Alexis Kaufman[8] was born on August 9, 1991, in
Columbus, Ohio,[9][8][10] to
teenage parents who were still in high school at the time of her birth.[10] She has been involved in sports since the age of five, competing in
track and field, softball, and gymnastics.[1] She was also a cheerleader at
Hilliard Davidson High School[11] and reached
Division I status at the
University of Akron, where she graduated with an M.A. in
medical dietetics.[12] She spent time in competitive fitness competitions, and has competed in the
Arnold Classic.[1] At the age of 15, she had a life-threatening
eating disorder, but turning to fitness competitions helped her overcome it.[12] With her parents' permission, she also received
breast augmentation when she was 17 to help overcome her eating disorders by making her feel more feminine, as her breasts stayed small naturally when she finished
puberty and helped contribute to her eating disorders.[13]
Professional wrestling career
WWE (2013–present)
NXT (2013–2016)
Having no prior wrestling training, Kaufman was signed by
WWE in May 2013 and reported to WWE's
developmental territoryNXT.[14] On July 24 episode of NXT (which was taped on June 20th), she made her first televised appearance, congratulating the
inauguralNXT Women's ChampionPaige.[15] In August, she was added to WWE.com's NXT roster page and assigned the ring name Alexa Bliss.[16][17] She acted as an unnamed ring announcer for the November 20 episode of NXT.[18][19] Her first televised appearance on the main roster came at
WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, when she played a part in
Triple H's entrance.[20][21] She made her televised in-ring debut on May 8 episode of NXT, playing a
glitterfairy gimmick with her ring entrance set to the theme track "Bling Bling," competing in a
tournament for the
vacant NXT Women's Championship.[22] She defeated former
Divas ChampionAlicia Fox in the first round, but lost to
Charlotte in the semi-finals.[22][23][24] On September 25 episode of NXT, a new ring entrance theme track "Blissful" was debuted for the first time with her match against
Bayley. After a failed
Double-Knees attempt, Bliss lost to a
Bayley-to-Belly suplex.[25]
After a
hiatus due to a
legitimate injury, Bliss returned on March 11, 2015, episode of NXT, where she defeated
Carmella.[26] The following week on NXT, she defeated NXT Women's Champion
Sasha Banks by
countout in a non-title match,[27] which led to Bliss being granted a title match against Banks on March 25 episode of NXT, which she lost.[28] Bliss had an altercation with Carmella backstage on April 29 episode of NXT. After being slapped, Bliss was consoled by
NXT Tag Team ChampionsBuddy MurphyandWesley Blake who were standing in the background.[29] On May 13 episode of NXT, Bliss landed a Sparkle Splash and defeated Carmella after Blake and Murphy set up a distraction.[30] On May 20 at
NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Bliss helped Blake and Murphy retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against
Colin CassadyandEnzo Amore, forming an
alliance with them and
turning into a
villainess character for the first time in her WWE career.[31] On May 27 airing of NXT, in a non-title tag team match against
Elias Samson and
Mike Rallis, Blake and Murphy were accompanied to the ring by Bliss, who has now changed the blue in her hair to red, as well as changed her ring attire to a red two-piece with matching name and markings to the Blake and Murphy ring gear. For this match Blake and Murphy won, and as an act of humiliation Bliss hit a Sparkle Splash to the incapacitated Elias.[32] With the effects of Takeover: Unstoppable still fresh, Bliss had a
singles match with Carmella on June 3 episode of NXT. Starting with this match, "Opposite Ends Of The World" would be the theme track that was also used for Bliss to make her entrances, and she was accompanied by Blake and Murphy, who remained ringside for the duration of this match. Bliss won this encounter by securing a
Roll-up and grabbing the second rope for additional leverage.[33][34] On July 29 episode of NXT, Bliss helped Blake and Murphy retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against
The Vaudevillains (
Aiden English and
Simon Gotch) and slapped both English and Gotch after the match.[35] The Vaudevillians were granted a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Championship against Blake and Murphy at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22, which they won after
Blue Pants stopped Bliss from providing a distraction during the match.[36] For this Takeover appearance, Bliss incorporated her signature skeleton gloves[37] for the very first time on air. The interruptions at Brooklyn led to a match between the two, where Bliss would go on to defeat Blue Pants in a singles match on September 2 episode of NXT.[38] For this match she added her signature hand gesture to her entrance that she went on to use extensively for the next five years.[39]
Throughout October and November, Bliss was involved in a
feud with Bayley over the NXT Women's Championship.[40][41] On November 18 episode of NXT, while
cutting a promo about her upcoming
main event match with Bayley, a referee came by to say that per
William Regal, Blake and Murphy would be banned from ringside for this match. When it came time for Alexa's entrance, a brand new theme track, "Spiteful" was introduced for the first time. Bliss was unsuccessful at capturing the title as Bayley slapped bliss, then hit a Bayley-to-Belly Suplex to retain.[42] On January 13, 2016, episode of NXT, Bliss competed in a number one contender's
battle royal, but lost.[43] On May 18 episode of NXT, Bliss and Blake abandoned Murphy, officially disbanding the trio.[44] On May 25 episode of NXT, Bliss competed in a
triple threat match against Carmella and
Nia Jax to determine the number one contender to
Asuka's NXT Women's Championship, which was won by Jax.[45] On July 6 episode of NXT, in a match against Bayley, Bliss debuted the Goddess ring attire.[46] The match ended when Bayley executed a Bayley-to-Belly Suplex and secured the pinfall victory.[47] On August 17 episode of NXT, Bliss competed in a
six-woman tag team match along with
Daria Berenato and
Mandy Rose, in which they were defeated by Carmella,
Liv Morgan and
Nikki Glencross in what would be also her last match in NXT.[48]
On September 13 episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss won a
fatal five-way match to earn a title match against Lynch at
No Mercy on October 9.[56] However, due to Lynch suffering a legitimate injury,[57] the match was rescheduled for the November 8 episode of SmackDown, where Lynch successfully defended the title against Bliss.[58] Bliss participated in the Raw vs. SmackDown Women's
elimination tag team match at
Survivor Series on November 20, where her team lost the match.[59] On December 4 at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Bliss defeated Lynch in a
tables match to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion.[60]
On the January 17, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss successfully defended her title against Lynch in a
steel cage match following an interference by the returning
Mickie James, who aligned herself with Bliss.[61] On February 12, Bliss
dropped the title to Naomi at
Elimination Chamber.[62] On February 21 episode of SmackDown Live, Bliss defeated Lynch to capture the title for the second time after Naomi was forced to vacate the title due to injury, becoming the first two-time SmackDown Women's Champion.[63] Bliss' partnership with Mickie James dissolved shortly after and the two would face off in a match on SmackDown Live, with James defeating Bliss.[64] On April 2, Bliss lost the title to Naomi in a six-pack challenge also involving Carmella, James, Lynch and Natalya at
WrestleMania 33.[65] Bliss and Naomi faced off in a rematch on April 4 episode of SmackDown Live, where Bliss was once again defeated.[66]
Raw Women's Champion (2017–2018)
On April 10, 2017, episode of Raw, Bliss was drafted to the
Raw brand as part of the
Superstar Shake-up, confronting
Raw Women's ChampionBayley.[67][68] A week later, Bliss won a
fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the title.[69] At
Payback, on April 30, Bliss defeated Bayley to become the new Raw Women's Champion, becoming the first woman to win the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships in the process.[70][71] In a rematch between the two, which took place on June 4 at
Extreme Rules, Bliss retained her title over Bayley in a
kendo stick-
on-a-pole match.[72] Bliss then started a feud with
Sasha Banks, whom she defeated on July 9 at
Great Balls of Fire via count-out[73] before losing the title to Banks on August 20 at
SummerSlam, ending her reign at 112 days. She regained the title eight days later on Raw.[74]
Bliss went on to defend her title on September 24 at
No Mercy in a fatal five-way match against Bayley,
Nia Jax,
Emma, and Sasha Banks.[75] Bliss was then confronted the following night on Raw by
Mickie James due to remarks Bliss made about her.[76] At
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Bliss defeated James to retain the title,[77] and did so again on October 30 episode of Raw.[78]
On February 25, 2018, at
Elimination Chamber, Bliss won the inaugural women's
elimination chamber match, after she successfully retained her title.[79][80] In parallel to her activities as a singles wrestler, she took a part of the
Mixed Match Challenge tournament with
Braun Strowman as her partner,[81] and the duo was able to qualify to the semi-finals of the tournament,[82][83] where they were defeated by the eventual winners
Asuka and
The Miz.[84] On April 8 at
WrestleMania 34, Bliss lost the title to Nia Jax, ending her reign at 223 days.[85] On May 6 at
Backlash, Bliss invoked her rematch clause and challenged Nia Jax for the title; however, she was unsuccessful and suffered a shoulder injury during the match.[86]
Shortly after losing the title, in mid-May, Bliss won a
triple threat match against Bayley and Mickie James to earn a spot at the
Money in the Bank ladder match,[87] which she would go on to win at the
event on June 17. That same night, Bliss cashed in her contract on Nia Jax and defeated her, after attacking both Jax and
Ronda Rousey, winning the Raw Women's Championship for a third time. This made her the first woman, and third wrestler overall, to cash in the Money in the Bank contract the same night after winning it.[88] At
Extreme Rules, Bliss retained the championship against Jax in the inaugural women's
extreme rules match, thereby ending their feud.[89] At
SummerSlam, on August 19, Bliss lost the championship to Ronda Rousey, ending her reign at 63 days.[90] She failed to regain the title in a rematch at
Hell in a Cell the following month.[91]
Limited in-ring competition and hosting roles (2018–2019)
In October, Bliss and Mickie James started a
feud with
WWE Hall of FamersTrish Stratus and
Lita,[92][93][94] which eventually led to the announcement of a tag team match between the two duos at
WWE Evolution, the first ever all women's pay-per-view.[95][96] Just three days before the event, however, on October 25, it was announced that Bliss was pulled off the match due to a concussion she suffered during her match with Ronda at Hell in a Cell[citation needed] and she was replaced by
Alicia Fox, however did get to accompany them to ringside.[97] During that time, it was also revealed that Bliss would be taking time off from in-ring competition to heal from various injuries that she had sustained.[98][99][100]
A few weeks later, Bliss was announced as the team captain of Team Raw in a non-wrestling role for the traditional interbrand women's five-on-five tag team elimination match at the
Survivor Series event, in which they were victorious.[101][102] The following night, on November 18 episode of Raw, Bliss was named the new head of the Raw women's division by Acting Raw General Manager
Baron Corbin.[103][104] In December, Bliss' role as well as those of other authority figures on Raw and SmackDown were removed after the
McMahon family announced they were taking charge again.[105]
In June, Bliss reignited her rivalry with Bayley after she won a
triple threat match to become the number one contender for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship at
Stomping Grounds,[116][117][118][119] where Bliss failed to win the title from Bayley.[120] Following the loss, in her first attempt at capturing the
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, Bliss teamed up with Nikki Cross to challenge
The IIconics (
Billie Kay and
Peyton Royce), during which Bliss and Cross were unsuccessful.[121][122] Bliss and Cross would challenge Bayley to a two-on-one handicap match at
Extreme Rules, where Bayley once again retained the championship by pinning Bliss.[123]
On August 5 episode of Raw, Bliss and Cross would win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship from The IIconics in a
fatal four-way tag team elimination match also involving
The Kabuki Warriors (
Asuka and
Kairi Sane), and
Fire and Desire (
Mandy Rose and
Sonya Deville).[124][125] Bliss and Cross retained their titles against Fire and Desire at
Clash of Champions.[126] At the
Hell in a Cell on October 6, they lost the titles to The Kabuki Warriors after Asuka spat
green mist in Cross' face, thus turning them
face in the process.[127] This would be Bliss' first time as a face on the main roster.[128] Although drafted separately instead of as a team during the
2019 Draft, Bliss and Cross remained on the
Rawbrand,[129] but the team was then traded to the
SmackDown brand.[130] At
Starrcade, Bliss and Cross competed in a fatal four-way tag team match for the Women's Tag Team Championship, but the match was won by defending champions The Kabuki Warriors.[131][132] At the
Royal Rumble on January 26, 2020, Bliss entered the namesake match at number 1, lasting 27 minutes and eliminating Kairi Sane,
Mia Yim, and
Chelsea Green, but was eliminated by
Bianca Belair.[133]
Leading up to
WrestleMania 36, Bliss and Cross reignited their feud with The Kabuki Warriors, as Bliss went on to defeat Asuka on March 27 episode of SmackDown to earn a match for the Women's Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania.[134] At the event, the duo defeated The Kabuki Warriors to win the titles for a second time, becoming the first multi-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.[135][136] On the following SmackDown, they defeated them again in a rematch for their titles,[137] and were subsequently challenged by Carmella and Dana Brooke, against whom they defended the titles on SmackDown two weeks later.[138] On May 18 episode of Raw, Bliss and Cross retained their titles against The IIconics via disqualification, after losing to them in a non-title match the week prior.[139] On June 6 episode of SmackDown, the duo lost their titles to the team of
Bayley and Sasha Banks, making their reign end at 62 days yet again.[140] At
Backlash, Bliss and Cross were unsuccessful in regaining their titles in a
triple threat tag team match also involving The IIconics, as Banks managed to roll up Bliss for the win.[141][142]
Alliance with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt (2020–2021)
At
The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, Bliss appeared during the cinematic match between
Braun Strowman and
Bray Wyatt.[143] Wyatt used Bliss' image as Strowman had an affection for her.[144] Bliss then became involved in the storyline between Strowman and Wyatt, as she was attacked by Wyatt's alter ego, The Fiend, on July 31 episode of SmackDown.[145] Bliss' involvement with The Fiend would continue in the coming months, with Bliss going into trance and using his finisher, Sister Abigail.[146][147]
As part of the
2020 Draft in October, both Bliss and The Fiend were drafted to the Raw brand.[148] On October 26 episode of Raw, while hosting A Moment of Bliss with special guest
Randy Orton, a feud was set off that involved The Fiend as well. During the opening of that segment, Bliss was also given a new ring entrance theme song "The Fury".[149] After the Fiend was written off television, Bliss then took over the feud with Orton, as she wanted him to face the repercussions of his actions at TLC.[150]
At
Royal Rumble, she competed in the Women's Royal Rumble match, entering at number 27, but was eliminated by
Rhea Ripley after about a minute in the ring.[151] From January to March 2021, Bliss' appearance continually shifted darker as she began to constantly interfere in Orton's matches.[152] This transformation ramped up for her scheduled intergender match against Orton at
Fastlane.[153] During the match, she attacked Orton with supernatural powers like making a lighting rig fall and almost land on him and launching a fireball at him. At the end, The Fiend made his return and attacked Orton, allowing Bliss to defeat Orton.[154] At
Wrestlemania 37, Bliss was in The Fiend's corner for his match with Orton, but eventually betrayed him by distracting him, allowing Orton to defeat him.[155] On the following Raw, Bliss declared that The Fiend was her mentor, but now she no longer needed him. She then introduced her new friend, a demonic looking doll named Lilly.[156]
Various feuds (2021–2024)
On May 31 episode of Raw, Bliss would begin a feud with
Shayna Baszler with Baszler claiming that Bliss was the reason why Baszler and Jax lost the WWE Women's Tag Team titles. A match between Baszler and Bliss would then be announced for
Hell in a Cell.[157] At the event, Bliss would defeat Baszler.[158] Throughout the month of June, Bliss would take on an ever increasingly darker appearance, and for the June 21 episode of Raw it was announced that Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross would be in a Money in the Bank Qualifier tag team match against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.[159] Bliss and Cross secured the victory after Cross pinned Baszler.[160] This was the first team win for Bliss and Cross since the May 12, 2020 Raw taping (May 18 airing).[161][162] On July 12 episode of Raw, Bliss would then begin a feud with
Eva Marie. A match between Bliss and Marie was announced at
SummerSlam on August 16 episode of Raw.[163] At the event, Bliss would defeat Marie.[164][165] At
Extreme Rules, Bliss failed to win the Raw Women's Championship from Charlotte Flair, and after the match, Flair would tear up Lilly.[166] At
Elimination Chamber, Bliss entered
contendership Elimination Chamber match for Raw Women's Championship; eliminating
Liv Morgan and then eliminated by
Bianca Belair.[167] On the May 9, 2022, episode of Raw, Bliss made her return by defeating
Sonya Deville after the latter's contract as a WWE official got terminated.[168] During a six-woman tag team match on the July 18 episode of Raw, Bliss won the
24/7 Championship for the first time by pinning
Nikki A.S.H. before immediately losing the title to
Doudrop.[169]
On the October 31 episode of Raw, Bliss and Asuka defeated
Damage CTRL (
Dakota Kai and
Iyo Sky) to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[170] In a rematch at
Crown Jewel, Bliss and Asuka lost the titles back to Kai and Sky due to an interference from
Nikki Cross.[171] At
Survivor Series WarGames, the team of Bliss, Belair, Asuka, Lynch, and
Mia Yim defeated the team of Damage CTRL (Kai, Sky, and Bayley), Cross, and Ripley in a
WarGames match.[172][173]
With the return of Bray Wyatt to WWE in late 2022, Bliss would begin to occasionally have backstage segments or in-ring moments interrupted by flickers of imagery connected to Wyatt and the related new Uncle Howdy character.[174][175] On the January 2, 2023, episode of Raw, during a match against Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair, Bliss would be distracted by crowd members wearing Uncle Howdy masks and flickers of Wyatt's imagery on the video screen. The content would cause her to snap and viciously attack both the referee and Belair, causing Bliss to lose via disqualification and Belair to retain the title.[176] A rematch between the two for the title was later scheduled for the
Royal Rumble.[177] At the event on January 28, Bliss failed to win the title.[178]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Bliss began her career using a
fairy gimmick, which saw her wearing a
cheerleading uniform and blowing
glitter during her entrance. In hindsight, she has spoken negatively about her early characterization and blamed her inexperience for creating it, noting that it was "a very unrelatable character" and "basically
Tinker Bell in a wrestling ring".[citation needed] The glitter also would stick to her and her opponents, and would be hard to remove, resulting in it being banned by WWE.[179] She eventually altered her gimmick to that of a cruel, calculating, unhinged, bullying
villain, taking inspiration from the comic book character
Harley Quinn in personality, and appearance.[180] This gimmick led to her breakthrough into the main event scene and turned her into one of the biggest female stars in WWE. Furthermore, she is known to sport ring gear inspired by
pop culture icons such as
Iron Man,
The Riddler, and
Freddy Krueger, among others.[181]
As her primary finisher, Bliss uses a diving
barani flip from the top rope dubbed Twisted Bliss, which originates from her background in gymnastics and was initially called the Sparkle Splash.[182] As an alternate finisher, she also employs a
snap DDT known as the Twisted DDT. During her alliance with
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, she adopted his finishing move, a swinging
reverse STO called Sister Abigail.[183]
On July 24, 2017, it was announced that Bliss would be joining the seventh season of Total Divas.[192] She is also a recurring guest on
Xavier Woods' YouTube channel UpUpDownDown, where she goes by the nickname Miss Bliss. In November 2019, she defeated
Cesaro,
Rusev, and
The Miz in the finals of a Brawlhalla tournament to win Cesaro's UpUpDownDown Championship, but she immediately lost the title to
Tyler Breeze in Saturday Night Slam Masters.[193]
In early 2020, Bliss appeared in the music video for a song by
Bowling for Soup, having previously cited them as her favorite band.[194]
On June 23, 2020, Bliss confirmed her long rumored WWE podcast,[195] which is titled Uncool with Alexa Bliss and debuted on September 22, 2020.[196]
In 2021, Bliss made a guest appearance on Punky Brewster as her wrestling persona alongside fellow professional wrestler
Charlotte Flair.[197]
Kaufman was previously engaged to fellow professional wrestler Matthew Adams, better known by the ring name Buddy Murphy, and now known by the name
Buddy Matthews.[202] They ended their engagement in 2018, but remained friends.[203] She had a pet pig named Larry-Steve, whom she shared with Adams,[204][205] but the pig died on May 25, 2021.[206]
^"WWE NXT Live". cagematch.net.
Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017. Bayley, Kendall Skye & Paige defeat Alexa Bliss, Emma & Sasha Banks