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Aliyah (wrestler)

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Aliyah
Aliyah in April 2018
Birth nameNhooph Al-Areebi[1]
Born (1994-11-23) November 23, 1994 (age 30)[2][3]
Toronto, Ontario, Canada[2]
Alma materGeorge Brown College
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Aliyah[4]
Jasmin[3]
Jasmin Areebi[3]
Billed height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[5]
Billed weight112 lb (51 kg)[3]
Billed fromToronto, Ontario, Canada[5]
Trained byRob Fuego[6]
Jason Chase
WWE Performance Center[7]
DebutJanuary 20, 2013[3]

Nhooph Al-Areebi (Arabic: نهوف العريبي; born November 23, 1994) is a Canadian professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. She is best known for her tenure in WWE from 2015 to 2023, where she performed under the ring name Aliyah. She is a former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and holds the record for the fastest victory in WWE history at 3.17 seconds.[8]

Early life

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Nhooph Al-Areebi was born in Toronto, Ontario.[9] She is of Syrian and Iraqi descent.[10][11] Al-Areebi attended St. Joseph's College School, graduating in 2012, and later attended George Brown College, where she studied nursing.[11] She also attended a circus training school.[6] Al-Areebi decided to become a professional wrestler after watching Beth Phoenix and Mickie James compete at a taping of Raw on May 5, 2008.[6]

Professional wrestling career

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Independent circuit (2013–2015)

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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).

WWE (2015–2023)

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NXT (2015–2021)

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Aliyah in 2015

On March 17, 2015, it was reported that Al-Areebi had signed a developmental contract with WWE, being confirmed by the company one month later.[12][1] She made her first appearance at the NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable event on May 20, as part of Tyler Breeze's entrance.[13] She made her in–ring debut on June 20 during an NXT live event, where she competed in a six–person tag team match.[14] In October, she was given the ring name Aliyah.[4]

Aliyah's television debut took place on the January 12, 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.[15] Towards the end of the year, Aliyah debuted new ring gear and entrance music, leaving her Arabian gimmick,[16][17] 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.[18][19] 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.[20]

On January 3, 2017, Aliyah made her first main roster appearance as she appeared on SmackDown Live, where she lost to Carmella.[21] Throughout 2018, Aliyah continued losing to various competitors such as Lacey Evans,[22] Ember Moon[23] and Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane, while also showing signs of a heel turn.[24] 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.[25] On February, she took time off television to get cosmetic surgery on her nose.[26]

When she returned in 2020, she was written in a storyline where she tried to be included into the Robert Stone Brand, a stable led by Robert Stone.[27] Stone joined forces with Aliyah on the June 17 and feuded with Rhea Ripley, facing her both of them at NXT: The Great American Bash.[28]

SmackDown (2021–2023)

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As part of the 2021 Draft, Aliyah was drafted to the SmackDown brand.[29][30] Aliyah made her official main roster debut on the November 5 episode of SmackDown, where she participated in a backstage segment with Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn.[31] The following week, on the November 12 episode of SmackDown, Aliyah would have her debut match with the brand, competing as a face and teaming with Naomi and Sasha Banks to defeat Shotzi, Shayna Baszler and Natalya.[32] Later that same night, Sonya Deville removed her from the SmackDown Survivor Series team without explanation.[32] She was eventually replaced by Toni Storm.[33] In January, Aliyah would defeat Natalya, in 3.17 seconds, earning her the record for fastest victory in WWE history.[8] At Royal Rumble, Aliyah competed in the 30-woman Royal Rumble match which was won by Ronda Rousey. On the August 29 edition of Raw, Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez defeated Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky to win the vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, her first championship in WWE. On the September 12 episode of Raw they lost the titles back to Kai and Sky, ending their reign at 14 days. On September 21, 2023, Aliyah was released from her WWE contract, without making a single television appearance in 2023.[34]

Return to independent circuit (2024-present)

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Al-Areebi returned to the independent circuit on October 6th, 2024, where she wrestled Zayda Steel in a match for Destiny Wrestling.[12] On November 11th, 2024, Al-Areebi defeated Tiffany Nieves to become Destiny women's champion.

Other media

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As Aliyah, Al-Areebi made her video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K23.[35]

Championships and accomplishments

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Aliyah is a one-time PWA Women's Champion

References

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  1. ^ a b "WWE Performance Center welcomes new class of recruits". WWE. April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Jasmin Areebi". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Jasmin Areebi". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ a b "Aliyah". WWE. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Bobby, Melok (June 25, 2015). ""It's like Disneyland to me:" Nhooph Al-Areebi on her NXT dreams". WWE. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b Guzzo, Gisberto (January 14, 2022). "Aliyah Sets Record For Fastest Victory In WWE History On 1/14 WWE SmackDown". Fightful. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  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. ^ a b Oliver, Greg (February 18, 2014). "SUN shines on Ontario's Jasmin Areebi". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  12. ^ a b 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.
  13. ^ Johnson, Mike (May 20, 2015). "Former TNA Knockout appears on NXT show". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. ^ Martin, Adam (June 21, 2015). "6/20 NXT RESULTS: LAKELAND, FLORIDA (BREEZE VS. CORBIN)". WrestleView. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ Richard, Trionfo (November 23, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: MATCHES FROM TORONTO, COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS AT TAKEOVER, AND THE REMATCH HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED". PWInsider. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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".
  23. ^ Trionfo, Richard (March 21, 2018). "WWE NXT REPORT: CIAMPA HAS A VISITOR, THE DUSTY CLASSIC CONTINUES, COLE VERSUS OHNO, AND MORE".
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ Berge, Kevin (May 6, 2020). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 6". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  28. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (June 17, 2020). "Kevin's WWE NXT Review 6.17.20". 411Mania. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  29. ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (October 2, 2021). "Aliyah Drafted To SmackDown In 2021 WWE Draft". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  30. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 1, 2021). "See all the results from the 2021 Draft". WWE. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  31. ^ Barnett, Jake (November 5, 2021). "11/05 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of the return of WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Shayna Baszler vs. Naomi". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Barnett, Jake (November 12, 2021). "11/12 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. King Woods, the return of Sasha Banks, Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs vs. Los Lotharios, the build to Survivor Series". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  33. ^ Defelice, Robert (November 18, 2021). "Sonya Deville Officially Names Aliyah's Replacement For Team SmackDown At WWE Survivor Series 2021". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  34. ^ Jenkins, H. (September 21, 2023). "WWE Releases Aliyah From Her Contract". Ringside News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  35. ^ Wilson, Ben (February 20, 2023). "WWE 2K23 roster reveal with every confirmed wrestler". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  36. ^ Delago, Toni. "Aliyah gana su primer campeonato tras su despido en WWE". Solowrestling. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  37. ^ "gxw-wrestling". gxw-wrestling. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  38. ^ Allen, Stewart. "Queens Of Chaos 2, Show One review". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  39. ^ Wilkinson, Nick (October 27, 2022). "Syuri Tops 2022 PWI Women's 150 List". diva-dirt.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  40. ^ a b "WWE Women's Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
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