After making history by becoming the first Cuban-American woman to sign with WWE, former MMA fighter Valerie Loureda worked her first match.
At Saturday’s NXT live event in Orlando, FL, she worked the opening match by teaming with Xyon Quinn and Bronco Nima to take on Chase U (Andre Chase, Duke Hudson & Thea Hail). In the end, Chase U went over.
Loureda retired from mixed martial arts in July to pursue her dream of becoming a pro wrestler and signed a multi-year contract with WWE. After reporting to the WWE Performance Center on July 19, she made her debut at an NXT event in Cocoa, Florida, where she did a promo, but didn’t wrestle.
Loureda has previously stated that Charlotte Flair inspired her to join WWE after attending WrestleMania 38 earlier this year.
Loureda has also pushed for a match with Ronda Rousey when she was asked about her potential opponents in WWE because they both have an MMA background.
