Ruby Riott has recently taken SmackDown’s women’s roster by storm with the help of her loyal teammates in the Riott Squad, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan.
Here are five fast facts you should know about the next challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, Ruby Riott.
5. She Didn’t Start Watching Wrestling Until High School
Many professional wrestlers today grew up watching WWE and dreamed of making it in the business from very early on in life. But that wasn’t the case for Ruby Riott, who revealed in an interview with the Miami Herald that she didn’t even start watching wrestling until she was 15 when she went to an indie show to watch her best friend’s brother wrestle:
“I’m a little bit different than a lot of my peers,” she said. “I was introduced to independent wrestling, when I was 15-years-old. My childhood best friend and her whole family adored it, and we used to go watch her older brother do it. The lights and the costumes — however, kind of mediocre that they were because of the budget that they had — it was still very much something I wanted to try. I actually chose to do it when I was 19 and started training. The moment I stepped into a professional wrestling ring you couldn’t get me out of it.”
It definitely seems like destiny intervened to get Riott into a wrestling ring!
4. She Would Have Been A Teacher Had Wrestling Not Worked Out
Lots of wrestlers had strange or unexpected jobs prior to entering the world of “sports entertainment,” but in Ruby Riott’s case, she had a rather unexpected second-choice career: teaching.
While Riott’s punk rock persona seems ill-fitted for a classroom, her reasoning behind wanting to be a teacher actually makes sense. “I knew that if I could help people and still show my creativity, that was the job for me,” she told OVWmania. It’s unclear what subject Riott would have taught, but she did reveal that she worked as a rock climbing instructor during college.
3. The Sweet Meaning Behind Her Favorite Tattoo
Riott is far and away the most tatted member of WWE’s female roster, and like most people with tattoos, hers come with a lot of meaning. In fact, the meaning behind her favorite tattoo goes all the way back to her childhood.
Growing up in Indiana, Riott’s family was not financially well-off, and one of the only toys she had was a puzzle depicting Albuquerque’s famous hot air balloon festival. Riott dreamed of going to the festival one day, and when she began traveling thanks to pro wrestling she had an air balloon inked on her thigh as a reminder of her childhood dream to see the world.
2. Her Name Was Inspired By A Rancid Song
Prior to signing with WWE, Riott went by the ring name Heidi Lovelace – but she said that her new ring name and persona fits her to a T.
“The name Ruby Riot was very much inspired by my punk rock background,” she said. “There is a song by Rancid that is inspired by a Ruby name. Riot, obviously, when you think of punk rockers, mosh pits, riots, everything like that.”
“Everything you see is me,” Riott added. “Every bit of it. It’s just turned up a couple of notches.”
And in case you’re wondering, the Rancid song from which her name comes is “Ruby Soho.”
1. She’s The Only Woman To Win CHIKARA’s Young Lion’s Cup
Remember how I said it seemed like it was Riott’s destiny to end up in a wrestling ring? Well, she proved her natural talent by being the only woman to win CHIKARA’s Young Lion’s Cup.
Riott, then competing as Heidi Lovelace, defeated Missile Assault Ant in the final round to win the Young Lion’s Cup XI in 2014. She went on to defend the title numerous times throughout the year and was never defeated.
Other wrestlers of note who have won the Young Lion’s Cup include Chuck Taylor and recent WWE signee Ricochet.
Are you a fan of Ruby Riott? Did you learn anything new about her? Share your thoughts and comments below!
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