Aliyah (wrestler)

Nhooph Al-Areebi (born November 23, 1994) is a Canadian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE where she performing on the NXT brand under the ring name Aliyah.

Aliyah
Aliyah in April 2018
Birth nameNhooph Al-Areebi[1]
Born (1994-11-23) November 23, 1994[2][3]
Toronto, Ontario, Canada[2]
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, United States[4]
Alma materGeorge Brown College
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Aliyah[5]
Jasmin[3]
Jasmin Areebi[3]
Billed height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[6]
Billed weight112 lb (51 kg)[3]
Billed fromToronto, Ontario, Canada[6]
Trained byRob Fuego[4]
Taylor Wilde[7]
WWE Performance Center[8]
DebutJanuary 20, 2013[3]

Early life

Nhooph Al-Areebi was born in Toronto, Ontario.[9] She is of Syrian and Iraqi descent and grew up in a strict, conservative family.[10][11] In 2012, she graduated from St. Joseph's College School, and later attended George Brown College, where she studied nursing.[11] She also attended a circus training school.[4]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2013–2015)

Al-Areebi wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring name Jasmin Areebi, debuting for Squared Circle Wrestling (SCW) in Toronto in January 2013. She wrestled for a variety of promotions in Canada and the United States, including Pure Wrestling Association (PWA), Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), and New England Championship Wrestling (NECW).[7]

WWE

NXT (2015–present)
Aliyah in 2015

On March 17, 2015, it was reported that Al–Areebi had signed a developmental contract with WWE.[7] Her signing was confirmed by WWE on April 13.[1] She made her first appearance at the NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable event on May 20, as part of Tyler Breeze's entrance.[12] She made her in–ring debut on June 20 during an NXT live event, where she competed in a six–person tag team match.[13] In October, she was given the ring name Aliyah.[5]

Aliyah's television debut took place on the January 13, 2016, episode of NXT, where she competed in a number one contender's battle royal for Bayley's NXT Women's Championship, which was won by Carmella.[14] On the April 27 episode of NXT, Aliyah competed in her first televised singles match, where she lost to Carmella.[15][16] Towards the end of the year, Aliyah debuted new ring gear and entrance music, leaving her Arabian gimmick,[17][18] and picked up her first victory as part of the brand, as she defeated Billie Kay after a distraction by Liv Morgan, only for both of them to be attacked by Kay and Peyton Royce.[19][20] This set a six–woman tag team match between Aliyah, Morgan and Ember Moon against The Iconic Duo (Kay and Royce) and Daria Berenato, that was taped on NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19, where Aliyah's team was victorious.[21]

On January 3, 2017, Aliyah made her first main roster appearance as she appeared on SmackDown Live, where she lost to Carmella.[22] Throughout 2018, Aliyah continued losing to various competitors such as Lacey Evans,[23] Ember Moon[24] and Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane, while also showing signs of a heel turn.[25] In September, Aliyah, now officially working as a heel, started a short alliance with Evans, and the two had an altercation with Dakota Kai and Deonna Purrazzo, which led to a tag team match, where Aliyah and Evans were victorious, making Aliyah's first victory in over a year.[26]

After some time away, on the February 13, 2019, episode of NXT, Aliyah returned working full-time, as she defeated Taynara Conti after interference from Vanessa Borne.[27] The duo then started an alliance and picked up their first victory against Conti and Xia Li, two weeks later on the February 27 episode. In mid November on an episode of WWE NXT, Aliyah went up against Xia Li in a losing effort, Li had kayfabe injured Aliyah’s nose in the process with a spin kick. This was done to write Aliyah off television, so that she could get surgery on her nose.[28]

Aliyah returned to in-ring competition in 2020 on the March 25 edition of NXT, where she loss to Io Shirai in a qualifying match.[29] Aliyah had a match a few weeks later against Li in a losing effort.[30] On the May 6 episode of NXT, she helped Chelsea Green get a victory over Li and tried to get on the Robert Stone Brand.[31] The following week, on the May 13 episode of NXT, she tried to impress Stone in a match against Kayden Carter which she lost. When she tried to ask him if she could join his brand, he turned her down.[32] Stone eventually changed his mind and officially joins forces with Aliyah on the June 25th episode of NXT.

Personal life

Al-Areebi first decided she wanted to become a wrestler after watching Beth Phoenix and Mickie James compete at a taping of Raw on May 5, 2008. Her favorite wrestlers include Edge and Jeff Hardy.[4]

In September 2015, a number of racially insensitive comments made several years prior on Al-Areebi's Twitter account were discovered. WWE subsequently issued a statement regarding the controversy, stating that her account was used by another person at the time.[33]

Championships and accomplishments
Aliyah is a one-time PWA Women's Champion
  • Ground Xero Wrestling
    • GXW Women's Championship (1 time)[34]
  • Great Canadian Wrestling
    • GCW Women's Championship (1 time)
  • Impact Pro Wrestling
    • IPW Women's Championship (2 times)[35]
  • New England Championship Wrestling
    • World Women's Wrestling Championship (1 time)[7]
  • Queens of Chaos
    • World Queens of Chaos Championship (1 time)[36]
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked 42 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2017[37]
  • Pure Wrestling Association
    • PWA Women's Championship (1 time)
  • Southland World Wrestling
    • SWW Laddies Championship (1 time)
    • SWW Women's Championship (2 times, final)

References
  1. "WWE Performance Center welcomes new class of recruits". WWE. April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  2. "Jasmin Areebi". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. "Jasmin Areebi". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  4. Bobby, Melok (June 25, 2015). ""It's like Disneyland to me:" Nhooph Al-Areebi on her NXT dreams". WWE. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  5. Twiss, Andrew (October 15, 2015). "10/15 WWE NXT IN COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA LIVE REPORT: WWE DIVA RETURNS TO ACTION, CHALLENGES BAYLEY, BALOR VS. DILLINGER, EVA MARIE AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  6. "Aliyah". WWE. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  7. Johnson, Mike (March 17, 2015). "CENA TALKS TAKING MORE ADULT ACTING ROLES, FINAL NASSAU COLISEUM EVENT, NEW WWE SIGNINGS AND MORE NEWS". PWInsider. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  8. Clapp, John (December 14, 2015). "'WWE Breaking Ground' Season 1, Episode 7 recap: Proving ground". WWE. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  9. "Could Toronto's Nhooph Al-Areebi be the next big thing in professional wrestling? | National Post". National Post. May 8, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  10. Al-Areebi, Nhooph (July 15, 2017). "Yes half Syrian half Iraqi". Twitter. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  11. Oliver, Greg. "SUN shines on Ontario's Jasmin Areebi". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  12. Johnson, Mike (May 20, 2015). "Former TNA Knockout appears on NXT show". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  13. Martin, Adam (June 21, 2015). "6/20 NXT RESULTS: LAKELAND, FLORIDA (BREEZE VS. CORBIN)". WrestleView. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  14. James, Justin (January 13, 2016). "1/13 WWE NXT – Women's #1 contender Battle Royal, NXT Title drama, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  15. Richard, Trionfo (April 27, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: NAKAMURA AND ASUKA IN ACTION, FOOTAGE OF LOWELL TITLE CHANGE, THE REVIVAL ARE NOT IN A GOOD MOOD, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  16. Richard, Trionfo (August 3, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: REVIVAL VERSUS TM61, ASUKA SENDS A MESSAGE TO BAYLEY, BOBBY ROODE MAKES HIS NXT DEBUT, SAMOA JOE SHOWS WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT HYPE, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  17. Richard, Trionfo (August 21, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: THE NEW CHAMPION SPEAKS, AA VS. AA?, A GLORIOUS CAMEO, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  18. Richard, Trionfo (September 21, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: DOES ALEXANDER KEEP THE MOMENTUM FROM THE CWC GOING?, LIV MORGAN MAY HAVE BITTEN OFF MORE THAN SHE CAN CHEW, JOE VOWS TO HURT PEOPLE, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  19. Richard, Trionfo (October 26, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: DUSTY CLASSIC CONTINUES, ASUKA HAS HER TAKEOVER OPPONENT REVEALED, SOME POST MATCH AGGRESSION FROM THE WRESTLERS. AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  20. Richard, Trionfo (November 16, 2016). "WWE NXT TELEVISION REPORT: TAKEOVER IS SUNDAY, ALMAS VERSUS ALEXANDER, THE DRIFTER IS BACK, A WOMEN'S TRIOS TEAM, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  21. Richard, Trionfo (November 23, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: MATCHES FROM TORONTO, COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS AT TAKEOVER, AND THE REMATCH HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED". PWInsider. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  22. Richard, Trionfo (January 3, 2017). "WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH, A CONTRACT SIGNING, TAG TITLE REMATCH NEXT WEEK, LOVE MAY BE BLIND, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  23. Trionfo, Richard (January 17, 2018). "WWE NXT REPORT: FISH AND O'REILLY HAVE OPPONENTS FOR TAKEOVER, SO DOES EMBER, STRONG MAKES A CHALLENGE, GARGANO PROVES HIMSELF NEXT WEEK, AND A FEATURE ON TM61".
  24. Trionfo, Richard (March 21, 2018). "WWE NXT REPORT: CIAMPA HAS A VISITOR, THE DUSTY CLASSIC CONTINUES, COLE VERSUS OHNO, AND MORE".
  25. Richard, Trionfo (October 4, 2017). "WWE NXT REPORT: MCINTYRE VERSUS STRONG FOR THE TITLE, LIO RUSH DEBUTS, KAIRI SANE MAKES HER NXT DEBUT, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  26. Trionfo, Richard (September 19, 2018). "WWE NXT REPORT: CHAMPION VERSUS CHAMPION, DREAM ONLY KNOWS ONE NAME, JAXSON RYKER'S IN RING DEBUT, AND MORE". PWInsider.
  27. Trionfo, Richard (February 13, 2019). "WWE NXT REPORT: COLE VERSUS RICOCHET, WHO WANTS TO MESS WITH SHAYNA?, WHO WANTS TO CHALLENGE THE WAR RAIDERS, AND MORE". PWInsider.
  28. Lee, Joseph (November 14, 2019). "Various News: CM Punk's Profile Back on WWE.com, Aliyah Suffers Broken Nose, Top 5 Impact Wrestling Moments". 411Mania. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  29. Berge, Kevin (March 25, 2020). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 25". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  30. Berge, Kevin (April 15, 2020). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 15". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  31. Berge, Kevin (May 6, 2020). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 6". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  32. Mueller, Chris (May 13, 2020). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 13". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  33. Johnson, Mike (September 10, 2015). "WWE Statement on Controversy Surrounding Developmental Diva Jasmine". PWInsider. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  34. "gxw-wrestling". gxw-wrestling. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  35. "Title History – Impact Pro Wrestling". Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  36. Allen, Stewart. "Queens Of Chaos 2, Show One review". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  37. "Asuka es la mejor luchadora de 2017 según PWI". Medio Tiempo (in Spanish). November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
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