Jessica Lynn Woynilko (born May 1, 1999) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and former

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. She is signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, where she performs on the

SmackDown brand SmackDown is a WWE brand extension, brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand ex ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Tiffany Stratton and is the current WWE Women's Champion in her first reign. She is also a former one-time NXT Women's Champion and a former holder of the Women's Money in the Bank contract. After winning weightlifting and bodybuilding championships, Woynilko's parents wanted her to become a professional wrestler and had her trained by Greg Gagne. She signed with WWE in August 2021 and debuted in November, taking on a

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

of a spoiled rich girl. While in the

developmental brand In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

NXT, she won the NXT Women's Championship once. She was then promoted to the main roster on SmackDown in February 2024.

Early years

Jessica Woynilko was born on May 1, 1999 in

Prior Lake, Minnesota Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis, next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city is south of the Minnesota River in an area k ...

. She graduated from

St. Catherine University St. Catherine University (St. Kate's) is a private Catholic university in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was established as one of the first institutions of higher learning specifically for women in the Midwest and was known as the College of St. C ...

. She practiced

trampoline gymnastics Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more co ...

for several years. Woynilko's parents wanted her to pursue a career in professional wrestling, so her mother contacted Greg Gagne, a former wrestler best known for his time at

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

(AWA), to train Woynilko prior to joining WWE.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

NXT and NXT Women's Champion (2021–2024)

On August 30, 2021, Woynilko was the only woman announced in a new group of recruits who would be training at the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

. During a taping of the November 16 episode of '' 205 Live'', she made her professional wrestling debut under the ring name Tiffany Stratton, defeating Amari Miller. On December 28, she debuted as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

, NXT, with a spoiled rich girl gimmick, defeating Fallon Henley. In March 2022, Stratton began a

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with Sarray, attacking her for rejecting her offer to replace her grandmother's necklace with one that she would give to her. Sarray responded by costing Stratton her matches against Henley and Ivy Nile, leading to a match between the two on the April 19 episode of ''NXT'' which Stratton won. On May 24, she replaced the injured Nikkita Lyons in the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament, defeating Henley in the semifinals before losing in the finals to Roxanne Perez. In June, Stratton feuded with Wendy Choo, whom she defeated at ''NXT'': The Great American Bash on July 5 but lost to her in a lights out match on the August 23 episode of ''NXT'', during which she suffered a head injury that took her out of action. Stratton returned on January 10, 2023, at ''NXT'': New Year's Evil and dropped the 'daddy's girl' part of her gimmick. On the March 21 episode of ''NXT'', Stratton defeated Indi Hartwell to qualify for a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

for the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Jacy Jayne, who is in her fi ...

at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 1, but failed to win the title. Stratton then took part in an eight-woman

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

, in which she defeated Gigi Dolin in the quarterfinals, Roxanne Perez in the semi-finals, and

Lyra Valkyria Aoife Cusack (born 23 October 1996) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. She is a former one-time and the inaugural W ...

in the finals at NXT Battleground on May 28 to win the NXT Women's Championship, marking her first title in her career. On June 27, at ''NXT'': Gold Rush, Stratton made her first successful title defense against Chase University's Thea Hail. During the match, Hail submitted Stratton, however, the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

was distracted by

Drew Gulak Drew Gulak (born April 28, 1987) is an American professional wrestler currently performing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a former one-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion and eight-time WWE 24/7 Ch ...

, before Stratton ultimately won the match. At NXT The Great American Bash on July 30, Stratton again retained the title against Hail in a submission match, after Andre Chase threw in the towel when Stratton locked Hail in a submission. On the September 12 episode of ''NXT'', Stratton lost the title to

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987), better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion in her ...

, ending her reign at 107 days. She failed to regain the title from Lynch in an Extreme Rules match at NXT No Mercy on September 30. On December 9, she competed in the women's Iron Survivor Challenge at

NXT Deadline Deadline (stylized as DEADL1NE) is a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2022, it is held annually in December for the promotion's developmental brand, ...

, which was won by Blair Davenport. At ''NXT'': New Year's Evil on January 2, 2024, Stratton lost to Fallon Henley in a "ranch hand or servant for a day" match, thus she had to work on Henley's ranch for a day during the following week. This would mark Stratton's final NXT appearance. On January 27, at

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

, she entered the women's

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

at number 29, eliminating Roxanne Perez before being eliminated by the eventual winner Bayley.

Smackdown and WWE Women's Champion (2024–present)

On the February 2 episode of '' SmackDown'', Stratton officially signed with the SmackDown brand. She defeated

Zelina Vega Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Zelina Vega and is the current Women's United States Champion in he ...

on the February 16 episode of ''SmackDown'' to qualify for the women's Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber: Perth on February 24, where she eliminated Naomi before being eliminated by Liv Morgan. At Backlash France on May 4, she failed to win the WWE Women’s Championship from Bayley in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

also involving Naomi. She then formed an alliance with Queen of the Ring winner and WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax. On July 6, Stratton won the women’s

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...

at the namesake event. At

Survivor Series WarGames Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, ...

on November 30, Stratton participated in her first

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of four or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not have a roof, de ...

alongside Jax, Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Candice LeRae but lost to Naomi, Bayley,

Bianca Belair Bianca Nicole Crawford (née Blair; born April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and fitness and figure competitor. she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under t ...

Rhea Ripley Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. As of July 2017, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley. She is a List of Women ...

and Iyo Sky. On the January 3, 2025 episode of ''SmackDown'', after assisting Jax in her title defense against Naomi, Stratton turned on Jax and LeRae and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Jax to win the WWE Women's Championship, becoming a tweener in the process. She made her first successful title defense against Bayley on the January 17 episode of ''SmackDown''. On the February 14 episode of ''SmackDown'', Stratton defended her title against Jax, but the match ended in a disqualification victory for Stratton after interference from LeRae. She was then attacked by Royal Rumble winner

Charlotte Flair Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. Flair is a second-generation professional wrestler, being t ...

, who challenged her for the WWE Women's Championship at

WrestleMania 41 WrestleMania 41, also promoted as WrestleMania Vegas, was a 2025 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 41st annual WrestleMania and to ...

, fully turning Stratton

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

for the first time in her career. At Elimination Chamber: Toronto on March 1, Stratton and

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975), better known by the ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, yoga instructor, actress and former fitness model. She is signed to WWE. An inductee of the 2013 WWE Hall ...

defeated Jax and LeRae. On Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 on April 19, Stratton defeated Flair to retain the title. On the May 16 episode of ''SmackDown'', Stratton defeated Jax in a rematch to retain her title and end their feud.

Professional wrestling style and persona

With her trampoline gymnastics background, Woynilko uses a variation of the triple jump moonsault using the ropes, called the ''Prettiest Moonsault Ever'', as her finishing maneuver. She cites

as her inspiration for becoming a professional wrestler, and cites

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

and the character of

Sharpay Evans The following article is a list of characters appearing in the High School Musical (film series), ''High School Musical'' film series. Currently, the characters who appear in ''High School Musical'', ''High School Musical 2'', and ''High School M ...

from ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American Musical film, musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's List of Disney Channel original films, slate of original television films. The first installmen ...

'' as inspirations for her wrestling

. Woynilko has also cited

Kelly Kelly Barbara Jean Blank Coba (née Blank; January 15, 1987), known professionally as Barbie Blank and by her ring name Kelly Kelly, is an American model and former professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under a legends contract. Blank has a ...

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

, and

among her favorite wrestlers of all time.

Other media

Personal life

Woynilko has been in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Marcel Barthel, better known as Ludwig Kaiser, since 2022.

Championships and accomplishments

Gymnastics

Professional wrestling

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Ranked No. 25 of the top 250 female singles wrestlers in the '' PWI Women's 250'' in 2023 *'' Women's Wrestling Fan Awards'' ** Breakout Star of the Year (2023) *

WWE Women's Championship The WWE Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defe ...

( 1 time, current) **

( 1 time) ** Women's Money in the Bank (

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

) ** NXT Women's Championship Tournament (2023) ** NXT Year-End Award *** Female Superstar of the Year (

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

) **

Slammy Award The Slammy Awards, also known as the Slammys, is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced i ...

(1 time) *** NXT Superstar of the Year (

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Tiffany 1999 births Living people 21st-century female professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century American sportswomen American female professional wrestlers NXT Women's Champions Professional wrestlers from Minnesota People from Prior Lake, Minnesota St. Catherine University alumni Money in the Bank winners WWE Women's Champions