LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 09: Alexa Bliss attends the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on October 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images For dcp)The WWE wasn’t originally on Lexi Kaufman’s radar growing up, but she’s made quite the career for herself.
Kaufman, who is better known as Alexa Bliss, has been such a great asset for the WWE. She was the second-ever Triple Crown Champion in the women’s division, and at 29 years old it’s fair to wonder how much better she can get.
Half the battle when it comes to sports entertainment is having the charisma to captivate your audience. That clearly isn’t a problem for Kaufman, who might just have a career as a talk show host when she retires from wrestling.
With that being said, let’s dive in and learn more about Kaufman’s background and path to the WWE.
What did Lexi Kaufman do before becoming a wrestler?
Wrestling fans quickly noticed how athletic Kaufman was the moment she began her career with the WWE due to her ability to jump off the top rope and perform sunset flips with ease. Well, it turns out she can thank her background in gymnastics for that.
Kaufman competed in track, kickboxing, softball and gymnastics back at Hilliard Davidson High School. She then went on to become a Division I cheerleader for the University of Akron.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
When did Lexi Kaufman join the WWE and become Alexa Bliss?
Despite not having prior wrestling training, Lexi Kaufman signed a developmental deal with the WWE in May of 2013. It’s safe to say that was a smart decision by Vince McMahon and Triple H because Kauffman was been such a great addition to their women’s division.
Kaufman made her NXT debut on May 8, 2014 under the ring name ‘Alexa Bliss.’ She immediately grabbed everyone’s attention by upsetting Alicia Fox in a singles match. Following a couple of years of hard work at the NXT level, Bliss was elevated to the WWE’s main roster on July 26, 2016.
Bliss put the entire women’s division on notice by picking up her first victory on SmackDown against Becky Lynch, who is arguably the top wrestler the WWE has to offer. Clearly she has Lynch’s number, as she was able to defeat Lynch in a tables match at TLC to become SmackDown Women’s Champion back in December of 2016.
In 2017, Bliss was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the WWE’s “Superstar Shake-up.” After spending a week on Raw, she earned a title shot against Bayley. Not only did she capture the Raw Women’s Championship just 20 days after joining the brand, she held the title for 112 days.
Unfortunately there was some bumps in the road for Bliss, as she missed an extended period of time in 2018 due to multiple injuries.
Why did Alexa Bliss miss time in 2018?
Bliss suffered a concussion during a match with Ronda Rousey at Hell in a Cell. The injury was serious enough to keep her out of the ring for nearly five months. She provided some details on her concussion and the symptoms she dealt with during that time.
“I was experiencing really bad vertigo for an extended period of time, and all my other symptoms were gone,” Bliss said, via Essentially Sports. “But if I had changed height levels, I would get extremely dizzy. It didn’t go away for a really really long time.”
There was some internal fear that Bliss would fall out of the picture in the women’s division due to her hiatus, but the WWE kept her on screen by allowing her to host WrestleMania 35 and host her own mini show called A Moment of Bliss.
After getting cleared to compete in the ring, Bliss formed an alliance with Nikki Cross, who is one of the most extreme competitors in the WWE. Together they captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating The IIconics on Raw in August of 2019.
Once the tag team of Bliss and Cross ran its course, the WWE decided to pair ‘Little Miss Bliss’ with Bray Wyatt. It was a leap of faith from the company’s creative team, but so far the fan base has been thrilled with this pairing.
Wyatt has adopted an alter ego called ‘The Fiend,’ so now everyone is waiting to see if Bliss will follow in his footsteps and go down a dark, twisted path.
One thing is for sure, Bliss has the support from the WWE universe to pursue a new story arc.
How many followers does Alexa Bliss have on social media?
As mentioned before, Bliss is easily considered one of the top performers in the women’s division. Her skills on the mic are second to none, and WWE fans love her ability to play a heel.
Since she’s developed such a large fan base over the past few years, it makes sense that Bliss currently has over 4.9 million followers on Instagram. On Twitter, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion has 1.4 million followers.
Bliss doesn’t just post WWE content on her social media accounts, she gives fans an inside look at her passion for Disney. Let’s just say she’s taken a few trips to Walt Disney World over the past couple of years.
Another thing that fans will quickly notice is that Bliss isn’t afraid to open up about her relationship status on social media.
Is Alexa Bliss dating anyone right now?
Believe it or not, Bliss used to be engaged to WWE star Buddy Murphy. However, they called off their engagement in 2018.
Despite going their separate ways, it appears that Bliss and Murphy remain friends. As for her current dating life, the five-time champion is now in a relationship with singer Ryan Cabrera.
During the second week of November, Bliss posted a picture of Cabrera with the following caption: “I met this guy with gold glitter shoes and aggressive hair one year ago today at a show at Epcot. Not thinking I’d see or hang out with him again, so glad we decided to be in each other’s lives. My best friend who was super patient with me and turned into the love of my life happy one year of knowing me!”
Judging off Bliss’ social media activity, she seems to be really happy with Cabrera. Now all that she needs to make 2020 a special year is to reclaim the Raw Women’s Championship.
Wrestling fans can watch Bliss on Raw every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
