Roxanne Perez

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Roxanne Perez
Rok-C in July 2021 (headshot).jpg
Gonzalez as Rok-C in 2021
Birth nameCarla Gonzalez [1]
Born (2001-11-05) November 5, 2001 (age 23) [2]
Laredo, Texas, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Rok-C [3]
Roxanne Perez [4]
Billed height5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) [3]
Billed from Laredo, Texas
Trained byLaredo Wrestling Alliance [5]
Booker T [5]
Daga
WWE Performance Center (Sara Amato)
Debut2018 [3]

Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001), better known by the ring name Roxanne Perez, is an American professional wrestler. She has been signed to WWE since March 2022, where she performs on the NXT brand. She is a former two-time NXT Women's Champion, and a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion with Cora Jade. Before signing with WWE, Gonzalez wrestled under the ring name Rok-C in Ring of Honor (ROH), where she was the inaugural ROH Women's World Champion. She also worked for several independent promotions such as Reality of Wrestling (ROW).

Contents

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2018–2022)

Gonzalez began training at age 13, [6] [7] and later trained under Booker T starting at age 16. [8] She made her pro wrestling debut in December 2018 under the ring name Rok-C as she began wrestling for Booker T's promotion Reality of Wrestling (ROW). [9] Rok-C spent the majority of her rookie years wrestling for promotions across her home state of Texas, most notably for ROW where she won the women's title, the ROW Diamonds Division Championship. [10]

Ring of Honor (2021–2022)

In April 2021, Rok-C made her Ring of Honor (ROH) debut teaming with Max the Impaler in a time limit draw against Laynie Luck and Hyan. [11] Rok-C then competed in the ROH Women's World Championship tournament where she defeated the likes of Sumie Sakai, [12] Quinn McKay, [13] and Angelina Love. [14] In the finals at Death Before Dishonor XVIII, she defeated Miranda Alize to become the inaugural ROH Women's World Champion and youngest female champion in company history at 19. [15] At Final Battle, she retained her championship against Willow Nightingale in what was ROH's last pay-per-view event before going on hiatus. [16] During post match, she was confronted by former Impact Knockouts Champion and reigning AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo, who proposed a winner take all match at a future Impact Wrestling event. [17] The match took place on the January 13 episode of Impact! , where she lost the ROH Women's World Championship against Purrazzo, who also put the AAA Reina de Reinas title on the line. [18]

WWE (2022–present)

In March 2022, it was confirmed that Gonzalez had signed a contract with WWE's developmental brand NXT [10] [19] and changed her ring name to Roxanne Perez. [20] Perez made her WWE debut on the April 15 episode of NXT Level Up where she defeated Sloane Jacobs. [21] She made her first NXT appearance on April 19, defeating Jacy Jayne. [22] In May and June, Perez participated in the 2022 NXT Women's Breakout Tournament, [23] [24] and won by defeating Tiffany Stratton in the finals and earned a contract for a championship opportunity for a title of her choosing. [25] At The Great American Bash, Perez and Cora Jade defeated Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jayne) to become NXT Women's Tag Team Champions. [26] The next week, Perez cashed in her guaranteed title shot on Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Championship in a title match, yet Jade turned on her and cost Perez's championship opportunity. [27] The following episode, Jade threw her championship belt in the garbage; [28] as a result, the following week the tag title was eventually vacated. [29] This change led into a match between Jade and Perez at Heatwave where Jade was victorious, [30] and a weapons wild match at Halloween Havoc that Perez won. [31]

In December 2022, Perez won the inaugural Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline. [32] and three days later, defeated Mandy Rose to win the NXT Women's Championship. [33] In January 2023, Perez entered her first Royal Rumble match at the titular event. She entered as the eighth entrant and lasted for more than four minutes before being eliminated by Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky). [34] At Vengeance Day, Perez retained the title against Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne in a triple threat match. [35] She then defended her title against Meiko Satomura at Roadblock. After the match, she collapsed and was stretchered out. [36] She returned on the March 28 episode of NXT and stated she would defend her title at Stand & Deliver, [37] where she lost the title to Indi Hartwell in a ladder match involving Dolin, Zoey Stark, Stratton, and Lyra Valkyria, ending her reign at 109 days. [38] Perez failed to regain the title at Spring Breakin'. [39] After the title was vacated by Hartwell, Perez was announced as one of eight women participating in the NXT Women's Championship Tournament to determine a new champion at Battleground. [40] Perez defeated Jayne in the first round of tournament, [41] yet she lost to Stratton in the semifinals on the following episode. [42] After the match, a masked woman, later revealed to be Blair Davenport, attacked her. [43] It led to a weapons wild match at The Great American Bash [44] where Perez defeated Davenport. [45] At Night 1 of Halloween Havoc, Perez defeated Kiana James in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Devil's Playground match. [46] Their feud led to a steel cage match at Deadline where Perez was defeated by James due to interference by Izzi Dame. [47]

On the January 16, 2024, episode of NXT, Perez won a women's contender battle royal to face NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria for the title at Vengeance Day. [48] Perez then competed in the 2024 Royal Rumble match; entering the match at number 27, she was eliminated by Stratton. [49] At Vengeance Day, Perez was defeated by Valkyria. During the match, Lola Vice cashed in her Breakout Tournament contract, thus making the match a triple threat. [50] At Roadblock, Perez attacked Valkyria and turned heel. [51] At Stand & Deliver, Perez defeated Valkyria to win the title. [52] She became the youngest two-time NXT Women's Champion and third overall to have multiple reigns along with Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler. [53] At Spring Breakin' Week One, Perez defeated Valkyria and Tatum Paxley in a triple threat match to retain the title. [54] On the May 28 episode of NXT, TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace made a surprise appearance and challenged for Perez's title at Battleground [55] where Perez retained the title. [56] She then defended her title against Vice at Heatwave [57] and Thea Hail at Week 1 of The Great American Bash. [58] At No Mercy, Perez retained the title against Jaida Parker. After the match, she was confronted by the debuting Giulia. [59] On the special episode NXT CW premiere, Perez defeated Giulia in a title match after interference from the returning Cora Jade. [60] Perez and Jade then faced the team of Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer in a tag team match at Halloween Havoc in a losing effort. [61]

Perez making her entrance at 2025 Royal Rumble Roxanne Perez RR25.jpg
Perez making her entrance at 2025 Royal Rumble

In January 2025, Perez lost the title to Giulia in a rematch at New Year's Evil, [62] ending her second reign at 276 days. [63] At Royal Rumble, Perez set the record for the longest time spent in a women's Royal Rumble match at 1 hour and 7 minutes; she entered at number 3 and finished as the runner up, last eliminated by Charlotte Flair. [64] At Vengeance Day, Perez failed to regain her title in a fatal four-way match against the champion Giulia, Bayley, and Jade. [65] Perez then qualified for the Elimination Chamber match by defeating Raquel Rodriguez on the February 17 episode of Raw . [66] At the event, she was eliminated by Alexa Bliss. [67]

Professional wrestling style and persona

Gonzalez has cited AJ Lee, Bayley, Paige and The Rock as her inspirations. [9] [68] Her ring name Rok-C derives from The Rock and her real name Carla. [9] Gonzalez noted that her match with Meiko Satomura was a dream match for her. [69] She credited Maria Kanellis, Bobby Cruise, and her time in Ring of Honor with getting her ready for WWE. [70]

Other media

Video games

Appearances by Gonzalez in video games
YearTitleNotesRef.
2023 WWE 2K23 Video game debut [71]
2024 WWE 2K24 — [72]
2025 WWE 2K25 — [73]

Personal life

Gonzalez is of Hispanic descent. [74] She was born to a Puerto Rican father and a Mexican mother. [75] In an interview with Metro.co.uk in May 2023, Gonzalez explained that she always wanted to bring the subject of mental health to wrestling and shared her thoughts about it. [76] [77] She mentioned that wrestling helped her dealing with anxiety and depression. [78]

Championships and accomplishments

Gonzalez as Rok-C in 2021 Rok-C at River City Wrestling 1 (cropped).jpg
Gonzalez as Rok-C in 2021

References

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