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Marina Shafir

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Marina Shafir
Shafir in 2022
Born (1988-04-14) April 14, 1988 (age 36)
Soroca, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Moldova)
NationalitySoviet (formerly)
Moldovan
Spouse
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1
Ring name(s)Marina Shafir
Billed height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Billed weight145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)
Billed fromMoldova
Trained byWWE Performance Center
Debut25 August 2018
Mixed martial arts career Martial arts career
DivisionFeatherweight (145 lb)
StyleJudo
Fighting out ofVenice, California
TeamGlendale Fighting Club
Years active2012–2016 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total3
Wins1
By submission1
Losses2
By knockout2
Amateur record
Total5
Wins5
By submission5
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Marina Shafir (Romanian: Marina Șafir; born 14 April 1988) is a Moldovan-born American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As a wrestler, she is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a member of Death Riders, a villainous stable formerly known as Blackpool Combat Club. Shafir formerly competed for MMA promotion Invicta Fighting Championships in the women's featherweight division. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed on their NXT brand and was the first and to date only Moldovan to ever compete for that promotion. Shafir also makes appearances on the independent circuit.

Early life

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Shafir moved from Moldova to the United States when she was five years old. Her father, a mechanic, and her mother, a teacher, settled in Latham, New York along with Marina and her two older brothers. Shafir began training judo when she was six years old and started competing at a high level in the sport when she was 12. However, she stopped competing in judo in her late teens. Shafir is a graduate of Shaker High School.[1]

Mixed martial arts career

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Shafir began her mixed martial career at an amateur level in 2012. In a two-year spell, she was unbeaten, winning all five of her matches by submission (four by armbar and one by arm-triangle choke). She turned professional in early 2014.

Shafir's first professional fight was against Chandra Engel on April 12, 2014, where she won by submission in the first round. Later that year, Shafir suffered her first-ever loss in a first-round defeat to Amanda Bell.[2] The following year, she signed with Invicta Fighting Championships.[3] Her first match in the Invicta promotion was against Amber Leibrock on July 9, 2015, which was Leibrock's first professional fight. Shafir was defeated in the first round.[4]

Professional wrestling career

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WWE (2018–2021)

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On 7 May 2018, WWE announced that Shafir, along with Jessamyn Duke, had signed with WWE and reported to their Performance Center for training.[5] On 28 October at WWE Evolution, Shafir and Duke made their WWE debuts as heels when they interfered during the NXT Women's Championship match, in which they helped Shayna Baszler regain the title over Kairi Sane.[6] They made another appearance at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, when they interfered during Baszler and Sane's two out of three falls match, in which Baszler scored the first fall and the victory in the latter to retain the title.[7] On the 19 December 2018 episode of NXT, Shafir and Duke made their NXT in ring debut, but were defeated by Io Shirai and Dakota Kai, when Shirai pinned Shafir after a moonsault.[8] At NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Shafir and Duke assisted Baszler in retaining the title against Bianca Belair.[9] In October 2019, Duke and Shafir were defeated by Kai and Tegan Nox in a number one contender's match for the Women's Tag Team Championship.[10] After several months of inactivity, Shafir returned to WWE TV on 17 August 2020, reuniting with Baszler and Duke, and winning a Raw Underground match. On 25 June 2021, Shafir was released from her WWE contract.[11]

Independent circuit (2021–present)

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On 22 October 2021, she debuted at Game Changer Wrestling's Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 7 where she defeated Masha Slamovich via submission.[12] On the 13 November 13 2021 episode (taped 7 October 2021) of UWN Primetime Live Championship Wrestling from Georgia, she defeated Nightmare Factory alum, Brooke Havok.[13] On 31 March 2022, she defeated Zeda Zhang via submission at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8.[14] On 30 March 2023, Shafir defeated Killer Kelly via submission at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 9.[15] On 4 April 2024, she competed in a four-women tournament at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport X. She defeated Janai Kai in the semi-finals via submission and Lindsay Snow in the finals via referee stoppage.[16] On 10 May 2024, at Defy Wrestling, she defeated Vert Vixen for the Defy Women's Championship at Here and Now.[17]

All Elite Wrestling (2021–present)

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Shafir with Jon Moxley in September 2024
Main article: Death Riders (professional wrestling)

On the 14 December 2021 episode of AEW Dark, Shafir made her All Elite Wrestling debut, where she was defeated by Kris Statlander. After going on a six-match winning streak, on the April 22, 2022 episode of AEW Rampage, Shafir challenged Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship in a losing effort. On June 8 on AEW Dynamite, Shafir faced Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women's World Championship which Shafir lost.[18] On the 20 June 2022 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation, Shafir teamed with Nyla Rose.[19] On the 9 August episode of AEW Dark, Vickie Guerrero, the manager of Rose, introduced Rose and Shafir as the Beasts of Burden.[20] On the September 19th episode of AEW Dark: Elevation, Shafir delivered the now infamous[according to whom?] "You know me... You don't know me" promo. On the 10 January 2023, episode of Dark, Shafir challenged Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship, but was unsuccessful.[21] On the August 28, 2024 episode of Dynamite, Shafir aligned herself with Jon Moxley. On September 7 at All Out, Shafir assisted Moxley's faction Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) in attacking Bryan Danielson, officially joining the group in the process. In November 2024, the BCC rebranded to the "Death Riders" a nod to Moxley's nickname in NJPW.[22]

Personal life

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Shafir is a close friend of Ronda Rousey, who trained with her at Glendale Fighting Club, and had a similar background in judo. They lived together for a number of years in Venice, California, along with Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke.[23]

In December 2015, Shafir got engaged to professional wrestler Christopher Lindsey, better known as Roderick Strong.[24] In 2017, Shafir gave birth to their first child.[25] The two were married on 7 November 2018.[26]

Shafir is Jewish.[27]

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
3 matches 1 win 2 losses
By knockout 0 2
By submission 1 0
By decision 0 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 1–2 Amber Leibrock TKO (punches) Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin July 9, 2015 1 0:37 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 1–1 Amanda Bell KO (punches) LOP Chaos at the Casino 5 August 10, 2014 1 0:37 Inglewood, California, United States
Win 1–0 Chandra Engel Submission (armbar) LOP Chaos at the Casino 4 April 12, 2014 1 1:57 Inglewood, California, United States
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 5–0 Nicole Upshaw Submission (armbar) U of MMA: Fight Night 5 February 9, 2014 1 1:53 Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 4–0 Tabitha Patterson Submission (arm-triangle choke) Tuff-N-Uff: Future Stars of MMA November 29, 2013 1 0:59 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 3–0 Danielle Mack Submission (armbar) Tuff-N-Uff: Mayhem in Mesquite 2 March 23, 2013 1 0:59 Mesquite, Nevada, United States
Win 2–0 Becky Lewis Submission (armbar) Premier FC 12: Premier Fighting Championship 12 November 17, 2012 1 2:03 Albany, New York, United States
Win 1–0 Denise Goddard Submission (armbar) Premier FC 9: Battle to the Belt May 20, 2012 1 0:44 Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Brii Combination Wrestling
    • BCW Heavyweight Championship (1, time)

References

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  1. ^ Boone, Amber (7 July 2015). "Invicta FC 13's Marina Shafir: 'The World Owes Me Nothing; It Was Here First'". Combat Press. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Video: Marina Shafir suffers upset KO loss to Amanda Bell". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. ^ Doyle, Dave (1 April 2015). "Marina Shafir signs with Invicta FC". mmafighting.com.
  4. ^ "Marina Shafir knocked out by Amber Leibrock in 37 seconds at Invicta FC 13". mmafighting.com. 1 April 2015.
  5. ^ Clapp, John (7 May 2018). "Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, Four Horsewomen teammates of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, report to WWE PC". WWE.
  6. ^ Benigno, Anthony (28 October 2018). "Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane to become the new NXT Women's Champion". WWE. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  7. ^ Trionfo, Richard (17 November 2018). "BLACK VERSUS GARGANO: LIVE ONGOING WWE NXT TAKEOVER WAR GAMES II COVERAGE". PWInsider.
  8. ^ "WWE NXT: Dec. 19, 2018". WWE.
  9. ^ Winter, Arya (26 January 2019). "NXT TakeOver Phoenix live results: Four title matches". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Wrestling.
  10. ^ "WWE NXT: Oct. 23, 2019". WWE.
  11. ^ "Complete List Of Today'S Wwe Releases". PWInsider. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 7 results: Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  13. ^ Williams, Mel (8 October 2021). "NESE, DAIVARI, SHAFIR, CREED, SHAPIRO & MORE: QUICK 10/7 CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM ATLANTA RESULTS". PWInsider. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  14. ^ Wells, Kelly (31 March 2022). "3/31 JOSH BARNETT'S BLOODSPORT 8 RESULTS: Wells's Report on GCW Collective Show featuring Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson, Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  15. ^ Siino, John (30 March 2023). "GCW Bloodsport 9 Report: Ibushi vs. Speedball, Moxley vs. Coughlin". PostWrestling. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  16. ^ Knipper, Justin (4 April 2024). "Josh Barnett's Bloodsport X live results: Shayna Baszler vs. Masha Slamovich". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  17. ^ a b Lee, Joseph (11 May 2024). "DEFY Here and Now Results: Swerve Strickland Makes Surprise Appearance". 411Mania. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  18. ^ "AEW Dynamite June 8 2022 Results". All Elite Wrestling. 9 June 2022.
  19. ^ Defelice, Robert (20 June 2022). "AEW Dark: Elevation Stream And Results (6/20): Andrade El Idolo, Ruby Soho, Nyla Rose, More Compete". Fightful. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  20. ^ Collins, Joseph (9 August 2022). "AEW Dark results: Orange Cassidy vs. Anthony Henry". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Wrestling. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  21. ^ Russell, Skylar (10 January 2023). "AEW Dark results: Athena vs. Marina Shafir ROH Women's title match". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Wrestling. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  22. ^ Rueter, Sean (6 November 2024). "The Blackpool Combat Club officially have a new name". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  23. ^ Gordon, Grant (28 November 2013). "The MMA journey of Marina Shafir". Glendale News-Press. Los Angeles Times.
  24. ^ Meltzer, Dave (25 December 2015). "Daily Update: Poll for McGregor's next foe, Trish Stratus to get award". Wrestling Observer Newsletter/Figure Four Wrestling. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  25. ^ "Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir welcome son into the world". WWE. 24 April 2017.
  26. ^ "Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir get married". WWE. 8 November 2018.
  27. ^ Fine, Jeremy (24 September 2013). "An Interview with MMA Fighter Marina Shafir". Oy!Chicago. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
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