NXT Women's Breakout Tournament Announced, First Participants Named
Daughter of ex-WWE wrestler Santino Marella gets name change, tapped for tourney.
After running two tournaments for up-and-coming male superstars, NXT announced on Tuesday its first Women's Breakout Tournament, naming three competitors to the tourney, which is scheduled to begin in two weeks.
NXT's Breakout Tournament is exactly what it sounds like: an opportunity for some largely unknown (on WWE programming, at least) wrestlers to compete for a contract for any title of their choosing. The previous two tourneys have been used to introduce new superstars into the NXT fold.
This inaugural women's tournament will feature at least one wrestler who might not be known, but her father certainly will be recognizable. Arianna Grace, formerly Bianca Carelli, is the daughter of former WWE superstar Santino Marella. Her intro video did not reference her lineage, which probably is a good idea considering that Santino was a comedy guy during his run with the company.
.@AriannaGraceWwe is prepared to throw caution to the wind in the #WWENXT Women's Breakout Tournament! pic.twitter.com/q17JQsxMhz
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 27, 2022
Kiana James was portrayed as a businesswoman, allowing her to take her glasses off seductively in the video. She's had a handful of matches on NXT 2.0 and NXT LvL Up, and a few bouts for AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation last year. Sloane Jacobs was the youngest of the three announced Tuesday, but the 19-year-old has by far the biggest resumé, with more than 50 matches to her name before joining NXT 2.0.
The 2021 Breakout Tournament winner, Carmelo Hayes, cashed in his contract to capture the North American Championship, which he held until Stand and Deliver earlier this month. Hayes has been one of the brand's biggest stars since its reboot, and others in that tournament -- Andre Chase, Joe Gacy, Duke Hudson and Ikemen Jiro -- all have played prominent roles on NXT 2.0.