Tay Melo
| Taynara Conti | |
|---|---|
 Conti at WrestleMania 34 in April 2018 | |
| Birth name | Taynara Melo de Carvalho[1] |
| Born | June 9, 1995[citation needed] Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Spouse(s) |
Jorge Conti (m. 2017) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Taynara Conti[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Billed weight | 126 lb (57 kg) |
| Billed from | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[2] |
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center[1] |
| Debut | April 1, 2017[3] |
Taynara Melo de Carvalho (born June 9, 1995) is a Brazilian professional wrestler and former judoka. She is signed to WWE, where she performs in their developmental territory NXT under the ring name Taynara Conti. She is first female wrestler of Brazil to join WWE.
Early life
Melo holds a black belt in judo and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and participated in trials for the Brazilian Olympic team at the 2016 Summer Olympics prior to joining WWE.[1][2] Taynara is also the first Brazilian woman to join WWE.[2][failed verification]
Melo began in the artistic gymnastics in CR Vasco da Gama, but soon migrated to the martial arts. First, Melo fought for the project "Brasil vale ouro" (Brazil is worth gold) and later went to "Instituto Reação", by judoka Flávio Canto. Melo was a regional champion and four-time state champion. In addition, she was a four-time Brazilian runner-up. She joined the Brazilian team and participated in the European circuit in Portugal and Germany.[4]
Professional wrestling career
WWE
NXT (2016–present)
Melo was announced as having signed with WWE and reported to the WWE Performance Center in October 2016.[1] She made her professional wrestling debut at WrestleMania Axxess in Orlando, Florida on April 1, 2017, competing and being defeated by Sarah Bridges.[5] The following months, she began to wrestle regularly at house shows under the ring name Taynara Conti. Conti participated in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, being eliminated in the first round by Lacey Evans.[6] On the October 11 episode of NXT, Conti interfered in a triple threat match between Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce and Liv Morgan on behalf of The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly), preventing Nikki Cross from winning.[7] On the November 1 episode of NXT, Conti competed in her first televised singles match losing to Nikki Cross. At WrestleMania 34, Conti made her first main roster appearance, competing in the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal where she was eliminated by The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, and Ruby Riott). She became to be the first Brazilian wrestler, male or female, to be in a match at WrestleMania.[citation needed] On the August 8 edition of NXT, Taynara defeated Vanessa Borne to qualify for 2018 Mae Young Classic. At the Mae Young Classic, Taynara defeat Jessie Elaban in the first round but lost to Lacey Lane in the second round.
References
- ^ a b c d "WWE Performance Center welcomes new class of recruits". WWE. October 25, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Taynara Conti". WWE. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
- ^ "Taynara Conti". Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ "Ex-atleta da seleção brasileira troca judô pela luta-livre e vira estrela nos EUA". Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Atualizado (02/04): Resultados dos combates realizados na WrestleMania Axxess". Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "WWE Mae Young Classic episode four results: Kairi Sane debuts". 31 August 2017.
- ^ "WWE NXT: Oct. 11, 2017". WWE. October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
External links
