This past year WWE has been releasing dozens of wrestlers due to budgetary cuts and focusing on youth in NXT. Some of these talents have gone on to work for AEW, and now during the latest set of AEW Dark tapings, MMA fighter turned pro wrestler Marina Shafir has debuted for the promotion. The result of her match with Kris Statlander wasn’t revealed; however, it would be unusual for someone that is unsigned to beat a contracted talent.
Shafir, who is married to current NXT wrestler Roderick Strong was released from her WWE contract back in June and has since been competing on the independent circuit. Her run in WWE wasn’t particularly memorable as she didn’t feature much on television other than when aligned with Shayna Baszler and was mainly considered a prospect due to having an athletic background. Aged 33, she currently has less than 100 professional matches on her resume, so this match was likely a tryout, and how it went will likely dictate whether she becomes an AEW regular.
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