On March 14, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported for PWInsider.com that Ring of Honor alumna, and former Ring of Honor World Women’s Champion Rok-C had signed with WWE, reporting to developmental brand NXT.
WWE themselves has offered no confirmation of the signing, as of yet, but PWInsider’s report has caught the trade winds, to be sure, in the pro wrestling industry. The idea of Rok-C ending up in WWE was first introduced by her mentor, Booker T. In February 2022, during a podcast appearance, Booker T namechecked his former Reality of Wrestling talent as having been signed to WWE after participating in a tryout. Although Dave Meltzer reported the news as well, Booker T later rescinded the bulletin with a tweet clarifying that Rok-C hadn’t been signed to WWE at that time.
Rok-C Reportedly Inks Deal With WWE
Background
Real name Carla Gonzalez, Rok-C began training with Reality of Wrestling at 13, and eventually became a Diamonds Division titleholder for ROW. She lost this title on December 19, 2020. In 2021, she began appearing for the now-defunct promotion Ring of Honor. On July 11, 2021, she competed in the Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship tournament. She defeated Miranda Alize in the finals to become the inaugural ROH Women’s World Champion, as well as the youngest female champion in Ring of Honor’s company history.
At Ring of Honor’s final pay-per-view event, Final Battle, after retaining the ROH Women’s World Championship, Rok-C was confronted by the former IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champion and current AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purazzo, who challenged her to a winner takes all match to take place on IMPACT turf. Rok-C appeared at the January 8 2022 PPV, Hard to Kill, wherein “The Virtuosa” failed to take back the Knockouts title from Mickie James. On January 13, the winner takes all bout Purazzo had proposed took place, with her claiming Rok-C’s ROH World Women’s title and retaining the Reina de Reinas title, as well.
Looking Ahead
Although WWE has not confirmed the signing, Rok-C would make an exciting competitor on the NXT 2.0 brand if, in fact, she is bound for it. Despite various lineup changes following the brand’s late 2021 rebrand, its women’s division is still one of its most exciting facets. It would be equally intriguing to see her face off against savvy veterans like Io Shirai as it would be to see her pitted against another young phenom on the rise like herself, Cora Jade.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
