Raquel (wrestler)

Last updated

Raquel
Birth nameGabriela Castrovinci
Born (1986-01-10) January 10, 1986 (age 38)
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Children1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Gabi Castrovinci
Gabriela Rio
Raquel [1]
Billed height5 ft 4 in (1,62 m)
Billed weight123 lb (56 kg)
Billed from Southington, Connecticut
Brazil
Trained by Billy Gunn
Booker T
Lita
WWE Performance Center
Afa Anoa'i
Debut2015

Gabriela Castrovinci (born January 10, 1986) is a Brazilian professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet, businesswoman and fitness model [2] best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Raquel. [3] [4] Castrovinci previously appeared on the sixth season of WWE's television show WWE Tough Enough .

Contents

Early life

Castrovinci was born and raised in Brazil. She grew up practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a professional athlete for World Beauty Fitness & Fashion. She is an avid surfer and snowboarder. As a self-employed entrepreneur, Castrovinci runs an online business selling Brazilian leggings. [2]

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2015)

In 2015, Castrovinci appeared as a contestant on the sixth season of the re-launched Tough Enough finishing in tenth place. [5] After her time in WWE Tough Enough, Castrovinci trained further with World Xtreme Wrestling and would later make her in-ring debut for them at the end of 2015. In the beginning of February, she talked with TMZ about "being assaulted" by an opponent during a match with her training company. [6] [7]

TNA Impact Wrestling (2016–2017)

In the year of 2016, Castrovinci signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). [8] She appeared on January 9, 2016, tapings of Impact Wrestling , and on January 12 of Impact Wrestling in a vignette, revealing her name as Raquel. When she made her debut, she was involved in segments with Lashley; however, this angle was shortly nixed, and nothing came from her appearances with him.

Raquel made her in-ring debut through the company's One Night Only PPV's mainly on Knockouts Knockdown 4 in a match against Barbi Hayden in a losing effort. During April 23 tapings, Raquel acted as a manager for The BroMans. Raquel later made appearances on Xplosion , losing matches to Madison Rayne and Jade, while being repackaged as a villainess with a "selfie-obsessed" gimmick. On January 6, 2017, Castrovinci revealed she was no longer with TNA. [9]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

  1. "TNA Signs Another Former WWE Tough Enough Contestant". Wrestling Inc. January 13, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Staff, Listal.com. "Gabriela Castrovinci". Listal.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  3. "TNA Signs Another Former WWE Tough Enough Contestant - WrestlingInc.com". WrestlingInc.com. January 13, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  4. "TNA Knockout Raquel (Gabi Castrovinci) Photos and News". PWPIX.net. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  5. "Tough Enough". Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  6. Chiari, Mike. "TNA's Raquel Says She Was Assaulted During Match by opponent". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  7. "TNA Knockout And Former 'Tough Enough' Contestant Raquel Thrown Out of Locker Room". The Inquisitr News. February 20, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  8. Johnson, Mike (January 14, 2016). "FORMER TOUGH ENOUGH COMPETITOR BECOMES TNA KNOCKOUT". PWInsider. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  9. Gabi Castrovinci [@GabrielaRio10] (January 7, 2017). "No 🎈" (Tweet) via Twitter.
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