Alexa Bliss Biography

Alexis Kaufman (born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under the ring name Alexa Bliss, performing on the Raw brand, where she is currently the longest-reigning Raw Women's Champion in her second reign.

In May 2013, she signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to WWE Performance Center and developmental brand NXT in Orlando, Florida. Bliss made her main roster debut on the SmackDown brand, eventually becoming SmackDown Women's Champion as well as the first competitor to hold the title twice. She was transferred to the Raw brand in April 2017 and won the Raw Women's Championship later that month, becoming the first woman to have won both the Raw and SmackDown Women's titles, and is an overall four-time champion in WWE. In February 2018, she won the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match.

Early life

Kaufman was born in Columbus, Ohio. She has been involved in sports since the age of five, competing in softball, track, kickboxing and gymnastics. In cheerleading, she reached Division I status in college at the University of Akron. She also spent time in competitive bodybuilding and has competed in the Arnold Classic. At the age of 15, Kaufman suffered from a life-threatening eating disorder, but bodybuilding helped her overcome it.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

NXT (2013-2016)

Kaufman was signed by WWE in May 2013 and reported to WWE's developmental territory NXT. On the July 24 episode of NXT (which was taped on June 20), she made her first televised appearance, congratulating the inaugural NXT Women's Champion Paige. In August, she was added to WWE.com's NXT roster page and assigned the ring name Alexa Bliss. She acted as an unnamed ring announcer for the November 20 episode of NXT. Her first televised appearance on the main roster came at WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, when she played a part in Triple H's entrance. She made her televised in-ring debut on the May 8 episode of NXT, playing a glitter fairy gimmick, competing in a tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship. She defeated former Divas Champion Alicia Fox in the first round, but lost to Charlotte in the semi-finals.

After a hiatus due to a legitimate injury, Bliss returned on the March 11, 2015 episode of NXT, where she defeated Carmella. The following week on NXT, she defeated NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks by countout in a non-title match, which led to Bliss being granted a title match against Banks on the March 25 episode of NXT, which she lost. On the May 13 episode of NXT, Bliss defeated Carmella after the NXT Tag Team Champions Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake set up a distraction. On May 20 at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Bliss helped Blake and Murphy retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore, forming an alliance with them and turning into a villainess character in the process. On the July 29 episode of NXT, Bliss helped Blake and Murphy retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Vaudevillians (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) and slapped both English and Gotch after the match. The Vaudevillians were granted a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Championship against Blake and Murphy at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22, which they won after Blue Pants stopped Bliss from providing a distraction during the match. This led to a match between the two, where Bliss would go on to defeat Blue Pants in a singles match on the September 2 episode of NXT.

Throughout October and November, Bliss was involved in a feud with Bayley over the NXT Women's Championship. The two faced off in the main event on the November 18 episode of NXT, where Bliss was unsuccessful in capturing the title. On the January 13, 2016 episode of NXT, Bliss competed in a number one contender's battle royal, but lost. On May 18 episode of NXT, Bliss and Blake abandoned Murphy, officially disbanding the trio. On the May 25 episode of NXT, Bliss competed in a triple threat match against Carmella and Nia Jax to determine the number one contender to Asuka's NXT Women's Championship, which was won by Jax. On the August 17 episode of NXT, Bliss competed in a tag team match along with Daria Berenato and Mandy Rose, in which they were defeated by Carmella, Liv Morgan and Nikki Glencross in what would be also her last match in NXT.

SmackDown Women's Champion (2016-2017)

On July 19, Bliss was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft. She made her main roster debut on the July 26 episode of SmackDown Live in a segment involving the brand's women's division. Bliss achieved her first victory on the main roster by defeating Becky Lynch on the August 9 episode of SmackDown Live. On August 21 at SummerSlam, she teamed with Natalya and Nikki Bella in a winning effort against Lynch, Carmella and Naomi. At Backlash on September 11, Bliss competed in a six-pack elimination challenge to determine the inaugural SmackDown Women's Champion, in which she was unsuccesful and was won by Becky Lynch.

On the September 13 episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss won a fatal five-way match to earn a title match against Lynch at No Mercy on October 9. However, due to Lynch suffering a legitimate injury, the match was rescheduled for the November 8 episode of SmackDown, where Lynch successfully defended the title against Bliss. Bliss participated in the Raw vs. SmackDown Women's elimination tag team match at Survivor Series on November 20, where her team lost the match. On December 4 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Bliss defeated Lynch in a tables match to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion.

On the January 17, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss successfully defended her title against Lynch in a steel cage match following an interference by the returning Mickie James, who aligned herself with Bliss. On February 12, Bliss dropped the title to Naomi at Elimination Chamber. On the February 21 episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss defeated Lynch to capture the title for the second time after Naomi was forced to vacate the title due to injury, becoming the first two-time SmackDown Women's Champion. Bliss' partnership with Mickie James dissolved shortly after and the two would face off in a match on SmackDown Live, with James defeating Bliss. On April 2, Bliss lost the title to Naomi in a six-pack challenge also involving Carmella, James, Lynch, and Natalya at WrestleMania 33. Bliss and Naomi faced off in a rematch on April 4 episode of SmackDown Live, where Bliss was once again defeated.

Raw Women's Champion (2017-present)

On the April 10 episode of Raw, Bliss was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up, confronting Raw Women's Champion Bayley. The next week on Raw, Bliss won a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the title. On April 30, Bliss defeated Bayley to become the new Raw Women's Champion at Payback, becoming the first woman to win the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships. On June 4, she retained her title over Bayley in a kendo stick-on-a-pole match at Extreme Rules. Bliss then started a feud with Sasha Banks, which she successfully defended her title on July 9 at Great Balls of Fire via countout and on August 20 at SummerSlam, Bliss dropped the title to Banks. Eight days later, Bliss won the title back from Banks in the main event of Raw, becoming a two-time Raw Women's Champion. Bliss went to defend her title on September 24 at No Mercy in a fatal five-way match against Banks, Nia Jax, Emma and Bayley. Bliss was then confronted the next night on Raw by Mickie James, due to remarks Bliss made about her. At TLC, Bliss defeated James to retain the title.

At Elimination Chamber, Bliss won the first even female Elimination Chamber match, successfully retaining her title against Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, and Sonya Deville. In parralel to her activities as a singles wrestler, she took a part of the Mixed Match Challenge tournament, with Braun Strowman as her partner. They defeated the team of Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch on January 30, and then Jimmy Uso and Naomi on March 6 to qualify for the semi-finals.

In other media

Bliss has appeared in two WWE video games. She made her in-game debut in WWE 2K17 and later appeared in WWE 2K18.

On July 24, 2017, it was announced that Bliss would be joining the seventh season of Total Divas. She is a fan of cosplay which has inspired many of her wrestling atires such as Freddy Krueger, Harley Quinn, Iron Man, The Riddler, Supergirl and Chucky.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015-present	Total Divas	Herself	Guest (season 4 & 6) Main cast (season 7)

Personal life

Kaufman is an avid fan of Disney, which she attributes to her family's annual trips to Walt Disney World starting at age three, despite her family's low income at the time. She is also a fan of her hometown Columbus Blue Jackets. She has cited Trish Stratus and Rey Mysterio as her influences in wrestling.

Kaufman is engaged to fellow professional wrestler Buddy Murphy.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Snap DDT - 2016-present
  • Twisted Bliss / Sparkle Splash (Rounding moonsault)
• Signature moves
  • Chokehold STO, with theatrics
  • Diving somersault evasion
  • Forearm smash
  • Leg trap sunset flip powerbomb
  • Insult to injury (Jumping double knee drop to an opponent's midsection followed by a standing moonsault double knee drop)
  • Keylock
  • Legsweep
  • Multiple stomps to the nape of a face-down opponent
  • Modified neck wrench
  • Over the shoulder arm drag
  • Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown, sometimes transitioned into an inside cradle
• Wrestlers managed
  • Blake and Murphy
• Nicknames
  • "Five Feet of Fury"
  • "The Goddess of WWE"
  • "Little Miss Bliss"
  • "The Wicked Witch of WWE"
• Entrance themes
  • "Bling Bling" by Billy Sherwood & Marc Ferrari (NXT)
  • "Blissful" by CFO$ (NXT)
  • "Opposite Ends of the World" by CFO$ (NXT; used while managing Blake and Murphy)
  • "Spiteful" by CFO$ (NXT/WWE)

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 3 of the top 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2017
• WWE
  • WWE Raw Women's Championship (2 times, current)
  • WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (2 times)