Spoiler Alert: 25-year-old star crowned as new WWE champion before SmackDown

The 25-year-old star, who wrestles on NXT, was crowned as new champion ahead of the latest episode of SmackDown.

Spoiler Alert: 25-year-old star crowned as new WWE champion before SmackDown

WWE Speed [via WWE]

Sol Ruca has quickly established herself as one of the top prospects in NXT. Her wrestling style, especially her finisher, the “Sol Snatcher,” has become popular among wrestling fans. Riding high on her popularity, the 25-year-old star has just won her first championship in WWE.

Before the latest episode of SmackDown went on air, Sol Ruca faced Candice LeRae for the Speed Championship. The Speed Tournament began on X, featuring matches with a time limit of just 3 minutes. The young NXT star defeated LeRae to become the new Speed Champion.

YouTube video

The Poison Pixie became the inaugural champion by defeating Iyo Sky on October 9, 2024. She held the title for almost 200 days before losing it to Ruca on April 16. Fans congratulated Ruca on her success, saying it was well deserved.

Speaking about the 25-year-old star’s NXT journey, she recently had an opportunity to win the United States Championship. On the March 4 episode of NXT, Ruca and Zaria defeated Piper Niven and Chelsea Green in a tag team match, with Ruca pinning Green. Unfortunately, she failed to capture the U.S. Title, as The Hot Mess defeated her two weeks later.

Sol Ruca recently qualified for the ladder match for the NXT Women’s North American Title at NXT Stand & Deliver

When Stephanie Vaquer defeated Giulia and became a double champion, all the stars in the NXT women’s division set their sights on her. When she was forced to relinquish one of the titles by General Manager Ava Raine, she chose to give up the NXT Women’s North American Title.

Sol Ruca and Zaria
Sol Ruca and Zaria [via WWE]

After the title was vacated, qualification matches were held for the NXT Women’s North American Title Ladder Match. On the latest episode of NXT, Ruca defeated Jasmyn Nyx with a Sol Snatcher out of nowhere to qualify for the ladder match at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 19.

Her tag team partner, Zaria, also qualified for the ladder match after defeating Lash Legend. Izzi Dame and Kelani Jordan have already secured their places in the match, leaving two more spots open for qualification. Fans are excited to see whether Zaria and Ruca will be able to put their friendship aside and compete for themselves to win the title.

Sol Ruca revealed how did she came up with her finisher

Many fans believe that Ruca’s finisher is one of the coolest in WWE today. She bounces off the ropes and hits a cutter on her opponent, making the move look not only devastating but also unique. Recently, she revealed how she came up with the finisher.

Sol Ruca's Sol Snatcher
Sol Ruca’s Sol Snatcher [via WWE]

While speaking on the BWGS podcast, the current Speed Champion stated that she wanted her finisher to reflect her background. Ruca admitted that she went through her old gymnastics videos to find moves that could translate well into wrestling.

I have to do something that’s in my background. In the gymnastics realm. And I was looking through my old videos of gymnastics and trying to think of like moves that I used to do in gymnastics that could somehow correlate to wrestling. And I was originally trying to do it as a Stunner. However, landing on your butt like that, hurts really bad.

Sol Ruca on the BWGS podcast

The 25-year-old star further added that she inspired the Sol Snatcher from her gymnastics move “Straddle,” which was quite similar to it. Ruca revealed that she had considered using a stunner as her finisher but changed her mind, thinking that landing on her backside every time she executed the move would be painful in the long run.

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