Jessika Carr

Last updated

Jessika Carr
Birth nameJessika Heiser
Born (1991-06-25) June 25, 1991 (age 32)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Jessie Kaye
Jessika Carr
Jessika Heiser
Kennadi Brink
Kennedy Lewis
Billed from Severn, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Hollywood, Florida
Trained by Duane Gill
Bubba Ray Dudley
D-Von Dudley
WWE Performance Center
DebutJuly 2011

Jessika Heiser (born June 25, 1991) is an American professional wrestling referee and former professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Jessika Carr. [1] After signing with the company in 2017, Heiser became the first female WWE referee since the 1980s. [1] She is also known by her ring names Jessie Kaye and Kennadi Brink on the independent circuit. [2] She regularly worked for Maryland Championship Wrestling. [3]

Contents

Early life

As a teenager, Heiser was overweight; she credited her love of wrestling and desire to become a wrestler as "her escape" and her inspiration to change. [4] With help from a local professional wrestler, who was signed to a developmental contract with WWE, she was able to lose over 60 lbs and become an athlete. [4]

Professional wrestling career

Wrestler (2011–2017)

In July 2010, she started training regularly at Duane Gill's Academy of Professional Wrestling in Severn, Maryland. [4] On April 28, 2012, she won the DCW Women's Champion under the ring name Jessie Kaye. [4] On June 2, 2013, she became the inaugural VOW Vixen's Champion. [5] On September 7, 2013, she became the inaugural ECWA Women's Champion. [6] On the October 21, 2016 episode of Women of Honor , Heiser made her Ring of Honor debut under the ring name Kennadi Brink in a match against Rachael Ellering. [7] [8] A day prior on a episode of ROH Women of Honor Kennadi Brink returned and had a match against Amber O'Neal and also was successful in that match as well. [7] [9]

Referee (2017–present)

Heiser signed with WWE in 2017 as a referee under the ring name Jessika Carr. She also became WWE's first female referee in decades to make an official debut in WWE history. [1] She also became the first female WWE referee since Rita Chatterton in the 1980s. [10] [1]

On October 21, 2021, Heiser refereed at Crown Jewel, becoming the first woman to referee in Saudi Arabia, as well as becoming the first woman to referee a Hell in a Cell match. [11]

On May 4, 2024, Heiser became the first woman to referee any WWE world title main event, refereeing the match between the champion Cody Rhodes and the challenger A.J. Styles for the WWE World Championship at the WWE Backlash event in Lyon, France. [12]

Personal life

Heiser credits The Rock, The Undertaker, Trish Stratus and Mickie James as her influences in professional wrestling. [4]

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Haas</span> American professional wrestler and collegiate wrestler

Charles Doyle Haas II is an American professional and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000 to 2009 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 to 2013. In WWE he was a member of Team Angle, which later became a Tag Team duo with Shelton Benjamin known as "The World's Greatest Tag Team".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ring of Honor</span> American professional wrestling promotion

Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; when the promotion was sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Kanellis</span> American professional wrestler, manager, actress and model

Mary Louis "Maria" Kanellis-Bennett is an American professional wrestler, manager, promoter, actress and model. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), and is also the co-owner and founder of the independent promotion Women's Wrestling Army (WWA). She has previously wrestled for Impact Wrestling and WWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xavier (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (1977–2020)

John Jairo Bedoya Jr. was an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Xavier. He was best known for his appearances with Ring of Honor (ROH) between 2002 and 2004, where he was the second ROH World Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Martinez</span> American professional wrestler

Jazmin Benitez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a former ROH Women's World Champion. She is also known for her time in WWE, primarily on the NXT brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber O'Neal</span> American professional wrestler

Kimberly Dawn Davis is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Amber O’Neal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenille Dashwood</span> Australian professional wrestler

Tenille Averil Rallis is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, under the ring name Emma. She is also known for her time in Ring of Honor (ROH) and Impact Wrestling, where she performed under her real name Tenille Dashwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlett Bordeaux</span> American professional wrestler

Elizabeth Chihaia- Kesar is an American professional wrestler, model, singer and ring announcer, better known by the ring name Scarlett Bordeaux. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Scarlett, alongside her real life husband, Karrion Kross, and is a member of the Final Testament stable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deonna Purrazzo</span> American professional wrestler

Deonna Lynn Purrazzo is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since January 2024. She is best known for her tenures with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2014 to 2017 and 2020 to 2023, where she is a former three-time TNA Knockouts World Champion and a former TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. She also appeared in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) from 2021 to 2023 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2015 to 2018, where she is a former AAA Reina de Reinas Champion and ROH Women's World Champion, respectively, making her a five-time professional wrestling women's world champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athena (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Adrienne Palmer is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under her ring name Athena. She also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is the current ROH Women's World Champion in her first reign, which is the longest reign for the title. She is also known for her time in WWE, where she worked under the name Ember Moon, where she is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and a former NXT Women's Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women of Honor</span> Female talent in Ring of Honor

Women of Honor is a term used by Ring of Honor (ROH) to refer to its women's division and to the promotion's female talent. The term is applied universally to wrestlers, backstage interviewers, and managers/valets.

Amanda Leon is an American professional wrestler and model, currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where she performs under her real name as a member of The Calling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea Green</span> Canadian professional wrestler and stuntwoman

Chelsea Anne Cardona is a Canadian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Chelsea Green. Green is a former one-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. She is also known for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she is a former Impact Knockouts Champion and Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachael Ellering</span> American professional wrestler

Rachael Ellering is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to Ring of Honor (ROH). She is also known for her work in Impact Wrestling, where she is a former Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She has also worked in WWE's NXT brand under the ring name Rachael Evers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamante (female wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Priscilla Zuniga, better known by the ring name Diamanté, is a Cuban-American professional wrestler currently performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH). She is also known for her time with Impact Wrestling and on the independent circuit under the ring name Angel Rose.

Karen Glennon is an Irish professional wrestler and valet, best known by the ring name Martina or Session Moth Martina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyla Hirsch</span> American professional wrestler

Leyla Hirsch is a Russian-born American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), she also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxanne Perez</span> American professional wrestler (born 2001)

Carla Gonzalez is an American professional wrestler. As of March 2022, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Choo</span> American professional wrestler (born 1992)

Karen Yu is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the promotion WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with Ring of Honor and on the independent circuit as Karen Q and for her appearances with WWE as Mei Ying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backlash France</span> 2024 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

Backlash France was a 2024 professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It was the 19th Backlash event and took place on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu in the Metropolis of Lyon, France. The event aired via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This was WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event to be held in France, and the first Backlash held outside of North America. The concept of the event was based around the backlash from WrestleMania XL.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Johnson, Mike (June 2, 2017). "WWE's First Female Referee in Decades Makes Official Debut". PWInsider . Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ Williams, JJ (June 1, 2017). "NXT Orlando, FL, live results: Referee Kennadi Brink makes her debut". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Csonka, Larry (May 16, 2017). "WWE Signs Kennadi Brink". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kennadi Brink, Dynamic Indie Wrestler, Always One Step Ahead". Femcompetitor Magazine. May 7, 2017. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "VOW Vixen's Championship". Cagematch. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Women's title history". ecwawrestling.com. East Coast Wrestling Association. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Staff, Profightdb.com. "Jessika Carr (ROH Matches)". Profightdb.com. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ GIRI, RAJ. "ROH 10/21: Rachael Ellering Vs. Kennadi Brink". Wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  9. ↑ GIRI, RAJ. "ROH 10/22: Kennadi Brink Vs. Amber O'Neal". Wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  10. ↑ Duarte, Jon (November 28, 2019). "Así fue La emotiva despedida de Jessika Carr de NXT". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  11. ↑ Middleton, Marc (October 21, 2021). "WWE Female Referee Makes History At Crown Jewel". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ Lowson, Thomas (May 5, 2024). "Jessika Carr Makes History As WWE's First Female To Referee A World Title Main Event". SEScoops | WWE News, Wrestling Analysis, Event Coverage, Results & Interviews.
  13. ↑ "Title History". dcwprowrestling.com. Dynamite Championship Wrestling (DCW). Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  14. ↑ "PWI Ratings for Jessika Carr". Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.