Tiffany Stratton
American professional wrestler (born 1999) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jessica Woynilko (born May 1, 1999)[1] is an American professional wrestler and former gymnast. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Tiffany Stratton and is the current WWE Women's Champion in her first reign. She is also a former one-time NXT Women's Champion and a former holder of the Women's Money in the Bank contract.
| Tiffany Stratton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Stratton in 2024. | |
| Birth name | Jessica Woynilko[1] |
| Born | May 1, 1999[1] Prior Lake, Minnesota, U.S.[1] |
| Alma mater | St. Catherine University |
| Partner | Ludwig Kaiser (2022–present) [1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Tiffany Stratton[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 143 lb (65 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Prior Lake, Minnesota[2] |
| Trained by | |
| Debut | November 16, 2021[3] |
After winning weightlifting and bodybuilding championships, Woynilko's parents wanted her to become a professional wrestler and had her trained by Greg Gagne. She signed with WWE in August 2021 and debuted in November, taking on a gimmick of a spoiled rich girl. While in the developmental brand NXT, she won the NXT Women's Championship once. She was then promoted to the main roster on SmackDown in February 2024.
Early years
Jessica Woynilko was born on May 1, 1999 in Prior Lake, Minnesota.[7] She graduated from St. Catherine University. She practiced trampoline gymnastics for several years.[7] Before trying out with WWE, Woynilko's mother contacted Greg Gagne, a former wrestler best known for his time at American Wrestling Association (AWA), to train Woynilko.[5]
Professional wrestling career
Summarize
Perspective
WWE
NXT (2021–2024)
On August 30, 2021, Woynilko was the only woman announced in a new group of recruits who would be training at the WWE Performance Center.[8] During a taping of the November 16 episode of 205 Live, she made her professional wrestling debut under the ring name Tiffany Stratton, defeating Amari Miller.[9] On December 28, she debuted as a heel on WWE's developmental brand, NXT, with a spoiled rich girl gimmick, defeating Fallon Henley.[10] In March 2022, Stratton began a feud with Sarray, attacking her for rejecting her offer to replace her grandmother's necklace with one that she would give to her.[11] Sarray responded by costing Stratton her matches against Henley and Ivy Nile,[12][13] leading to a match between the two on the April 19 episode of NXT which Stratton won.[14] On May 24, she replaced the injured Nikkita Lyons in the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament, defeating Henley in the semifinals before losing in the finals to Roxanne Perez.[15][16] In June, Stratton feuded with Wendy Choo, whom she defeated at NXT: The Great American Bash on July 5[17][18][19] but lost to her in a lights out match on the August 23 episode of NXT, during which she suffered a head injury that took her out of action.[20][21]
Stratton returned on January 10, 2023, at NXT: New Year's Evil and dropped the 'daddy's girl' part of her gimmick.[22] On the March 21 episode of NXT, Stratton defeated Indi Hartwell to qualify for a ladder match for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 1, but failed to win the title.[23][24] Stratton then took part in an eight-woman single-elimination tournament, in which she defeated Gigi Dolin in the quarterfinals,[25] Roxanne Perez in the semi-finals,[26] and Lyra Valkyria in the finals at NXT Battleground on May 28 to win the NXT Women's Championship, marking her first title in her career.[27] On June 27, at NXT: Gold Rush, Stratton made her first successful title defense against Chase University's Thea Hail. During the match, Hail submitted Stratton, however, the referee was distracted by Drew Gulak, before Stratton ultimately won the match.[28] At NXT The Great American Bash on July 30, Stratton again retained the title against Hail in a submission match, after Andre Chase threw in the towel when Stratton locked Hail in a submission.[29][30] On the September 12 episode of NXT, Stratton lost the title to Becky Lynch, ending her reign at 107 days.[31] She failed to regain the title from Lynch in an Extreme Rules match at NXT No Mercy on September 30.[32] On December 9, she competed in the women's Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline, which was won by Blair Davenport.[33]
At NXT: New Year's Evil on January 2, 2024, Stratton lost to Fallon Henley in a "ranch hand or servant for a day" match, thus she had to work on Henley's ranch for a day during the following week.[34][35] This would mark Stratton's final NXT appearance. On January 27, at Royal Rumble, she entered the women's Royal Rumble match at number 29, eliminating Roxanne Perez before being eliminated by the eventual winner Bayley.[36]
WWE Women's Champion (2024–present)
On the February 2 episode of SmackDown, Stratton officially signed with the SmackDown brand.[37] She defeated Zelina Vega on the February 16 episode of SmackDown to qualify for the women's Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber: Perth on February 24,[38] where she eliminated Naomi before being eliminated by Liv Morgan.[39] At Backlash France on May 4, she failed to win the WWE Women’s Championship from Bayley in a triple threat match also involving Naomi.[40] She then formed an alliance with Queen of the Ring winner and WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax.[41][42] On July 6, Stratton won the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match at the namesake event.[43] At Survivor Series WarGames on November 30, Stratton participated in her first WarGames match alongside Jax, Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Candice LeRae but lost to Naomi, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky.[44]
On the January 3, 2025 episode of SmackDown, after assisting Jax in her title defense against Naomi, Stratton turned on Jax and LeRae and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Jax to win the WWE Women's Championship, turning into a tweener in the process.[45] She made her first successful title defense against Bayley on the January 17 episode of SmackDown.[46] On the February 14 episode of SmackDown, Stratton defended her title against Jax, but the match ended in a disqualification victory for Stratton after interference from LeRae. She was then attacked by Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair, who challenged her for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 41, fully turning Stratton face for the first time in her career.[47][48] At Elimination Chamber: Toronto on March 1, Stratton and Trish Stratus defeated Jax and LeRae.[49] On Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 on April 19, Stratton defeated Flair to retain the title.[50]
Professional wrestling style and persona
With her trampoline gymnastics background, Woynilko uses a variation of the triple jump moonsault using the ropes, called the "Prettiest Moonsault Ever", as her finishing maneuver.[51] Her wrestling persona is inspired by Paris Hilton and the character of Sharpay Evans from the movie High School Musical.[52][53]
Other media
Personal life
Woynilko cites Charlotte Flair as her inspiration for becoming a professional wrestler.[57] Woynilko has been in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Marcel Barthel, better known as Ludwig Kaiser, since 2022.[58]
Championships and accomplishments
Gymnastics
| Event | Date | Location | Place and Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Winter Classic | February 20, 2016 | Battle Creek, Michigan | 2nd-DM[59] (Open) |
| 2016 Elite Challenge | May 7, 2016 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 4th-TR[60] (Open); 5th-DM[61] |
| 2016 USA Gymnastics Championships | June 12, 2016 | Providence, Rhode Island | 7th-TR (Open); 3rd-DM[62] |
| 2017 Winter Classic | February 25, 2017 | Battle Creek, Michigan | 7th-DM[63] |
| 2017 Elite Challenge | May 20, 2017 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 7th-TR[64] (Open) |
Professional wrestling
.jpg)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 25 of the top 250 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Women's 250 in 2023[65]
- Women's Wrestling Fan Awards
- Breakout Star of the Year (2023)[66]
- WWE
- WWE Women's Championship (1 time, current)
- NXT Women's Championship (1 time)[67]
- Women's Money in the Bank (2024)
- NXT Women's Championship Tournament (2023)[27]
- NXT Year-End Award
- Slammy Award (1 time)
- NXT Superstar of the Year (2024)
References
External links
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