Baszler was trained inmixed martial arts (MMA) by formerUFC fighterJosh Barnett and incatch wrestling byBilly Robinson. She had her first professional MMA fight in 2006 and later gained recognition for her skills as a submission grappler. Baszler was signed by the UFC in 2013 for the reality television seriesThe Ultimate Fighter – she would go on to have two professional bouts (0–2) in the company. In 2015, she was cut from the UFC and started herprofessional wrestling career that same year, being trained by Barnett again. After spending some time on the independent circuit andWorld Wonder Ring Stardom, Baszler signed with WWE in 2017. She would go on to become a two-timeNXT Women's Champion and a three-timeWWE Women's Tag Team Champion. In 2025, she was released from WWE.
Baszler, akhun kru (teacher)[6] inMuay Thai and aBrazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, wanted to begin incorporating Josh Barnett's catch wrestling style into her MMA training. This proved to be somewhat difficult because she could not train with Barnett inSouthern California, so Barnett wrote a syllabus and filmed a video to teach her the step-by-step techniques and concepts of catch wrestling and give her tips on how to improve her verbal skills.[11] Baszler competed at the 2016Frank Gotch World Catch Championships in Gotch's hometown ofHumboldt, Iowa, winning the women's openweight division.[10]
Barnett suggested that Baszler carry an electric guitar to the cage to show that she was outspoken. Baszler reluctantly agreed, and the guitar became a signature of her rockstar-like persona. Later, Barnett gave Baszler "The Queen of Spades" nickname due to her ability to perform card tricks – the card magic nickname also gives a nod to her "submission magic." Baszler refers to her fans as the "Queen's Army."[11]
Baszler debuted forEliteXC at aShoXC event on July 27, 2007. She submitted veteranJan Finney with a first-round armbar and repeated the feat three months later againstJennifer Tate. After defeatingKeiko Tamai with an impressive Twister submission at a third ShoXC event, Baszler moved up to the main EliteXC cards.
Baszler entered the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix at FCF 39 on January 30, 2010, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She submittedMegumi Yabushita with a twister submission in the first round of their quarterfinal bout. It was the second time that Baszler had won an MMA fight with the unique submission.[17] Baszler faced late replacementAlexis Davis in the second round of the FCF tournament at FCF 40 on March 27, 2010. She defeated Davis by unanimous decision.[18] Baszler was scheduled to faceJan Finney in the tournament final at FCF 43 on June 12, 2010.[18] However, Finney withdrew in order to compete in Strikeforce and Baszler faced Adrienna Jenkins instead.[19] Baszler defeated Jenkins by first-round armbar to become FCF Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion.[20]
On November 19, 2010, Baszler facedElaina Maxwell at The Cage Inc.: Battle at the Border 7. Baszler defeated Maxwell by submission due to a kneebar in the first round to become the first TCI Women's 140 lbs Champion.[21]
Baszler was scheduled to defend her TCI title in a rematch withAlexis Davis at The Cage Inc.: Battle at the Border 10 on July 30, 2011.[22] However, the fight was canceled after Davis signed withStrikeforce.[23]
Baszler agreed to face Kelly Kobold in a rematch at Cage Fighting Xtreme: Spring Brawl on April 21, 2012.[24] However, it was announced on March 16 that the event had been canceled.[25]
On February 25, 2017, Baszler was defeated byReina Miura atDeep Jewels 15.[26] This marked Baszler's last MMA fight.
On April 28, it was announced that Baszler would faceSara McMann in the main event ofInvicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann. The event took place on July 28, 2012.[27] In a back-and-forth affair, Baszler lost the fight in what was considered to be a controversial unanimous decision. The bout was named Invicta's Fight of the Night.[28][29]
Baszler facedAlexis Davis in a rematch atInvicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013.[32] She was defeated via technical submission due to a rear naked choke in round three.[33][34] The bout was named Invicta's Fight of the Night.[35]
In August 2013, it was announced that Baszler was one of the fighters selected to be onThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate.[36] In her fight to get into the TUF house, Baszler facedColleen Schneider and won via an armbar submission in the first round. Baszler was then selected byRonda Rousey as the first team pick and the first fight of the season againstJulianna Peña. Baszler lost to Peña after tapping out due to a rear naked choke in the second round.[37]
For her promotional debut, Baszler facedBethe Correia on August 30, 2014, atUFC 177.[40] She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Baszler facedAmanda Nunes on March 21, 2015, atUFC Fight Night 62.[41] She lost the fight via TKO in the first round after taking multiple leg kicks. After going 0–2 with the promotion, Baszler was released from the organization and went on to pursue a professional wrestling career.[42]
On March 1, 2015, atRing of Honor's13th Anniversary Show, Baszler accompaniedreDRagon to the ring for theirROH World Tag Team Championship defense. After they won, she helped cut a celebratory promo, where they described her addition to the team as "[finding] ourRingo".[43] After training underJosh Barnett, Baszler made her professional wrestling debut on September 26, 2015, losing toCheerleader Melissa for Quintessential Pro Wrestling (QPG) in Reno, Nevada.[44] Baszler was attacked byNicole Matthews after the match, setting up a future match between them. On October 30, Baszler defeated Matthews in their first match against each other,[45] but lost in their second meeting, a KO or submission only match in January 2016, won by Matthews via KO in just over nine minutes.[46] On July 17, Baszler defeated Ruby Raze to become the Premier Women's Champion at Premier XIII.[47]
Baszler debuted for Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) in April 2016, losing toMia Yim. She returned to the promotion in June, defeatingVeda Scott, and then again the following month, defeating Annie Social.[48] On September 9, she defeatedHeidi Lovelace to become the AIW Women's Champion.[49] She made her first successful defense againstBritt Baker on November 5,[50] and again retained the championship against Ray Lyn and Ayzali in a three-way match for Rise Wrestling on November 10.[51] She once again retained the championship against Lovelace in a rematch on November 25.[52]
In June 2016, Baszler made her debut forShimmer Women Athletes at Volume 81,[53] defeating Rhia O'Reilly.[54] She defeated Solo Darling at volume 82,[55] and at volume 83, she unsuccessfully challenged Nicole Savoy for the Heart Of Shimmer Championship.[56] She once again defeated Mia Yim at Volume 85.[57] She returned in November, teaming withMercedes Martinez in a loss to The Aussie Squad (Kellie Skater and Shazza McKenzie) at volume 86.[58] At Volume 87, she facedKay Lee Ray, Heidi Lovelace andVanessa Kraven in a fatal four-way match, won by Kraven.[59] At Volume 88, she lost to Shazza McKenzie by disqualification.[60] At Volume 89, she once again lost to McKenzie in a no disqualification match.[61] At Volume 90, she once again defeated Heidi Lovelace.[62]
In October 2015, Baszler worked two events for Japanese promotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom, during their American tour inCovina, California,[63] first teaming with Brittany Wonder and Datura in a loss toOedo Tai (Act Yasukawa,Kris Wolf andKyoko Kimura),[64] and unsuccessfully challenging Cheerleader Melissa for the GRPW Lady Luck Championship two days later.[65] She returned to the promotion in January 2017, this time touring Japan. She made her debut on January 3, teaming withJungle Kyona andMayu Iwatani to defeatKagetsu, Kyoko Kimura andSumie Sakai.[66] The following day, she teamed withNixon Newell and Kay Lee Ray to defeat Iwatani,Kairi Hojo andKonami.[67] The following day, she faced Himomi Mimura andViper in a triple threat match won by Viper.[68] On January 15, she took part in another triple threat match, this time defeating Momo Watanabe and Jungle Kyona.[69] On January 29, she teamed withDeonna Purrazzo and Christi Jaynes to defeat Kagetsu, Kris Wolf and Viper.[70] On February 23, Baszler unsuccessfully challengedIo Shirai for theWorld of Stardom Championship.[71]
On the December 6 episode ofNXT, a vignette aired teasing Baszler's televised debut.[78] She made her televised debut by attacking Kairi Sane on the December 27 episode ofNXT.[79] On the January 10, 2018, episode ofNXT, she made her in-ring debut, defeatingDakota Kai by referee stoppage.[80] Baszler continued to attack Kai untilNXT Women's ChampionEmber Moon made the save, leading to a title match atNXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on January 27, where Moon defeated Baszler to retain the title, but was attacked by her afterwards.[81] Baszler received another title match against Moon atNXT TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, where Baszler defeated Moon by technical submission to win the NXT Women's Championship.[82] She then began a feud withNikki Cross, culminating in a title match atNXT TakeOver: Chicago II on June 16, which Baszler won.[83]
On the November 1 episode ofSmackDown, Baszler was the first NXT wrestler to invade the show, when she attacked Nikki Cross,Sasha Banks, andSmackDown Women's ChampionBayley; later that night, Baszler joinedTriple H and the rest of theNXT roster as they declared war on bothRaw andSmackDown, and vowed to win theSurvivor Series brand warfare.[92] AtNXT TakeOver: WarGames on November 23, Baszler and her team lost againstRhea Ripley and her team in the first ever women'sWarGames match.[93] On the next day at Survivor Series, Baszler won thetriple threat match againstRaw Women's ChampionBecky Lynch and SmackDown Women's ChampionBayley to win Survivor Series for the NXT brand.[94] On the December 18 episode ofNXT, Baszler lost the championship to Ripley, ending her second reign at 416 days, making her the sixth longest reigning women's champion afterSensational Sherri's reign of 441 days.[95] On January 26, 2020, atRoyal Rumble, she would enter the women'sRoyal Rumble match at #30 and go on to eliminate 8 contestants, which tied the record for most eliminations in a women's Royal Rumble match, before being the last woman eliminated byCharlotte Flair, who would win the match.[96] On the January 22 episode ofNXT, Baszler defeatedShotzi Blackheart in what would be her final match in NXT.[97]
On the February 10 episode ofRaw, Baszler made her main roster debut by attacking Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch, biting the back of Lynch's neck furiously.[98][99] AtElimination Chamber on March 8, Baszler won theElimination Chamber match to become the #1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship, while also setting a record by eliminating every other woman.[100] On the first night ofWrestleMania 36 on April 4, Baszler failed to win the title from Lynch after a roll-up pin,[101] with herpush reportedly being cancelled byVince McMahon over criticisms about her MMA style, despite other talents such asBrock Lesnar using the same.[102][103] AtMoney in the Bank on May 10, Baszler failed to win the briefcase which contained the Raw Women's Championship instead of the contract,[104] also reportedly due to her push being cancelled.[102][105] However, all of these circumstances of Baszler's push being cancelled were contradicted by Shayna Baszler herself during a December 2025 interview withChris Van Vliet, stating that her WrestleMania loss was due to the lack of a live crowd[106] and her Money in the Bank loss was due to Becky Lynch's surprise pregnancy.[107]
On the May 31 episode ofRaw, Baszler began feuding withAlexa Bliss, claiming that the use of Bliss' "powers" were the reason why Baszler and Jax lost the titles.[113] A match between the two was scheduled forHell in a Cell on June 20,[114] which Bliss won.[115] Tensions kept rising between Baszler and Jax, and on the September 20 episode ofRaw, their alliance ended when she brutally attacked Jax after their match against each other.[116]
On the October 28 episode ofSmackDown, Baszler attacked Natalya in a backstage segment, ending their partnership and aligning with SmackDown Women's Champion and real-life best friendRonda Rousey in the process. The following week, with Rousey in her corner, Baszler defeated Natalya. AtSurvivor Series WarGames on November 26, Baszler helped Rousey retain her title againstShotzi. On Night 2 ofWrestleMania 39, Rousey and Baszler won the Women's WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match despite Rousey barely being involved in the match.[130] As part of the2023 WWE Draft, Baszler and Rousey were drafted to theRawbrand as a team.[131][132] On the May 29 episode ofRaw, Baszler and Rousey won a fatal four-way tag team match for the vacantWWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[133] On the June 23 episode ofSmackDown, Baszler and Rousey defeatedAlba Fyre andIsla Dawn for theNXT Women's Tag Team Championship to unify the two tag team titles.[134]
On July 1, atMoney in the Bank, Baszler turned on Rousey by attacking her and walking out of the match, turningface for the first time in her career, allowingLiv Morgan andRaquel Rodriguez to take advantage and pinning Rousey to regain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, ending their reign at 32 days.[135] On the July 3 episode ofRaw, Baszler confronted Rousey, frustrated as she had to pay her dues to get to the WWE, while Rousey had her first match atWrestleMania.[136] This led into a brawl between the two, which ended with Baszler kneeing Rousey in the face.[136] On the July 10 episode of Raw, after Baszlers match versusEmma, Rousey came out and another brawl broke out. This ended with Baszler barely escaping the ring after receiving an arm bar from Rousey. The following week, after defeating Nikki Cross in a match, Rousey called out Baszler from the skybox, then Baszler challenged Rousey to a fight after calling her out for taking the easy way into WWE while she herself had to work hard to get into WWE, though Rousey refused and instead offered to face Baszler atSummerSlam in a MMA rules match.[137] Baszler defeated Rousey at SummerSlam, choking her unconscious and winning by technical submission.
On the September 4 episode ofRaw, Baszler defeatedZoey Stark by technical submission after Stark passed out to the Kirifuda Clutch. After the match, Baszler gave praise to Stark's toughness.[138] In the following week, Stark ran out to save Baszler when Baszler was attacked byChelsea Green andPiper Niven after Baszler's match with Green.[139] AtCrown Jewel on November 4, Baszler competed in afatal five-way match for theWomen's World Championship against Stark, Jax,Raquel Rodriguez and defending championRhea Ripley, but failed to win the title.[140] AtRaw: Day 1 on January 1, 2024, Baszler teamed up with Stark for the first time to defeatTegan Nox and Natalya to become the number 1 contender for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[141]
Baszler in February 2025.
On Week 1 of the2024 Spring Breakin' edition ofNXT, Baszler made her return to NXT teaming withLola Vice againstNatalya andKarmen Petrovic.[142] At Week 2 of Spring Breakin', Vice won the match.[143] Baszler entered theQueen of the Ring tournament, defeatingMaxxine Dupri in the first round but lost toIyo Sky in the quarterfinals.[144][145] On the May 14 episode ofNXT, Natalya and Petrovic challenged Vice and Baszler to atag team match on next week's episode, which was made official.[146] On the May 20 episode ofRaw, Baszler and Stark won afatal four-way tag team match to became the number one contenders for Bianca Belair andJade Cargill'sWWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[147] On the May 21 episode ofNXT, Baszler and Vice was defeated by Natalya and Petrovic. After that, Vice turned on Baszler, and a brawl started between the two. NXT General ManagerAva then announced a match between the two at NXT Battleground, where Baszler proposed an NXT Underground match, which was made official.[148] On June 4 episode ofRaw, Baszler and Stark challenged Belair and Cargill to a title match, but ended in a disqualification win for Belair and Cargill afterAlba Fyre andIsla Dawn interfered.[149] On June 9 at Battleground, Baszler was defeated by Vice.[150] On June 15 atClash at the Castle: Scotland, Baszler and Stark competed in a triple threat tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, whichThe Unholy Union won.[151] On the July 8 episode ofRaw, Baszler and Stark aligned themselves with the returningSonya Deville after weeks of declining the latter's offer, turning heel and later calling themselvesPure Fusion Collective.[152] On May 2, WWE informed that Baszler's contract will expire on July 31, ending her eight-year tenure with the company and effectively disbanding Pure Fusion Collective.[153]
Despite having been released under a 90-day non-compete clause, Baszler was reported to be listed as aproducer on the July 9 episode ofNXT, where she produced a match alongsideChristopher Girard.[154] On the September 16 Homecoming edition ofNXT, Baszler made an appearance in a backstage segment, encouragingSol Ruca andZaria to get back on the same page as a tag team.[155]
In a December 2025 interview withChris Van Vliet, Baszler reveals she continues to work for WWE on occasion as a guest coach at the Performance Center.[156][157]
On October 5, 2025, Baszler made her first post-WWE appearance at Prestige Wrestling'sRoseland XII, where she defeatedDani Luna.[158] On November 2, Baszler made her debut forBoca Raton Championship Wrestling (BRCW) atNovember Knockdown, where she defeatedLacey Lane to win the vacant BRCW Women's Championship.[159] On November 15, Baszler made her debut forHouse of Glory (HOG) atSuperclash, where she defeatedMaki Itoh.[160]
During a 2013 interview on theMMA Roastedpodcast, Baszler mentioned that she was dating a woman, though she did not label her sexuality at that time.[163][164] AnOutsports article in 2024 referred to her as an "outLGBTQ pro wrestler".[165]
Baszler was a key spokesperson in the movement to create a South Dakota athletic commission for combat sports. She once delivered a speech that touched opposing Rep.Steve Hickey, who once labeled MMA as the "child porn" of sports. After visiting Baszler at the Next Edge Academy of Martial Arts, the training place of Baszler, as well as other mixed martial arts fighters and practitioners, Hickey changed his mind about the sport.[166]
Baszler is also a fan of theWarhammer 40,000 franchise and occasionally incorporates the designs of certainSpace Marine chapters into her ring gear.[167][168]
^she lost the fight by TKO due to kicks and punches. seems end of the road in the UFC for BazlerSargent, Robert (January 30, 2015)."Amanda Nunes vs Shayna Baszler Added To UFC Fight Night 62". mmarising.com.Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2015.
^Lambert, Jeremy (November 15, 2025)."HOG Superclash Results (11/15)".Fightful | WWE News, AEW News, Pro Wrestling Backstage News. RetrievedNovember 18, 2025.
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