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 (2017), Mae Young Classic qualifier match. On July 13, she was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Serena Deeb. Towards the rest of the year and the beginning of 2018, Borne continued to compete against various competitors such as Liv Morgan, Nikki Cross, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai, however, she ended up on the losing side against all of them. On February 13, 2019, Borne started an Alliance (professional wrestling), alliance with Aliyah (wrestler), Aliyah, after she helped her defeat Taynara Conti. In their first match together, Borne and Aliyah defeated Conti and Xia Li. On the November 27 episode of ''NXT'', she faced Li in a losing effort after Li kayfabe 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'', Kamela made her debut in a losing effort against Marina Shafir. On April 20, Kamela appeared on ''AEW Dynamite'', competing against Dr. Britt Baker, losing in a qualifying match for the AEW Owen Hart Cup, Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

Other media

Kamela was a guest on the professional cheerleading web series ''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