Wrestler Ivelisse in Two-Piece Workout Gear Shares "My Best Match of 2024"

Ivelisse Velez, a well-known wrestler, continues to dominate in the world of professional wrestling. Famous for her time with Lucha Underground, Velez recently shared some thrilling highlights from her latest match with Shine Wrestling on Instagram. She captioned the post with pride, "My best match of 2024 🤼‍♀️🇵🇷⚔️🇯🇵." With a career centered on breaking barriers and raising the bar for women’s wrestling, Velez has become a powerful voice for female athletes. From her dedication in the ring to her role as a dog owner and advocate for healthy living, Velez's journey continues to inspire. Her passion for promoting women's wrestling shines through, solidifying her as a trailblazer in the sport.

1. She Wrestles

Wrestling is the main way Velez stays in shape. The sport has a lot of health benefits. FloWrestling states, “Wrestlers learn from challenging one-on-one struggles against an opponent and also develop an awareness of diet and nutrition through the process of making weight. While not all wrestlers and coaches approach weight loss in healthy ways, when done correctly, this can teach a physical life skill that many young athletes may never learn.”

2. She Has A Dog

Velez has a dog, whom she prominently features on her social media accounts. She shared this video on her TikTok and Instagram. Harvard Health states that having a dog can have some health benefits. “Ongoing research is showing that the health benefits of owning a dog are undeniable. Dog owners have lower blood pressure and healthier cholesterol levels, and a lower risk of heart disease, than non-owners.”

3. She Wants To Highlight Women’s Wrestling

Velez opened up about her career in an interview with The Huffington Post. She says that promoting women’s wrestling is important to her. “I have always wrestled like a guy; I have always had it in my mind to have that standard. I have always wanted to bring that level of credibility to women's wrestling. Women can fight. Women are just as good as men. Women are just as tough as men."

4. She’s Proud Of Herself

Velez is extremely proud of the way her career has gone. "With Lucha Underground, here I am, where I was meant to be all along," she said to The Huffington Post. "That's why I feel like I was meant to go through all that hell. This is perfect for what I wanted to bring to the world. It definitely means a lot. Being in this career and giving everything I have given, being acknowledged... It makes that feeling ten times bigger. I'm happy it's happening, happy for everything to come and extremely grateful!"

5. She Helped Change Things

Velez talked about being a part of getting women’s wrestling promoted to The Huffington Post. "I highly doubt it has anything to do with the talent, the women out there itself. It has to do with the fact WWE was the main wrestling entity, and that's what they wanted to sell. Anyone else who had a different agenda pretty much got short-handed. Now it's out there; there's a higher demand for that type of performer. They sort of have no choice but to roll with the punches and finally give people what they want to see."

Wrestling champion Nia Jax (real name Savelina Fanene) is taking a break from the madness of the fighting ring to relax, breathe, and enjoy the beauty of nature. Jax, 39, shared pictures of herself wearing black workout gear, looking zen and serene as she sat outside in a yoga pose. “Full of gratitude 🙏🏽,” she captioned the post. Here’s what inspired Jax to lose weight, gain a huge amount of confidence, and become an even better fighter.

1. Pilates and Personal Training

Jax says she is currently training in preparation for her return to the ring. "I am training. I'll train over at D-Von Dudley's ring,” she told Bill Apter, via Cultaholic. “He's great and then I go over to Nattie and TJ's [Natalya & TJ Wilson], so they run me through some drills and stuff like that and I have matches. I'll get in the ring every now and then with some of my friends like Charlotte [Flair] and her husband, Manny [Andrade El Idolo)... Right now, I'm enjoying being at home with my family. I have a new nephew and I've kind of started being obsessed with Pilates.”

2. Pickleball Matches

Jax enjoys pickleball matches with her friends, which is a great way to get a cardio workout while having fun. “I think one of the things that we as a society have underestimated is the benefit of being outdoors, and a lot of pickleball is played in the setting of existing tennis courts or other newer courts that are being specially designed for pickleball that are outdoors,” cardiologist and Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Calum MacRae tells CNBC. “Something like pickleball, which is an active, social sport and builds community, sustains people in regular exercise over time. It’s really something that for us is exciting to see.”

3. Losing 48 Pounds

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Jax lost a whopping 48 pounds in just six months after feeling uncomfortable at friend Charlotte Flair’s wedding. “Me to @MsCharlotteWWE after her wedding: ‘I feel gross & uncomfortable! I want to lose weight’. @MsCharlotteWWE to me: ‘Please let me help you! You got this woman.’ Officially started in October…6 months later, down 48lbs🥺🙏🏽 Sends me killer workouts and motivates me 💪🏾🥺,” Jax tweeted. Nice work!

4. No Glam Squad

Jax takes care of her own pre-ring prep, no glam squad needed or necessary. “I really take pride in doing my own make-up all the time which takes me about 40 minutes, and my hair takes another 15 to 20 minutes,” she told Metro. “Putting on my gear is probably another 15 minutes, so all in all I don’t think an hour and a half is too bad!”

5. Body Type Pride

Jax is proud to represent a different body type in the wrestling world. "I noticed they were always beautiful women but skinnier and smaller than me," she told Refinery29. "I just never really saw somebody like me in the business, and I didn't think that somebody like me would fit in to that business. Maybe a young girl seeing me and not feeling comfortable in her group can feel like, Oh my gosh, look, she went out there and she’s different and I look like her and she’s kicking ass and she’s taking names. Maybe one day I can do that and I should just embrace who I am.”

Maxxine Dupri is a successful wrestler with the WWE, currently signed to their Raw brand. Last month, Dupri took to Instagram to model workout clothes from Shop Jaunty. She posed in a white hooded sweatshirt and a black workout bra and shorts, showing off her athletic style. Dupri also opened up about her journey in wrestling, sharing insights into her training and mindset.

1. She’s Authentic

Dupri is all about being authentic on social media. She talked about this with Wrestle Zone. “I think this is something that’s funny because if you look at — for example, my Instagram prior to being in WWE, you don’t see my personality at all. I’m very, very goofy, like this is more who I am than what you see from me online. Most people just don’t really know me unless you’re my close circle of friends. I think it’s been fun to just share that goofy side.”

2. She Wants To Improve

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Dupri tells WrestleZone that improvement is something that is important to her. “It’s so authentic to me and just really getting to learn and grow, this is true to my core. That was my first match and I truly was excited to have completed it and done well. My finish was successful and I think it’s not so much character for me, this is me learning and I’m learning from extremely talented people. I’m having so much fun and I’m getting to show a side of me that is who I am. I love that I get to share that.”

3. She Works With Trainers

Dupri tells WrestleZone that she is working with trainers to help her stay in shape. “I think for me right now, I’m being trained by two incredible amateur wrestlers. I’m going to use all of those tools to the best of my ability and I think as we continue my training I think we’ll learn some more submissions, some more suplexes and just become more and more dangerous every time I enter the ring.”

4. She Works Her Lower Body

Dupri doesn’t skip leg day. She shared some of her favorite lower body workouts in this Instagram video. Having strong legs is important, according to Piedmont. “Having strong glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles gives your body a strong foundation and can: Tone your lower body muscles. Boost your metabolism as you increase muscle mass. Give you a higher calorie burn as you train larger muscle groups. Improve your balance. Strengthen your bones. Reduce joint pain.”

5. She Uses Weights

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Dupri is seen using weights in the previous Instagram post. ACE Fitness states that this has a lot of benefits. “Using maximal loads for compound (multi-joint) movements like the deadlift, squat-to-shoulder press, bent-over row or chest press can improve intermuscular coordination, which is the ability of many muscles to work together to generate and control high levels of force through multiple joints.”

Zelina Vega is a powerhouse in the WWE, known not only for her fierce in-ring skills but also for her dedication to fitness and wellness. As a Tag Team champion and Queen’s Crown Tournament winner, she consistently pushes herself to new heights, both physically and mentally. Recently, she shared a fun TikTok video, dancing in her signature black workout top and gray sweatshirt, showcasing her vibrant personality. Behind the scenes, Vega stays committed to a vegan lifestyle and maintains a rigorous workout routine that includes powerlifting and Muay Thai. She’s not just about strength, though—her personal rituals, deep connection to family, and relentless work ethic make her a force to be reckoned with in every aspect of her life.

1. She’s Vegan

Vega shared some of her wellness secrets in an interview with Muscle and Fitness. She revealed that she follows a vegan diet, and brings a lot of prepared meals with her. “I’m also a vegan. So, [that’s] an added annoyance as far as traveling goes, but I always come with my meals prepared.”

2. She Does A Variety Of Workouts

Being a wrestler, Vega has to stay in shape. She tells Muscle and Fitness that she does a lot of different things to stay in shape. “My husband likes to make these, like, powerlifting routines for me and then we also mix it up with Muay Thai. So, it’s a lot of different things that I feel like helps me a lot in the ring, whether it’s strength wise, speed wise, so yeah, it’s tough but you gotta fit it in.”

3. She Connects With Her Family

Vega shared her pre-match ritual with HOLA! USA. “I actually have a ritual right before I go out. I have a moment where I talk to my dad. I call my guardian angels. I go through my list: my dad, my uncle, my grandfather. I mean, even my little puppy that I lost. So I get to talk to them and tell them to be there with me because, without them, I wouldn’t be where I am. And even though they’re gone, I feel them making sure that I’m safe in the ring. I always say, ‘Make sure I’m safe, make sure I remember everything, make sure that the fans love it.’”

4. She Embraces Things

When it comes to her career, Vega tells Busted Open Radio that she is embracing everything that happens to her. “I wanted to take in every single moment. And even in the times when you’re supposed to be the character and be in it and perform. I really try to take myself out of it for a second and just look around and say, wow. Even when me and Rey were coming out together. Mind you, Rey Mysterio, my hero is what I’ve looked up to since I was eight years old. To stand next to him, and we made our entrance, and we didn’t do what we normally did. We walked out, and we both kind of just looked around, and he said to me, ‘How cool is this?’”

5. She Worked Hard

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Vega opened up about how hard she worked to HOLA! USA. “I feel like my whole life has been a struggle from just everything that I started, whether it’s in WWE or, I mean, my gosh, I used to go from Connecticut into New York to take a train into the city to hop on a nine-hour bus ride to get all the way to North Carolina just to train for a weekend. So it’s things like that when you finally get to have a moment where you’re having a championship match or you’re getting to be in front of thousands of people, especially your people in Puerto Rico. That was a dream come true.”