Arguably one of the most entertaining things about WWE right now has been the initially maligned WWE 24/7 Championship. While it’s still an atrociously ugly belt design (which, in hindsight, may have been the comedic point), its made R-Truth a star again, capturing all the YouTube views on WWE’s YouTube channel. But for the past few weeks, we’ve seen Drake Maverick go from searching for the 24/7 title to being full immersed in the title hunt. He’s currently a 2x WWE 24/7 Champion, having regained it this past Monday night on Raw, before jetting off on his honeymoon. He had previously held the belt but lost it at his wedding back to R-Truth. Throughout Drake’s quest to capture, lose, then regain the title, he’s had a sidekick in all of this – his real-life wife, Renee Michelle. But unbeknownst to many WWE Universe fans, Michelle is also a professional wrestler herself.
Renee Michelle actually got into professional wrestling quite unexpectedly. While attending her first indie event, she met with former WWE Superstar Gillberg, who suggested she try her hand in the ring. She had never considered pro wrestling, having grown up practicing Martial Arts. Originally trained by The Bruiser (RJ Meyer) and Tyler Hilton at MCW Pro’s wrestling school, she found work early with Maryland Championship Wrestling (now MCW Pro), debuting in 2013.
She became a regular with MCW, as well as East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) and the Samoan’s World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW). In 2015, she became the first woman student accepted for the Marvelous Dojo in Japan, where she continued her training under legendary joshi star Chigusa Nagayo of the Crush Girls. She made her debut with Shine Wrestling that same year, losing to Amanda Rodriguez at Shine 28.
Since then, she’s continued to expand her resume of promotions, including stints with Queens of Combat (QOC), New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), Women’s Wrestling Revolution (WWR), Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU), and more. In February of 2017, she received a WWE Tryout and was later announced as one of the entrants in the first annual Mae Young Classic. She lost in the first round to Candice LeRae.
She returned to the indies and was competing regularly until she tore her ACL last summer. This past January, she headed to Team Vision Dojo in Florida to begin training for a return to the ring. In April of this year, it was revealed that Renee Michelle had gotten engaged to her boyfriend, WWE Superstar Drake Maverick, and the two were recently married. And when you have two wrestlers getting married, in a room full of other wrestlers, you can expect a few shenanigans.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer recently reported that Renee Michelle was now an active performer for Raw going forward, so it looks like she won’t be leaving her husband’s side any time soon. Whether WWE eventually lets her wrestle in the women’s division – or possibly in Mixed Tag matches – is still to be determined, as it’s unclear the exact contract she has with the WWE (if any). But in the meantime, congratulations to the happy newlyweds and it appears they (Drake) are having fun on their honeymoon?
https://twitter.com/WWEMaverick/status/1146144693933236225
