It was announced on the AEW Dynamite pre-show that Thunder Rosa, who was set for her AEW in-ring debut, would face another new face to AEW in the longtime indie wrestler, former WWE developmental wrestler, and Straight Edge Society member, Serena Deeb.
TONIGHT #AEWDynamite is LIVE this Wednesday at 8/7c on @tntdrama!
*Just Signed* @NWA Women’s World Champion @thunderrosa22 Thunder Rosa will face @SerenaDeebDon't miss a minute of the action tonight! We are on the Road to #AEWAllOut LIVE on Pay Per View this Sat, 9/5 at 8/7c pic.twitter.com/McijEQkLTR
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 2, 2020
A wrestler/trainer for parts of the last 15 years, Serena Deeb began her career training with the OVW Wrestling School and coaches including Terry Taylor, Al Snow, Rip Rogers, Les Thatcher, Lance Storm, and others, in 2005. A fan of professional wrestling since she was young, Deeb was just 18 when she spent her own money to relocate to Kentucky in order to train at the school. In November 2005, Deeb made her in-ring debut, and in February 2006, she picked up her first victory, coming against Shelly Martinez. Becoming a main fixture in OVW that year, Deeb also began to wrestle elsewhere, most notably SHIMMER, where she took part in some of the promotion’s earliest matches.
Meanwhile, in OVW, Serena Deeb quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the women’s champion in October 2006 and just the second-ever women’s champion in the promotion’s history. She only held the title for about a month in her first reign, but she wasn’t done after one. Over the course of her four-plus years with OVW, Deeb would win the title a total of six times, which stood as the most ever for three years, at which point Lady JoJo passed her. But at the time of Deeb’s sixth title win, she was the most dominant women’s wrestler in OVW history and is still among the top-five in terms of total titles won.
Continuing to wrestle for SHIMMER until 2013, Serena Deeb also picked up bookings for Ring of Honor, TNA, NWA and more. In 2009, after moving from OVW to Florida Championship Wrestling, Deeb finally made her WWE debut in a backstage segment. Shortly after, it was confirmed that she had signed a contract with the promotion. Deeb remained in FCW until 2010, making her WWE in-ring debut that year as a member of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society. As part of her initiation with the group, Deeb shaved her head, something that she later said in interviews, “ended up being really, really great for my career.”
Serena Deeb remained with SES through August 2010, though she would only have one official televised match with the group and subsequently with WWE. She was released that summer, reportedly for failing to live out the straight edge persona in her real-life. This led to Deeb returning to SHIMMER the following year, where she wrestled a career-high eight matches with the company. Deeb also made her ROH and TNA returns in 2011 as well. Suffering a serious concussion that Fall, Deeb took an indefinite hiatus away from wrestling, not returning to the indies until 18 months later, at which point she began wrestling regularly for Wrestling New Classic. Deeb remained on the indies until 2015, wrestling for SHINE, World Wrestling Network, Queens of Combat and more.
In 2015, Serena Deeb seemingly retired from wrestling after a 10-year career. Though, she shocked many when in 2017, she returned to WWE, taking part in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. Deeb made it to the second round, in the process, winning her first match in five years. Deeb, now a trainer and who had been working as a coach in WWE’s Performance Center up until she was released during the COVID-19 cuts, hasn’t wrestled since 2017. Wednesday on AEW will be her return to the ring for the first time in three years.
Programming note: The September 16th episode of AEW Dynamite will air on September 17th instead due to TNT airing the NBA playoffs. Make sure to set your DVR in order not to miss any of the action!
Stay tuned to 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 catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW DARK Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on YouTube. All Out airs on PPV on September 5th.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
