Roxanne Perez | |
---|---|
Birth name | Carla Gonzalez [1] |
Born | [2] Laredo, Texas, U.S. | November 5, 2001
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Rok-C [3] Roxanne Perez [4] |
Billed height | 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) [3] |
Billed from | Laredo, Texas |
Trained by | Laredo Wrestling Alliance [5] Booker T [5] Daga WWE Performance Center (Sara Amato) |
Debut | 2018 [3] |
Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. As of March 2022, [update] she is signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Roxanne Perez. She is the current NXT Women's Champion in her record-tying second reign, and a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion with Cora Jade. Prior to 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.
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. [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]
In April 2021, Rok-C made her Ring of Honor 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]
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, but Jade turned on her and cost Perez's championship opportunity. [27] The following episode, Jade threw her championship belt in the garbage; as a result, WWE then recognized Perez as continuing to hold the titles by herself, [28] but the following week she vacated them as well. [29] This led into a match between Jade and Perez at Heatwave where Jade was victorious, [30] and a weapons wild match at Halloween Havoc, which was won by Perez. [31] At Deadline, Perez won the inaugural Iron Survivor Challenge [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] On the April 18 episode of NXT, after Perez won a match against Stark, Hartwell challenged Perez to a title match, but Stratton interrupted, leading to a triple threat match for the title at Spring Breakin', [39] where Perez failed to win the title. [40] 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. [41] She then made her WWE Main Event debut match on the May 11 episode of the show. [42] Perez defeated Jayne in the first round of tournament, [43] but lost to Stratton in the semifinals on the following episode. [44] After the match, she was attacked by a masked woman. [44] The following episode, Blair Davenport revealed herself as the mystery attacker. [45] It led to a weapons wild match at The Great American Bash, [46] where Perez defeated Davenport. [47] At Night 1 of Halloween Havoc, Perez defeated Kiana James in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Devil's Playground match. [48] Their feud led to a steel cage match at Deadline, where Perez was defeated by James due to interference by Izzi Dame. [49]
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. [50] Perez then competed in the 2024 Royal Rumble match; entering the match at number 27 and she was eliminated by Stratton. [51] 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. [52] At Roadblock, Perez attacked Valkyria and turned heel. [53] At Stand & Deliver, Perez defeated Valkyria to win the title. [54] She became the youngest two-time NXT Women's Champion and third overall to have multiple reigns along with Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler. [55] At Spring Breakin' Week One, Perez defeated Valkyria and Tatum Paxley in a triple threat match to retain the title. [56] 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, [57] where Perez retained the title. [58] She then defended her title against Vice at Heatwave. [59]
Gonzalez has cited AJ Lee, Bayley, Paige and The Rock as her inspirations. [9] [60] 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. [61]
Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | WWE 2K23 | Video game debut | [62] |
2024 | WWE 2K24 | — | [63] |
Gonzalez is of Hispanic descent. [64] She was born to a Puerto Rican father and a Mexican mother. [65] 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. [66]
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