Gabbi Alon Tuft (born November 1, 1978) is an American retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Tuft is best known for her time with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Tyler Reks. Tuft also competed in WWE's

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

(FCW), where she won the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship once and the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship twice, once with Joe Hennig and once with

Johnny Curtis Curtis Jonathan Hussey (born July 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Dirty Dango. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name ...

. Since retiring from professional wrestling in 2014, Tuft works in marketing. She also launched a fitness website with several other wrestlers. Assigned male at birth, Gabbi Tuft publicly came out as a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

in February 2021.

Early life

Tuft was born on November 1, 1978, in San Francisco, California. Tuft attended the Santa Rosa Junior College in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

, from 1996–1999 and then transferred to the California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly–SLO) in 2000. There she completed her coursework and obtained a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

with a major in

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

and structural engineering. After graduating, Tuft secured a job as an assistant engineer at PBS&J in Encinitas, California. She was staffed at the City of Dana Point as an extension of staff and was in charge of the Public Works Permitting Department.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2007–2008)

Tuft was trained by Mike Bell. She made her professional debut in February 2007 for Ultimate Pro Wrestling.

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

Florida Championship Wrestling (2008–2009)

Tuft was signed to a developmental contract with

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

in January 2008 and was assigned to the

territory as Tyler Reks. She made her FCW debut on February 5, 2008, with

in a losing effort against

Eric Pérez Eric Alexander Pérez (born December 18, 1979) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name "Escobar". In 2005, Pérez signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he worke ...

and Eddie Colon. A few days later on February 12 she made her singles FCW debut in a losing effort once again against "The South City Thriller" Hade Vansen. She participated in a FCW Florida Heavyweight Title Battle Royal which was won by

Jake Hager Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society st ...

. She also took part in the FCW Florida Tag Team Title Tournament with Rycklon. During this tournament she had her first victory at FCW defeating Ted DiBiase Jr. and Afa, Jr. in the first round, however the pair subsequently lost to Eddie Colon and Eric Perez in the quarter finals. Tuft then had two chances at the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship against the current champion Jake Hager; first in a one on one match and then in a triple threat match along with Johnny Curtis. On the August 28 she participated in an FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contendership Fatal Four Way along with

Tyrone Evans Tyrone Evans (died 2000) was a Jamaican reggae singer and musicians. He was one of the founding members of the rocksteady group The Paragons, who had a worldwide hit song with "The Tide Is High". With Bob Andy and Coxsone Dodd, Evans recorded a ...

, and Sheamus O'Shaunessy, who went on to win the match. Tuft then went on to have another two FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship shots against Sheamus O'Shaunessy and lost both times. On December 11, 2008, Reks and Johnny Curtis defeated The New Hart Foundation ( DH Smith and TJ Wilson) to win the

Florida Tag Team Championship The FCW Florida Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling, (FCW), a former developmental territory of WWE. It was contested for in their tag team division. The ch ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. After numerous defenses and 139 days of holding the titles, they lost them to Caylen Croft and

Trent Barreta Gregory "Greg" Marasciulo (born March 30, 1987), better known by the ring name Trent Beretta or Trent?, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring ...

. Tuft won FCW Florida Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contendership match and on June 11, 2009, she captured the Florida Heavyweight Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre. She later lost the title to Heath Slater at the FCW television tapings on August 13. She later lost to Slater again during her rematch for the title. She lost to Joe Hennig in a FCW Florida Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contendership match and lost a FCW Florida Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contendership battle royal. She and

Leo Kruger Leo Kruger may refer to: * Leo Kruger (rugby union), South African rugby union player * Leo Kruger, South African wrestler also known as Adam Rose Raymond John Leppan (born 20 July 1979) is a South African retired professional wrestler. He is ...

had a FCW Florida Tag Team Title match against Epico but lost.

Singles competition (2009–2011)

Reks made her main roster debut on '' ECW on Sci Fi'' on the June 30, 2009 episode, with a surfer in-ring persona, in a backstage promo with Zack Ryder. Reks had suffered a knee injury just prior to her debut, but was able to work through it and made her in-ring debut on the July 2, 2009, episode of '' WWE Superstars'', losing to Ryder. On the July 21 episode of ''ECW'', Reks gained her first win after defeating Paul Burchill, and then beat him again the following week. Reks participated in a 10-man battle royal on the September 15 edition of ''ECW'' for an

ECW Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...

opportunity against

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, but the match would go on to be won by Zack Ryder. Tuft would begin a brief hiatus from television starting in November 2009 and began mainly working dark matches and

house shows A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

for both SmackDown and

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

and FCW matches. Reks was one of the participants in the 26-man pre-show battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI. Tyler Reks

In April 2010, Reks joined the SmackDown roster following ECW's closure. After months of only working dark matches, Reks made her ''SmackDown'' television debut as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

on the October 15 edition of the program while sporting a beard, chest hair, and new attire in addition to never referencing to her time on ECW. After a

promo Promo or promos may refer to: Promotions and advertising *Promo (media), a form of commercial advertising used to promote television or radio programs *Promo (professional wrestling), a televised interview in which a wrestler's on-screen personali ...

, she challenged and defeated

Kaval The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and Anatolia (including Turkey and Armenia). The ka ...

in a match for the latter's spot in the SmackDown

Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...

team. On the Raw before Bragging Rights, she participated in a SmackDown vs. RAW 30 Man Tag Team Battle Royal, in which Smackdown was victorious. At Bragging Rights, Reks was able to eliminate Santino Marella before being eliminated by Sheamus. However, Team SmackDown was successful in winning the

Cup for the second consecutive time, which would end up being Reks' most significant accomplishment in her WWE career. After this, Reks was placed on

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

's Survivor Series team at the event. On the SmackDown before Survivor Series 2010 she competed in a Ten Man Tag Team Battle Royal but her team lost. At Survivor Series 2010 she was eliminated by Kofi Kingston as Team Del Rio went on to lose the match to Team Mysterio. Reks was then moved into a

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with Chris Masters, defeating him once on ''SmackDown'' and twice on ''

Superstars A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * Warhol superstars, the associates of Andy Warhol * WWE Superstar, a branding term referring to a WWE wrestler * Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943) ...

''. On January 30, 2011, Reks made her Royal Rumble debut at the namesake event as she entered the Royal Rumble match as the sixteenth entrant, but was eliminated from the match in only 34 seconds by

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...

and the New Nexus. Reks was involved in another dark battle royal at Wrestlemania 27. Reks participated in a battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Her last in-ring television performance for five months would be beating

JTG Jayson Anthony Paul (born December 10, 1984) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name JTG. Paul began his professional wrestling career in ...

on ''Superstars''.

Teaming with Curt Hawkins (2011–2012)

On April 26, Reks was drafted to the

brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. After wrestling

dark matches Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

for a few months, Reks made her ''Raw'' debut in a backstage segment with

Curt Hawkins Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact Digital Media Champion. He is best known for his tenures in WWE from 2006–2014 and 2016–2020 unde ...

, Wade Barrett, and

. On the September 8 edition of ''

'', Reks made her in-ring return as she teamed with Hawkins to defeat

Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. (born April 29, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ri ...

and

Percy Watson Nicholas Christopher McNeil (born August 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Percy Watson, is an American professional wrestler, commentator, and former professional football player. He is best known for his time with WWE as a commentato ...

. Hawkins and Reks then began appearing on the fifth season of NXT, by attacking the Usos from behind on the September 27th episode of ''

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

''. Over the next two weeks on ''NXT'', Hawkins and Reks faced the Usos in tag team matches, with Hawkins and Reks winning the first match and the Usos winning the second match. Reks made her singles return on October 16 losing to

Yoshi Tatsu Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the List of Y ...

. Reks participated in a World Heavyweight Championship number 1 contender 41 man battle royal and the "All I Want For Christmas Battle Royal" and was eliminated in both. Hawkins and Reks would lose to The Usos once again on December 6. Reks and Hawkins would then lose a non-title match to the tag team champions Air Boom on the December 22 episode of ''Superstars''. Hawkins and Reks engaged in a feud with the duo of

and

beginning in December of 2011. Both teams would play pranks on each other, with Tatsu being locked in a closet and Reks' hands being

superglue Cyanoacrylates are a family of strong fast-acting adhesives with industrial, medical, and household uses. They are derived from ethyl cyanoacrylate and related esters. The cyanoacrylate group in the monomer rapidly polymerizes in the presence ...

d onto an Xbox controller. The feud ended when Hawkins and Reks defeated Barreta and Tatsu on the January 18, 2012 episode of ''NXT''. Hawkins and Reks would then settle into the role of NXT's troublemakers, tormenting NXT host Matt Striker on his lackluster career and how they should be main-eventing NXT, even once going to the extent of assaulting him after a match. They forced Striker to appoint

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

as NXT's prime authority figure on the February 29 episode of ''NXT''. Regal would employ harsh measures to keep Hawkins and Reks in line, including threatening suspensions for bad behaviour and condemning them to janitorial duty, this caused them much frustration. On the March 21 episode of ''NXT Redemption'', Striker was knocked out with

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with chemical formula, formula Carbon, CHydrogen, HChlorine, Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to ...

and Maxine, and then Striker was kidnapped (

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

) by unknown persons, later revealed to be Hawkins and Reks, who intended to blackmail Maxine into using her charms to get Regal to leave them alone. Unfortunately for Hawkins and Reks, Striker was rescued by

Derrick Bateman Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). EC3 is a co-founder of Control Your Narrative. He also performs on the independent circuit. He ...

and Kaitlyn. On the April 18 episode of ''NXT'', the freed Striker confronted Hawkins and Reks about the kidnapping, and Hawkins admitted the crime. As punishment, Regal put Hawkins and Reks in a match against each other with Striker as referee and the loser of the match would be fired. Even though Reks won to supposedly save her job at the expense of Hawkins', Regal decided to fire Reks as well, sending the two troublemakers away from NXT. However, Regal could not keep the duo away from NXT for long, as they managed to convince villainous higher authority figure

John Laurinaitis John Hodger Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962), also known by his former ringname Johnny Ace, is an American retired professional wrestler and business executive. He has wrestled for such promotions as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), All Japan ...

to rehire them as NXT's security team on the May 9 episode of ''NXT''. Hawkins and Reks would then continue to play the role of Laurinaitis' lackeys, confiscating anti-Laurinaitis signs at Over the Limit and attacking John Cena on the May 21 episode of ''Raw''. Hawkins and Reks' association with Laurinaitis ended after Laurinaitis lost his job at No Way Out. On the final episode of the fifth season of ''NXT'' on June 13, Hawkins and Reks defeated

and

. Hawkins and Reks would then engage in a one-sided feud with

Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves (né Ryan; born November 10, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Ryback. One of the eight finalists on WWE's '' Tough Enough 4'', Reeves l ...

in July 2012. After both Hawkins and Reks lost singles matches to Ryback on ''SmackDown'', Ryback defeated both of them in a handicap match at Money in the Bank. At ''

Raw 1000 Raw 1000 was a television special that was broadcast live on July 23, 2012, airing on USA Network (in the U.S.) as the 1000th episode of WWE's flagship show '' Raw''. It was held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The show featured f ...

'', Hawkins and Reks, along with Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre, Hunico, and Camacho, attempted to ambush Kane to make a statement, but a returning

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...

interrupted the attack and the Brothers of Destruction disposed of Hawkins and Reks. The duo would once again lose to

on the August 6 episode of ''Raw''. After being told by SmackDown general manager

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

to "step it up", Hawkins and Reks debuted a stripper gimmick on the August 17 episode of ''SmackDown'' while squashing a jobber tag team. A week later, Reks asked for her release as she intended to retire from wrestling to spend more time with her family; she and WWE parted ways on August 21, thus ending the team.

Return to independent circuit (2014)

Reuniting with

, the pair tagged together as part of Pro Wrestling Syndicate picking up a win in September against Kevin Matthews and Lance Hoyt.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Throughout her wrestling career, Tuft used the '' Burning Hammer'' as her finishing move.

In other media

Reks, together with Curt Hawkins, created an animated

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

series called MidCard Mafia in 2011, which was quickly cancelled and pulled from the internet after complaints from WWE management.

Personal life

Tuft has been married to her wife, Priscilla since July 2002. They have one daughter, Mia, who was born in November 2011. In the summer of 2019, Tuft underwent

open heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

. On February 4, 2021, Tuft came out as a

Championships and accomplishments

** FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** FCW Florida Tag Team Championship ( 2 time) –

(1) and Joe Hennig (1) * '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' ** Ranked No. 156 of the top 500 wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 2009 *

** Bragging Rights Trophy (2010) – with

Team SmackDown SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. ...

(

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...

, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger,

, Edge and Kofi Kingston) ** Slammy Award for Most Menacing Haircut (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuft, Gabbi 1978 births American female professional wrestlers Living people LGBT people from California LGBT professional wrestlers American LGBT sportspeople People from Cotati, California Professional wrestlers from California Sportspeople from San Francisco Transgender women Transgender sportspeople 21st-century professional wrestlers FCW Florida Heavyweight Champions FCW Florida Tag Team Champions