Nhooph Al-Areebi (born November 23, 1994) is a Canadian

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 ...

. She is currently signed to

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 ...

, where she performs on the

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

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 ...

Aliyah. She is a former

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across both ...

. She holds the record for the fastest victory in WWE history at 3.17 seconds. Al-Areebi is the first female Arab-Canadian wrestler to win a championship for WWE.

Early life

Nhooph Al-Areebi was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. She is of

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

and Iraqi descent. In 2012, she graduated from

St. Joseph's College School St. Joseph's College School (St. Joseph's College, SJCS, or St. Joe's, more colloquially known as St. Joe's Wellesley), formerly known as St. Joseph's Academy for Young Ladies is a girls' Catholic high school in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada op ...

, and later attended

George Brown College George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and ...

, where she studied nursing. She also attended a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

training school.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2013–2015)

Al-Areebi wrestled on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

under the ring name Jasmin Areebi, debuting for Squared Circle Wrestling (SCW) in Toronto in January 2013. She wrestled for a variety of promotions in Canada and the United States, including Pure Wrestling Association (PWA), Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), and

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepe ...

(NECW).

WWE

NXT (2015–2021)

On March 17, 2015, it was reported that Al-Areebi had signed a developmental contract with

. Her signing was confirmed by WWE on April 13. She made her first appearance at the NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable event on May 20, as part of

Tyler Breeze Matthew Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. From 2010 to 2012, he per ...

's entrance. She made her in–ring debut on June 20 during an

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- ...

live event 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 ...

, where she competed in a six–person tag team match. In October, she was given the ring name Aliyah. Aliyah's television debut took place on the January 12, 2016, episode of ''

'', where she competed in a number one contender's

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

for Bayley's

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...

, which was won by

Carmella Carmella is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Carmella DeCesare Carmella Danielle DeCesare Garcia (born July 1, 1982) is an American model who was ''Playboy'' magazine's Miss April 2003 and Playmate of t ...

. On the April 27 episode of ''NXT'', Aliyah competed in her first televised singles match, where she lost to Carmella. Towards the end of the year, Aliyah debuted new

ring gear An epicyclic gear train (also known as a planetary gearset) consists of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other. A carrier connects the centers of the two gears and rotates the planet and sun gea ...

and

entrance music Entrance music (also known as an entry theme or walk-on music) is a musical piece or song that is played for athletes or entertainers when they first appear in front of the spectators before beginning a performance. Popular music acts may have rec ...

, leaving her Arabian

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

, and picked up her first victory as part of the brand, as she defeated

Billie Kay Jessica McKay (born 23 June 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Billie Kay and for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she competed as Jessie McKay. In Jun ...

after a distraction by

Liv Morgan Gionna Jene Daddio (born June 8, 1994) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Liv Morgan. She is a former SmackDown Women's Champion. In 20 ...

, only for both of them to be attacked by Kay and

Peyton Royce Cassandra McIntosh (born 10 November 1992) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Peyton Royce and for her time in Impact Wrestling where she performed as Cassie Le ...

. This set a six–woman tag team match between Aliyah, Morgan and

Ember Moon Adrienne Reese (born August 31, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Athena. She also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is the current ROH Wom ...

against The Iconic Duo (Kay and Royce) and

Daria Berenato Daria Rae Berenato (born September 24, 1993) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sonya Deville. She is also a former on-scre ...

, that was taped on NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19, where Aliyah's team was victorious. On January 3, 2017, Aliyah made her first main roster appearance as she appeared on ''

SmackDown Live ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'', where she lost to Carmella. Throughout 2018, Aliyah continued losing to various competitors such as

Lacey Evans Macey Estrella-Kadlec (née Evans; born March 24, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Lacey Evans. Originally introduced to wrestling while serving as a militar ...

and

Mae Young Classic The Mae Young Classic was a women's professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a WWE Hall of Famer who is consi ...

winner

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the cur ...

, while also showing signs of a heel turn. In September, Aliyah, now officially working as a heel, started a short alliance with Evans, and the two had an altercation with

Dakota Kai Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cur ...

and

Deonna Purrazzo Deonna Purrazzo (born June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she is a former two-time Impact Knockouts World Champion and a former Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. She also appea ...

, which led to a tag team match, where Aliyah and Evans were victorious, making Aliyah's first victory in over a year. After some time away, on the February 13, 2019, episode of ''NXT'', Aliyah returned working full-time, as she defeated

Taynara Conti Taynara Melo Guevara (née de Carvalho and formerly Conti; born June 9, 1995) is a Brazilian professional wrestler and judoka. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Tay Melo () and is a member of the ...

after interference from

Vanessa Borne Danielle Sierra Kamela (born March 18, 1988) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She previously worked for WWE under the name Vanessa Borne. Early life Kamela was born to parents of Samoan, Polish, Chinese, German, and Irish descen ...

. The duo then started an

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and picked up their first victory against Conti and

Xia Li Zhao Xia (; born July 28, 1988) is a Chinese-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xia Li ...

, two weeks later on the February 27 episode. In mid November on an episode of ''NXT'', Aliyah went up against Li in a losing effort, who had kayfabe injured Aliyah's nose in the process with a spin kick. This was done to write her off television, so that she could get cosmetic surgery on her nose. Aliyah returned to in-ring competition March 25, 2020, edition of ''NXT'', where she lost to

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions with ...

in a qualifying match. Aliyah had a match a few weeks later against Li in a losing effort. On the May 6 episode of ''NXT'', she helped

Chelsea Green Chelsea Anne Cardona (born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman and model. She is best known for her time in Impact Wrestling where she is a former impact Knockouts champion and Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. ...

get a victory over Li and tried to get on the Robert Stone Brand. The following week, on the May 13 episode of ''NXT'', she tried to impress Stone in a match against

Kayden Carter Allyssa Lyn "Lacey" Lane (born May 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under the ring name Kayden Carter, performing on the NXT brand. She is a one-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion with Katana Chance. Early l ...

which she lost. When she tried to ask him if she could join his brand, he turned her down. Stone eventually changed his mind and officially joined forces with Aliyah on the June 17 episode of ''NXT'', after he helped her get a victory over Xia Li. Aliyah and Stone would feud with

Rhea Ripley Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is a member of The Judgme ...

as she lost to her on the June 24 episode of ''NXT''. The following week on Night 1 of NXT: The Great American Bash, Aliyah competed alongside Stone against Ripley in a

handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, with the stipulation that if Ripley lost then she would join the Robert Stone Brand, but they were defeated. On the July 13, 2021, episode of ''NXT'', Aliyah turned on Stone after losing a tag team match with herself and Jessi Kamea versus

Kacy Catanzaro Kacy Esther Catanzaro (born January 14, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, gymnast and athletics-based television personality. She is currently signed with WWE on the NXT brand under the ring name Katana Chance. She competed at ...

and

SmackDown (2021–present)

As part of the 2021 Draft, Aliyah was drafted to the

SmackDown brand SmackDown is a WWE brand extension, 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 ex ...

. Aliyah made her official main roster debut on the November 5 episode of ''

'', where she participated in a backstage segment with

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...

and

Sami Zayn Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline. Prior to join ...

. The following week, on the November 12 episode of SmackDown, Aliyah would have her debut match with the brand, competing as a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

and teaming with

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...

and

Sasha Banks Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on ...

to defeat

Shotzi Ashley Louise Urbanski (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and singer. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Shotzi (shortened from her previous ring name Shotzi Blac ...

Shayna Baszler Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and longest ...

and

Natalya Natalya (russian: Наталья) is the Russian form of the female given name Natalia. The name Natasha (russian: link=no, Наташа), being originally a diminutive form of Natalya, became an independent name outside the Russian-speaking state ...

. Later that same night,

Sonya Deville Daria Rae Berenato (born September 24, 1993) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sonya Deville. She is also a former on-scree ...

removed her from the SmackDown

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

team without explanation. She was eventually replaced by

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...

. In January, Aliyah would defeat Natalya, in 3.17 seconds, earning her the record for fastest victory in WWE history. At

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...

, Aliyah competed in the 30-woman Royal Rumble match which was won by

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s ...

. On the August 29 edition of ''Raw'', Aliyah and

Raquel Rodriguez Raquel or Racquel is a variation of the given name Rachel (given name), Rachel. Notable people with the name include: Raquel *Raquel (wrestler), Brazilian professional wrestler *Raquel Alessi (born 1983), American former actress and model *Raquel ...

defeated

and Iyo Sky (formerly

) to win the vacant

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across both ...

, her first championship in WWE. Although it was later seen that she pinned Dakota Kai who was not the legal competitor, nonetheless her team was still crowned champions. On the September 12 episode of ''Raw'' they lost the titles to Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky, ending their reign at 14 days.

Personal life

Al-Areebi first decided she wanted to become a wrestler after watching

Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Copeland ( Kociański; born November 24, 1980), known professionally as Beth Phoenix, is an American professional wrestler. She is a former WWE Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's Champion. Kociański had a successful amateur ...

and

Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American professional wrestler and country singer. She is currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She has also had tenures in WWE and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA ...

compete at a taping of ''

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 ...

'' on May 5, 2008. Her favorite wrestlers include

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

and

. She ran a YouTube channel under the name chickkick21 as a teenager from 2008 - 2012 and made YouTube videos focused on professional wrestling in the internet wrestling community.

Championships and accomplishments

* Ground Xero Wrestling ** GXW Women's Championship (1 time) * Great Canadian Wrestling ** GCW Women's Championship (1 time) *

Impact Pro Wrestling Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) is a New Zealand professional wrestling promotion. It has promoted regular events throughout the country and abroad in the last several years and is credited for being the first to bring live wrestling shows to cities ...

**IPW Women's Championship (2 times) *

** World Women's Wrestling Championship (1 time) * Queens of Chaos ** World Queens of Chaos Championship (1 time) * Pure Wrestling Association ** PWA Women's Championship (1 time) * Southland World Wrestling **SWW Ladies Championship (1 time) **SWW Women's Championship (2 times, final) * World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) **

( 1 time) – with

** WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament (2022) - with

** The record holder for fastest win in WWE history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aliyah (wrestler) 1994 births Canadian female professional wrestlers Female models from Ontario Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers in the United States Living people Professional wrestlers from Toronto Canadian people of Arab descent Canadian people of Iraqi descent Canadian people of Syrian descent 21st-century professional wrestlers WWE Women's Tag Team Champions