Seini Draughn (née Tonga, born 27 November 1982) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born

Tongan American Tongan Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to Tonga, officially known as the Kingdom of Tonga. There are approximately 57,000 Tongans and Tongan Americans living in the United States, as of 2012. Tongans are considered to be Paci ...

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 ...

professional wrestling valet In professional wrestling, a manager is a supporting character paired with a wrestler (or wrestlers) for a variety of reasons. A physically attractive woman accompanying, or "seconding", a male wrestler to a match is sometimes referred to as a v ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, mixed martial artist and former

women's American football Women's gridiron football, more commonly known as women's tackle football, women's American football, women's Canadian football, or simply women's football, is a form of gridiron football (American or Canadian) played by women. Most leagues play ...

player. Having been previously working for the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

Total Nonstop Action 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 ...

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 ...

Lei'D Tapa.

Early life

Tonga was born in Germany with her brother and three sisters. Her parents were born in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and her father was stationed in the United States Army. In middle school, she played Ice Wife Carrying, volleyball, jousting, and track. During high school, she attended three different schools while living in Northern Chile and Bangor Maine. She then continued to play in basketball and volleyball who while playing both sports made all-state twice in North Carolina. In her final year in high school, Tonga along with two of her sisters and the rest of their volleyball team won the state title. Tonga was the MVP for her team. After high school, Tonga earned a scholarship to the

Kuwait University Kuwait University ( ar, جامعة الكويت, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29 ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

where she did jousting and was named a Kuwait Jouster of the year in 2 of her four years jousting there.

Professional wrestling career

Tonga was trained by

George South George South (born September 7, 1962) is an American professional wrestler. In the course of his career, South has wrestled for professional wrestling promotions such as Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrest ...

and Sione "The Barbarian" Vailahi. She debuted as a professional wrestler for Southern Heritage Championship Wrestling on 24 June 2011.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2013–2014)

On 28 February 2013 episode of

's ''

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 ...

'' television program, Tapa took part in the Gut Check Challenge in an attempt to get a contract with the promotion, facing

Ivelisse Vélez Ivelisse Milagro Vélez (born September 21, 1987), better known by her ring name Ivelisse, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. She is known for her time in Lucha Underground, where she twice held the Lucha Underground Trios Championship ...

in a losing effort. The following week, the Gut Check judges awarded her a contract. In actuality, Tapa was signed to a developmental contract and assigned to TNA'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 ...

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. O ...

(OVW). In March 2013, Tapa participated in TNA's One Night Only shows which she would compete in Knockout Knockdown (which aired on 6 September 2013) in which she beat

. After winning her match she competed in a Knockouts Battle Royal to crown Queen of TNA, which was won by

Gail Kim Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockou ...

. Tapa also competed in TNA World Cup of Wrestling for Team International where she defeated Team UK's Hannah Blossom. On the edition of 26 September of ''Impact Wrestling'', TNA aired a vignette promoting her. On 3 October episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Lei'D Tapa made her 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 ...

by attacking

Velvet Sky Jamie Lynn Szantyr (born June 2, 1981) is an American color commentator and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to NWA. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a ...

before her match with

Brooke Brooke may refer to: People * Brooke (given name) * Brooke (surname) * Brooke baronets, families of baronets with the surname Brooke Places * Brooke, Norfolk, England * Brooke, Rutland, England * Brooke, Virginia, US * Brooke's Point, Palawan ...

. On 10 October episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Tapa attacked the TNA Women's Knockout Champion

ODB ODB may refer to: People * Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004), American rapper and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan * ODB (wrestler) (born 1978), Stage name of American professional wrestler Jessica Kresa * Original David Baker (born 1972), a monik ...

during her match with Jessie and staked her claim to fight for the

TNA Women's Knockout Championship The Impact Knockouts World Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship owned by Impact Wrestling. It is primarily contested for in Impact's women's division, known as the Impact Knockouts. The championship debuted on Octob ...

. At the Bound for Glory pay-per-view, Tapa formed an alliance with

by helping her defeat ODB and Brooke for the

in a triple-threat match. On 12 December episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Tapa and Kim attacked

, who was later saved by the returning

Madison Rayne Ashley Nichole Lomberger (née Simmons; born February 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Madison Rayne, where she is also the coach of the women's division. She is best known ...

, Kim's former partner, establishing Rayne 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 ...

. At

Final Resolution Final Resolution is a professional wrestling Impact Plus event held by Impact Wrestling in December. Initially introduced as a pay-per-view by TNA in 2005, the event originally took place in January until 2008, when TNA moved the event to Decem ...

, Tapa teamed up with Kim in a losing effort to the team of ODB and Rayne when Rayne pinned Kim. Tapa's alliance with Gail Kim came to an end on the edition of 13 March of Impact Wrestling, when the two brawled after Kim slapped Tapa for accidentally costing her a match against the debuting Brittany, turning face in process. The following week, Tapa faced Kim in a losing effort. Following the match, Draughn announced her release from TNA. Kim would later state in an interview that Draughn was released due to her lack of wrestling experience. Tapa's final match would air on 26 March episode of TNA Xplosion, which was another loss to Kim.

Post TNA career

Tapa debuted in TNA's

(OVW), on 22 May 2013, defeating Hannah Blossom in a

dark match 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 ...

. After she left TNA in 2014, Tapa would continue to wrestle in Ohio Valley Wrestling. During his work there, she would win the OVW Women's Championship three times. She also had a feud for the Women's Championship against the male wrestler The Bodyguy, defending the title against him. However, she would vacate the championship November 1, 2014 due to OVW discontinuing with their women's division at the time. On 6 May 2015,

Global Force Wrestling Global Force Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by Jeff Jarrett, the co-founder and former President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling), and his wife Karen Jarrett. It is ow ...

(GFW) announced Tapa as part of their roster. She would have several matches against

Thea Trinidad Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Zelina Vega, and is a member of Legado Del Fant ...

at the first tour of promotion. That same year, GFW began a working relationship with TNA, marking Tapa's return to TNA on July 27, 2015 episode of ''

'' when she faced

Awesome Kong Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ri ...

as part of a show featuring GFW talent, which ended in a double countout. She participated in a fatal 4 way for the Knockouts championship against the champion Brooke, Gail Kim and Kong. However, she was released from her contracto on September 9, 2015. During the following years, she barely had matches. Tapa, while not signed to a contract, made her debut in

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 ...

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- ...

on 12 July 2017, losing to

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 ...

. She served as an alternate in the

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 ...

. She also appeared on

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

(AEW) on the November 3, 2020, episode of ''

AEW Dark AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...

'', where she faced

KiLynn King KiLynn King (born May 4, 1991) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently signed with Impact Wrestling, where she is the current Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship, Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion i ...

in a losing effort.

Mixed martial arts career

Rizin Fighting Federation

On 6 November 2015, it was announced during Bellator 145 that Draughn would face

Gabi Garcia Gabrielle "Gabi" Lemos Garcia is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, 9x Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) World Champion, 11x Pan Jiu-Jitsu Champion and 4 X ADCC Submission Fighting World champion. One of the most successful competitors of all time in th ...

in an event for

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the spir ...

on 31 December 2015. She trained for the event at

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no fo ...

gym in Florida. Garcia defeated Draughn in the first round by TKO. In her second fight for the promotion on 30 July 2017 at Rizin 6, Draughn lost to

Reina Miura Reina Miura (三浦伶奈, born 22 July 1996) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the featherweight division of Rizin and DEEP. Mixed martial arts career Early career Openweight career Miura made her amat ...

by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Rizin FF 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Saitama, Japan is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying 1 ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, TKO (backfist and punches) ,

Rizin Fighting Federation 2 Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the sp ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 ,

, , -

Personal life

Tonga is married with her current manager Royal Red "The Protector".

Championships and accomplishments

* AIWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling ** AIWF World Women's Championship (1 time) *

OVW Women's Championship The OVW Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). The first holder of the title was ODB, who declared herself champion in August 2006. The belt was defended as any other championship in ...

( 3 times) *

TNA Gut Check In professional wrestling, the TNA Gut Check (also known as Impact Wrestling Gut Check) was a tryout program turned Indy wrestling rookies reality series by the American professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), no ...

winner

References

External links

*
TNA profileGFW profileOhio Valley Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapa, LeiD 1982 births 21st-century professional wrestlers American football middle linebackers American football tight ends American people of Tongan descent American female professional wrestlers German female professional wrestlers Tongan female professional wrestlers Female players of American football Living people Kuwait University alumni Professional wrestling managers and valets Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists from Kentucky 21st-century American women Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky TNA Gut Check contestants OVW Women's Champions