of Maxine and going to Smackdown, and was later reunited with Bateman after she slapped Curtis. The following week on NXT Redemption, Curtis offered a truce with Maxine and Bateman, but Maxine gave Curtis a low blow.[37]
Maxine then began a feud with Kaitlyn on the February 1 episode of NXT Redemption, with Maxine accusing Kaitlyn of liking Bateman.[38] She then attacked Kaitlyn on the February 15 episode of NXT Redemption, thinking that Bateman bought Kaitlyn a gift for Valentine's Day.[39] On the February 29 episode of NXT Redemption, Maxine again attacked Kaitlyn after she confessed her love for Bateman by kissing him, and went on to face Kaitlyn in the main event unsuccessfully.[40] On the March 7 episode of NXT Redemption, in a segment with Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman, Maxine revealed to Bateman that they were no longer dating after Kaitlyn kissed Bateman, leading to a mixed tag team match in which Maxine and Curtis lost to Kaitlyn and Bateman on the March 14 episode of NXT Redemption, and Bateman would afterwards confess his love for Kaitlyn, thus solidifying their relationship.[41][42][43]
After William Regal was appointed as NXT's match co-ordinator, Maxine would attempt to get close to him in the hopes that he would help her get her out of NXT. On the March 21 episode of NXT Redemption, Maxine and Johnny Curtis knocked out Matt Striker with chloroform in the storyline, so that Maxine could join Regal on commentary, however, Striker was then kidnapped by two masked figures, later revealed to be Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, who intended to blackmail Maxine and Curtis into using her charms to get Regal to leave them alone.[44][45] Striker was then rescued by Bateman and Kaitlyn on the April 11 episode of NXT Redemption.[46] For being involved with Striker's storyline kidnapping, on the March 18 episode of NXT Redemption, after Maxine defeated Kaitlyn in a match, she and Curtis were forced by Regal to sign a contract to permanently be each other's manager or be fired, and were afterwards handcuffed together.[47] Maxine made her first appearance on WWE's main roster on the May 7 episode of Raw, teaming with Natalya in a losing effort against Layla and Kelly Kelly.[48][49] Maxine then transitioned into a fan favorite, and defeated Tamina Snuka on the May 9 episode of NXT Redemption, and was later released from being handcuffed to Johnny Curtis by Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks.[50][51] Her last appearance was on the June 25 episode of Raw as part of the Divas Summertime Beach Battle Royal match won by AJ.
On June 28, 2012, it was reported that Perez had quit WWE.[52] The next day, Perez confirmed that she had asked for and was granted her release from the company to pursue other options, but commented that she was not going to join another wrestling company.[53] Perez later commented that "after sitting for a while, and the chance not really coming, [she] just decided to take it in [her] own hands and make a chance for [herself] which is what [she] did".[54]
In September 2014, Perez announced that she had been cast in El Rey network's Lucha Underground.[2] She made her first appearance with the promotion on the second episode of Lucha Underground on November 6, 2014, where she was introduced as "Catrina", the on-screen girlfriend and valet of Mil Muertes.[4] After the storyline with Mil Muertes came to an end, Catrina began managing Fénix on January 17, 2015.[56] However, after Fénix defeated Mil Muertes, Catrina resurrected him, in the storyline. Catrina subsequently returned to managing Muertes and The Disciples of Death (Barrio Negro, Trece and El Sinestro de la Muerte), and helped them win the Lucha Underground Trios Championship from Ivelisse, Angélico and Son of Havoc at Ultima Lucha 1 on July 29.[57]
In November 2015, Lucha Underground announced Catrina as the new proprietor of the company.[58] During the season two premiere on January 27, 2016, Catrina managed Muertes during his Lucha Underground Championship match against Ivelisse.[59] At Ultima Lucha Dos Part 3, Catrina cost Ivelisse her match against Taya and then delivering the Lick of Death to Ivelisse. On the first episode of Lucha Underground Season 3, Ivelisse challenged Catrina to her first ever match in Lucha Underground at Ultima Lucha Tres. It's revealed later on that Captain Vasquez is her mother. At Ultima Lucha Tres Catrina was defeated by Ivelisse.
During her WWE career, Perez took acting lessons for three and a half years. In June 2013, Perez joined the talent agency MPC Models and began auditioning for acting roles.[8] Perez received her first role in August 2013, when she was cast in the web seriesThe Cell.[61]
Ryan Parmeter is an American professional wrestler, signed to Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Kon. He is best known for his work in WWE, where he wrestled under the ring name Konnor. He was part of the fourth season of NXT, and earned fourth place on the show's fifth season, NXT Redemption.
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Nicholas Christopher McNeil, better known by his ring name Percy Watson, is an American professional wrestler, commentator, and former professional football player. He is best known for his time with WWE as an in-ring performer and later as a commentator on NXT, 205 Live, and WWE Main Event.
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Celeste Beryl Bonin is an American professional wrestler, entrepreneur, bodybuilder, and model. She is best known for her tenures in WWE from 2010 to 2014 and 2018 to 2019, under the ring name Kaitlyn, where she is a former WWE Divas Champion.
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Ariane Nicole Andrew is an American former professional wrestler, singer, model and dancer. She is best known for her time in WWE, under the ring name Cameron. Under her real name, Ariane joined the 2011 season of Tough Enough where she was the first competitor eliminated. She later signed with WWE and joined Naomi in forming the Funkadactyls. From July 2013 to March 2015, Andrew was one of the main cast members of the reality television show Total Divas.
Danielle Louise Moinet is an American model, actress, ring announcer, former professional wrestler, manager and American football player. She is best known for her tenures in WWE from 2011 to 2017 and in 2022, under the ring name Summer Rae. Moinet was a main cast member on the reality show Total Divas during its second and third seasons. Before joining WWE, she played with the Chicago Bliss of the Lingerie Football League.
Ivelisse Milagro Vélez, better known by her mononymous ring name Ivelisse, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. She is known for her time in Lucha Underground, where she twice held the Lucha Underground Trios Championship. Vélez also wrestles extensively on the independent circuit, most notably for Shine Wrestling, where she is the current Shine Champion, and a former Shine Tag Team Champion. Vélez has also performed for Impact Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Ashley Nicole Miller is an American retired professional wrestler and model. She is best known for her time with WWE in their developmental territory NXT under the ring name Audrey Marie.
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WWE NXT initially debuted in 2010 as a seasonal show which was presented as a hybrid between WWE's scripted live event shows and reality television, in which talent from WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) participated in a competition to become WWE's next "breakout star", with the help of mentors from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands. Five seasons of this iteration were broadcast, with Wade Barrett, Kaval, Kaitlyn, and Johnny Curtis being announced as winners, and the last season ending without a resolution.
NXT ended its reality competition format after season 5 ended in mid-2012 and became its own brand in early 2014.
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