Every Original WWE NXT Black & Gold Roster Member - Where Are They Now?

11. Aksana

Aksana Goldust
WWE

What was she doing at the time?

Aksana was managing her on-screen main squeeze Antonio Cesaro for his victory against Dante Dash, having wrestled hundreds of matches in FCW ahead of an introduction to WWE fans via the gameshow era of NXT. She'd been the FCW Divas Champion, but when the lights shone brightest, her wrestling was brought into disrepute thanks to the horrific presentation of just about everybody on the cursed NXT Season Three. That was 2010, and years later, the memories lingered longer than any she'd had the chance to make elsewhere in the system. Cesaro broke up with her months after this when she inadvertently cost him a SmackDown match, but she worked a whopping 150 more matches for WWE before her and the market leader also parted ways. 

What is she doing now?

As of 2026, a 2014 loss to Alicia Fox on SmackDown was Aksana's last bout. The real life Živilė Raudonienė seemingly happily left wrestling behind, working in the (slightly) less painful world of fitness as a trainer. 

Contributor
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live.