Danielle Sierra Kamela (born March 18, 1988) is an American

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 o ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She previously worked for

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 vari ...

under the name Vanessa Borne.

Early life

Kamela was born to parents of Samoan,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

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 **Ge ...

, and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent. A graduate of Chaparral High School and Arizona State University, Kamela worked as a

Fox Sports Arizona Bally Sports Arizona (BSAZ) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts p ...

presenter, Phoenix Suns dancer, and Arizona Cardinals cheerleader prior to her wrestling career.

Professional wrestling career

Knokx Pro Entertainment (2016)

Kamela trained with

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...

and Gangrel at Knokx Pro Entertainment. She made her in-ring debut on March 26, 2016, using her real name Danielle. She was defeated by Pedro in the European Cruiserweight Championship Match.

WWE (2016–2021)

On April 12, 2016, it was announced that Kamela had signed with

, where she was assigned to the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...

in Orlando, Florida. She made her

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currentl ...

debut shortly after at a

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 ...

, under her real name. Her television debut took place on the October 5, 2016, episode of ''NXT'', working as an enhancement talent, where she was defeated by

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 L ...

. She made another appearance on the October 19 episode of ''NXT'', where she was defeated by Nikki Cross, but the decision was later reversed because Cross continued to attack Kamela. On June 28, 2017, Kamela returned to television under the new ring name Vanessa Borne, where she defeated Jayme Hachey in a

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 ...

qualifier match. On July 13, she was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by

Serena Deeb Serena Deeb (born June 29, 1986) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is well known for her first stint with WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand and also known for her time with the devel ...

. Towards the rest of the year and the beginning of 2018, Borne continued to compete against various competitors such as

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 ...

, Nikki Cross,

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 ...

, and

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 cu ...

, however, she ended up on the losing side against all of them. On February 13, 2019, Borne 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 ...

with Aliyah, after she helped her defeat

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 th ...

. In their first match together, Borne and Aliyah defeated 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 ...

. On the November 27 episode of ''NXT'', she faced Li in a losing effort after Li

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 ...

injured Aliyah with a spin kick to her nose. Borne was reportedly called up to the main roster in January 2020 upon re-signing her contract, but after months of inactivity, she was released on May 19, 2021.

All Elite Wrestling (2022)

On the February 5, 2022 tapings 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 ...

'', Kamela made her debut in a losing effort against

Marina Shafir Marina Shafir (Moldovan Cyrillic: Марина Шафир; born 14 April 1988) is a Moldovan professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She formerly competed for Invicta Fighting Championsh ...

. On April 20, Kamela appeared on ''

AEW Dynamite 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 ...

'', competing against Dr. Britt Baker, losing in a qualifying match for the

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, is a series of professional wrestling tournaments produced annually by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation. It consists of two single-elimination tourn ...

Other media

Kamela was a guest on the professional cheerleading

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

''Beyond The Pom Poms'' in 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borne, Vanessa Living people American professional wrestlers of Samoan descent American female professional wrestlers Actresses of Samoan descent Sportspeople from Scottsdale, Arizona Professional wrestlers from Arizona National Basketball Association cheerleaders National Football League cheerleaders 1988 births American sportswomen of Chinese descent American people of Polish descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent 21st-century American women 21st-century professional wrestlers