Lady Shani (born March 2, 1993) is 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 ...
of a Mexican ''
luchadora
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
enmascarada'', or masked
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 ...
, currently under contract with
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its or ...
. She made her debut in 2009 and until 2015 worked under the more generic name Sexy Lady before adopting her current name that same year. Initially she portrayed a ''ruda'' (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 ...
, or villain) but in 2017 she changed sides and became a ''tecnica'' (the
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 ...
, or fan favorite). She is the cousin of
Ludark Shaitan, with whom she both teamed with and fought against early in her career. Lady Shani's real name is not a matter of public record, which is traditional for masked wrestlers in Mexico who have not been unmasked.
She is a two time
AAA Reina de Reinas Champion
The AAA Reina de Reinas Championship (literally "AAA Queen of Queens Championship", "AAA Women's Championship") is a singles women's professional wrestling championship promoted by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). It is the only females champions ...
in AAA; first from 2017 to early 2018, and again from December 2, 2018. One of the highlights of her career was a ''
Lucha de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'' ("bet match") win over
Faby Apache
Fabiola Balbuena Torres (born 26 December 1980) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler known for her time with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) where she performed as Faby Apache (sometimes written as "Fabi Apache").
Between 2 ...
at
Triplemanía XXVI
Triplemanía XXVI was a professional wrestling event produced by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). It took place on August 25, 2018, in the Mexico City Arena, Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexi ...
, where Apache was forced to have her hair shaved off afterward.
Professional wrestling career
Lady Shani was trained for her
professional wrestling
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 o ...
career by Dr. Karonte,
[There are several luchadors who have used the "Dr. Karontes" name, this is the original – the father of Carístico.] Platino,
[The second Platino, not ]Chamaco Valaguez
Javier Prado Valaguez (born February 19, 1957) is a Mexican retired ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Chamaco Valaguez (Spanish for "Kid Valaguez"). Valaquez also wrestle as the '' enmascarado'' (masked) charac ...
and
Silver King at various times.
Her in-ring debut has been listed as December 2009, but no official record of what the match was has been found.
[ Starting out, she worked as the masked ring character "Sexy Lady", working for the ]Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...
promotion Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU). The mask she wore while working as "Sexy Lady" featured a silouette of a woman on the front, positioned between the eye openings of the mask.
In her first full year as a professional wrestler she started working for International Wrestling Revolution Group
International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...
(IWRG) on a freelance basis.[ Her first major appearance for IWRG was at their Guerra de Empresas ("War of the Promotions") show" on January 2, 2011, where she, teamed up with Aeroboy and Comando Negro for an inter-gender match loss to Ludark Shaitan, ]Dinamic Black
Dinamic Black (born June 25, 1992) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) portraying a '' tecnico'' ...
and Violento Jack. The following April, at the next Guerra de Empresas show, Sexy Lady Chiva Rayada I, and Mini Charly Manson
Arturo Santos Hernández (born July 9, 1987) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' or professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by his ring name Mini Charly Manson. For years he worked in the ''Mini-Estrella'' division for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide ( ...
wrestled to a "No Contest" against Fresero, Jr., Ludark Shaitan and Mascarita Sagrada
:''At least three wrestlers have wrestled under the name "Mascarita Sagrada". This article is about the original.''
Mascarita Sagrada (Spanish for Little Sacred Mask, real name not known, born January 11, 1965) is a Mexican Mini-Estrella, Mini Luc ...
. On July 16, 2011, Sexy Lady and Dement Xtreme defeated Shaitan and Ojo Diabolico Jr. to become the first ever holders of the Xreme Mexican Wrestling Mixed Tag Team Championship.[ The team would later lose the title to Shaitan and Ojo Diabolico Jr., but regain it at IWRG's Guerra de Campeones ("War of the Champions") on December 25, 2011.] While in IWRG, she participated in two intergender steel cage 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 ...
es where the loser would be forced to unmask or have their hair shaved off, first at La Guerra de Sexos ("the war of the sexes") and then at Guerra del Golfo ("Gulf War"), both times escaping the cage to retain her mask.
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2012–present)
On April 27, 2012, Sexy Lady made her debut for AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
, one of Mexico's largest wrestling promotions. In her first AAA match she teamed up with Mari Apache
Mariella Balbuena Torres (born October 19, 1979) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mari Apache (sometimes written as "Mary Apache"). She is the daughter of ''Luchador'' Gran Apache and th ...
, losing to Faby Apache
Fabiola Balbuena Torres (born 26 December 1980) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler known for her time with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) where she performed as Faby Apache (sometimes written as "Fabi Apache").
Between 2 ...
and Lolita. In early 2013 Sexy Lady was one of eight women competing for the vacant AAA Reina de Reinas Championship
The AAA Reina de Reinas Championship (literally "AAA Queen of Queens Championship", "AAA Women's Championship") is a singles women's professional wrestling championship promoted by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). It is the only females champions ...
("Queen of Queen Championship"), but was eliminated in the first round by Faby Apache.[
In September 2015 she was reintroduced with a new ring character, the ''ruda'' (]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 ...
, or villain) character "Lady Shani". The ring character was inspired by the Japanese Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
culture, expressed both in her mask and entrance robes. She made her debut under that name on November 20, 2015, where she, the Exótico
In lucha libre, an ''exótico'' is a ''luchador'' (male wrestler) fighting/performing in drag. The ''exótico''’s movement vocabulary is campy, often silly, and seldom dignified.Levi, Heather. The World of Lucha Libre: Secrets, Revelations, ...
Mamba and the Mini-Estrella
The term ''Mini-Estrella'' (Spanish for "Mini-Star") is used in lucha libre to describe a division of short professional wrestlers or ''luchadors'', some of whom have dwarfism. The Mexican ''Mini-Estrellas'' is comparable to Midget wrestling prac ...
Mini Charly Manson
Arturo Santos Hernández (born July 9, 1987) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' or professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by his ring name Mini Charly Manson. For years he worked in the ''Mini-Estrella'' division for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide ( ...
lost to Goya Kong
Gloria Alvarado Nava (born May 4, 1987) is a Mexican ''luchadora'' best known by the ring name Goya Kong for her time working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). She is the third-generation ''Luchadora'' ...
, Pimpinela Escarlata
Mario González Lozano (born April 18, 1969) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, who works as an ''exótico'' for the Mexican Lucha Libre AAA World Wide promotion and Lucha Underground under the ring name Pimpinela Escarlata. As ...
and Dinastia. Lady Shani, along with La Hiedra
La Hiedra (born May 18, 1997) is a Mexican ''luchadora enmascarada'', or masked professional wrestler currently signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where she was formerly one third of the AAA World Trios Champions with Rey Escorpion and Te ...
, Goya Kong
Gloria Alvarado Nava (born May 4, 1987) is a Mexican ''luchadora'' best known by the ring name Goya Kong for her time working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). She is the third-generation ''Luchadora'' ...
and Lady Maravilla
Lady Maravilla (born October 22, 1994), is a Mexican ''luchadora enmascarada'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide where she is a one-time AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion along with Villano III Jr.
Sh ...
were all unsuccessful in their efforts to win the Reina de Reinas championship from Taya Valkyrie
Kira Renée Magnin-Forster (born October 22, 1983) is a Canadian professional wrestler, fitness competitor, and model better known by the ring name Taya Valkyrie.
She is currently appearing for Impact Wrestling, where she is a current two-time ...
at the Héroes Inmortales IX
''Héroes Inmortales IX'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "Immortal Heroes Nine") was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA). The event, which comm ...
show, Lady Shani's first championship match in AAA. The following year she was one of the competitors in the annual Copa Antonio Peña
Copa or COPA may refer to:
COPA
COPA may refer to:
* Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI
* Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet
* Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...
, which for the first time featured both male and female wrestlers fighting each other. The tournament was won by Pimpinela Escarlata.
In early 2017 AAA started a storyline that would eventually lead to Lady Shani becoming a ''tecnico'' (those that portray the fan favorites in wrestling), the faces
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 affe ...
, in AAA as she was attacked by Taya after a match at the 2017 Guerra de Titanes
Guerra de Titanes (Spanish for "War of the Titans") is a major annual professional wrestling event in Mexico promoted by the Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA) promotion. The show is the "End of year" show and is traditionally held in December with ...
show. As part of the story-line transition from ''rudo'' to ''tecnico'' Lady Shani was teamed up with Venom, a young, sympathetic ''tecnico'' in a tournament for the vacant AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship
The AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato en Parejas Mixtas AAA'' in Spanish) is a tag team title contested for in the Mexican lucha libre promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). The championship is exclusively for teams composed ...
. During the match, La Hiedra
La Hiedra (born May 18, 1997) is a Mexican ''luchadora enmascarada'', or masked professional wrestler currently signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where she was formerly one third of the AAA World Trios Champions with Rey Escorpion and Te ...
, Lady Shani's regular tag team partner, came to ringside and interfered in the match, causing Big Mami and Niño Hamburguesa to win the match and the championship. After the match, Lady Shani and La Hiedra argued, but the ''tecnico'' turn was not completed that night. The tension between Lady Shani and La Hiedra caused the two to not being able to win the vacant AAA Reina de Reinas Championship, which instead was won by Sexy Star
Dulce Maria García Rivas (born September 20, 1982) is a Mexican ''luchadora'' '' enmascarada'', or masked female professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is better known by the ring name Sexy Star. She is best kno ...
in a match that also included Big Mami, Faby Apache and Goya Kong. On July 27, 2017, Lady Shani finally worked as a full-fledged tecnico as she defeated La Hiera, Goya Kong and Mamba to become the number 1 contender for the Reina de Reinas championship.
The Reina de Reinas championship match at Triplemanía XXV
Triplemanía XXV was a professional wrestling event produced and scripted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). The event took place on August 26, 2017, and was held in the Arena Ciudad de México in Mexi ...
was overshadowed by the unscripted nature of the finish of the match. The match saw Sexy Star defend the championship against Lady Shani, Ayako Hamada
is a Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Libre ...
and Rosemary
''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...
from Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
. During the match, some of the exchanges between Lady Shani and Sexy Star were rougher than they were planned to be, which led Sexy Star to believe that Lady Shani was "Shooting" (legitimately fighting with her instead of the pre-planned match) and left the ring for a period of time. Later on, Sexy Star ended up in the ring with Rosemary, applying an armbar submission hold for the planned finish. After Rosemary gave up, Sexy Star deliberately pulled back hard on the arm, dislocating Rosemary's shoulder. Afterward Sexy Star claimed that she was not trying to intentionally hurt Rosemary during the match. The incident was widely reported outside of Mexico, including a story in ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine, the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', and as far away as Australia. In the fall-out after the match AAA stripped Sexy Star of the championship. Cody Rhodes
Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
and Road Dogg
Brian Girard James (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler currently signed with the WWE where he serves as the Senior Vice President of Live Events.
James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation (W ...
have both criticized Sexy Star, with Road Dogg calling for her to be blacklisted, and per CageMatch has not been booked since Triplemania XXV.
On October 1, 2017, at Héroes Inmortales XI
''Héroes Inmortales'' XI (Spanish language, Spanish for "Immortal Heroes Eleven") was a professional wrestling event produced and scripted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA). The event took place on O ...
Lady Shani defeated Ayako Hamada to win the vacant AAA Reina de Reinas Championship, starting her first championship reign in AAA.[ The following month, Lady Shani won her first '']Lucha de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', or "bet match", where she pinned Venus and then forced her to unmask.[ ''Lucha de Apuestas'' wins, especially a mask win, is considered a very prestigious win in Lucha Libre and a sign of a promotion's support of that wrestler.][
Following her ''Apuestas'' win Lady Shani was paired up with Faby Apache for her next story-line feud. At the time Apache was the longest tenured female wrestler in AAA and had been a fixture in the top rank of the division, facts that AAA wove into the feud as Apache got rougher and more brutal in her matches against Lady Shani to show her "displeasure" over Lady Shani's ascension. In her role of the "veteran wrestler", Faby Apache looked down on Lady Shani, trying to teach her some respect for Apache. As part of the feud, Faby Apache defeated Lady Shani to win the Reina de Reinas Championship in January 2018.] As the feud continued to escalate over the spring and summer of 2018 AAA finally booked the two rivals in a ''Lucha de Apuestas'' feature match for Triplemanía XXVI
Triplemanía XXVI was a professional wrestling event produced by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). It took place on August 25, 2018, in the Mexico City Arena, Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexi ...
, billed as AAA's most important show of the year. In the match, Lady Shani "bet" her mask against Faby Apache's hair since Apache did not wrestle in a mask. The match took place on August 25, 2018, in the third-to-last match of the night. Both Lady Shani and Faby Apache bled profusely during the match, to help illustrate the intensity of their rivalry. In the end, Lady Shani won the match and Faby Apache was forced to have all her hair shaved off per ''lucha libre'' traditions.[
In the fall AAA started a ]Facebook Live
Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
exclusive tournament called Lucha Capital
''Lucha Capital'' (Spanish for "Capital Fight") is a Mexican seasonal professional wrestling streaming television series and tournament produced by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Like all professional wrestling events, it is based on scripted st ...
that saw Lady Shani wrestle against Lady Maravilla twice, ending with a victory and a loss in the preliminary round of the tournament. On December 12, 2018, Lady Shani regained the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship at AAA's annual Guerra de Titanes
Guerra de Titanes (Spanish for "War of the Titans") is a major annual professional wrestling event in Mexico promoted by the Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA) promotion. The show is the "End of year" show and is traditionally held in December with ...
show to start her second reign.[ During the final round of women's Lucha Capital tournament Lady Shani announced that she was dropping out of the tournament, but extended a challenge to the eventual tournament winner for a future match. Taya won the tournament and the Lucha Capital tournament, starting a story-line between Taya and her former protege.
On June 16, 2019, at ''Verano de Escándalo'' Shani lost the title to Keyra on June 16, 2019.]
Personal life
Because Lady Shani has never lost a ''Lucha de Apuestas'' match at this point in her career, her personal life is not a matter of public record; which is traditional in Lucha Libre. The only publicly available information is that which she chooses to disclose, which includes that she was born on March 2, 1993, in Mexico City. She has publicly acknowledged that she is the cousin of professional wrestler Ludark Shaitan. Early in both of their careers the two cousins would often either team up together or fight against each other for various promotions on the independent circuit.
Championships and accomplishments
*Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its or ...
**AAA Reina de Reinas Championship
The AAA Reina de Reinas Championship (literally "AAA Queen of Queens Championship", "AAA Women's Championship") is a singles women's professional wrestling championship promoted by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). It is the only females champions ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
**''Lucha Fighter'' (Women 2020)
**''Copa Triplemanía Femenil'' (2020)
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''
**Ranked No. 40 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the ''PWI Female 100
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...
'' in 2019
*Xtreme Mexican Wrestling
**XMW Mixed Tag Team Championship (2 times, current) – with Demete Xtreme
*Xtreme Wrestling League
**XWL Border Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ludark Shaitan
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
Footnotes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Shani
1993 births
Living people
Mexican female professional wrestlers
Masked wrestlers
Unidentified wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Mexico City
AAA Reina de Reinas Champions