Nikki Cross, known in WWE as Nikki A.S.H. and now as a member of The Wyatt Sicks, has navigated a career marked by diverse personas, championship wins, and personal challenges. Her journey, from the independent circuit to WWE's main roster, showcases resilience and dedication. This article explores her career trajectory, weight loss journey, and response to body shaming.
Early Career and Independent Circuit
Nicola Glencross, born on April 21, 1989, began her wrestling training in February 2008 and made her in-ring debut around the age of 19. Before wrestling, Glencross was a cheerleader for the University of Glasgow and also went to dancing school for 13 years and participated in dancing shows, exams and competitions. Wrestling throughout the United Kingdom promotions, she initially performed under the name Nikki Storm. She wrestled for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA), where she teamed with Majik in a mixed tag match. She also wrestled for the Scottish School Of Wrestling where she became the first-ever SSW Diamonds Champion. In Pro Wrestling EVE, she won the Pro Wrestling EVE Championship on three occasions. Storm also won the W3L Women's Championship while wrestling in the World Wide Wrestling League.
Storm traveled internationally, wrestling in the United States for promotions including Absolute Intense Wrestling, Global Force Wrestling, Vicious Outcast Wrestling, SHIMMER Women Athletes, SHINE Wrestling, Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic, Women Superstars Uncensored and Queens of Combat. She also wrestled in Germany for Westside Xtreme Wrestling and in Japan for World Wonder Ring Stardom and Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project. Glencross also joined the TNA Gut Check tryouts held in Nottingham, England during January 2013. Glencross participated in the TNA British Boot Camp 2, as of October 20, 2014, joining fellow UK finalists Kay Lee Ray, El Ligero, Rampage Brown, Kris Travis, Noam Dar and Mark Andrews.
Signing with WWE
In April 2016, Glencross signed with WWE, debuting in NXT on April 22 under her real name. She wrestled most of her early matches during 2016 under her real name before debuting on August 27 as Nikki Cross. Around September 2016, Cross joined the NXT stable SAniTY.
NXT Career
Cross's time in NXT saw her involved in several high-profile matches and storylines. She had title match opportunities, including a triple threat match against Asuka and Billie Kay, which was won by Asuka. She later faced Asuka for the NXT Women's title in a Last Woman Standing match, which she lost. She was also involved in a triple threat match against Asuka and Ember Moon for the Women's title, but was defeated.
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Cross also competed in a Battle Royal Qualifying match for the right to challenge for the Women's Championship. By March 20, 2018, Cross's next title opportunity arrived in a triple threat match involving Aliyah and the NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon. During the first night of the 2018 WrestleMania Axxess event, Cross entered the NXT Women's Title Invitational, advancing in the first round after eliminating Aliyah. By April 21, the Women's Championship had changed hands and was held by Shayna Baszler. Cross was unsuccessful in defeating Baszler for the title on this occasion. Her last NXT match was on May 12, teaming with Dakota Kai in defeating Reina Gonzalez & Shayna Baszler.
Throughout the summer, Cross started a feud with Shayna Baszler over the NXT Women's Championship, which led to a match between the two, in which Cross was once again unsuccessful and was defeated by technical submission. After a short hiatus, Cross returned in August and she was placed in the Aleister Black attack storyline where she was revealed to be a witness as she was on the roof of the building at the time he was attacked. In September, Cross also started a short feud with Bianca Belair which led to a match between the two that ended in a double count-out. One month later, on the 17 October episode of NXT, a rematch took place, which ended in a no contest, after Aleister Black returned and interrupted it to ask Cross who his attacker is. Johnny Gargano was eventually revealed as the attacker and her involvement in the storyline sparked a match between Cross and Gargano's wife Candice LeRae, whom she was able to defeat in a singles match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
Main Roster Debut and Tag Team Success
Cross was called up to the main roster in December 2018.
In 2019, Bliss formed a tag team with Alexa Bliss. On the 5 August episode of Raw, Bliss and Cross competed in a Tag Team Elimination Fatal Four-Way match, defeating The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane), Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville and the Tag Team Champions The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce) to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship for the first time. This also marked Cross' first WWE championship reign. They won their first title defense during the SummerSlam Kickoff, defeating The IIconics in a rematch.
Nikki A.S.H. and Championship Success
From June 2021 to October 2022, Glencross' character became a faux-superhero known as Nikki A.S.H. (standing for "Almost a Super Hero"). As Nikki A.S.H., she won the Money in the Bank contract and successfully cashed it in the next day to become Raw Women's Champion. She also won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Rhea Ripley.
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In May 2022, she began to work with Doudrop as a tag team. After the Women's Tag Team Championship was vacated in May, A. S. H. and Doudrop entered a tournament to crown new champions which began in August. They lost in the first round to Alexa Bliss and Asuka.
Return to Nikki Cross Persona
On 24 October 2022 episode of Raw, she interfered in a match between Bayley and Bianca Belair, attacking both women, and reverting to her "unhinged" gimmick and her "Nikki Cross" name. On 7 November episode of Raw, Cross joined Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky) in a brawl against Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss. It was announced later that Cross would team with Damage CTRL to take on Belair, Asuka, and Bliss in a WarGames match at Survivor Series WarGames on 26 November 2022. Later in the night, Cross defeated Dana Brooke to win her 11th 24/7 Championship, but later discarded the title belt backstage; the title was deactivated shortly thereafter. Cross then started a storyline where she stalked Candice LeRae.
Addressing Body Shaming and Health Concerns
Nikki Cross has faced criticism regarding her weight and physical appearance throughout her career. In response to body shaming comments, Nikki has been forthright and clear. She has stated:
- "How F’Ing DARE you try to body shame me."
- "All pics except last one are very old."
- "I haven’t been able to control my weight loss lately since being sick a few months ago."
- "All u have to say about my career since 2013 is pics of my butt?"
These statements underscore her frustration with those who focus on her physical appearance rather than her accomplishments and resilience.
Health and Well-being
Nikki's dedication and hard work have paid off, leading to a significant weight loss of 20 pounds. Today, she weighs approximately 117 pounds, a noticeable difference from her previous weight of 137 pounds. Concerned for her health and career, Nikki started a journey toward the improvement of her health.
Read also: Self-Acceptance and Weight Loss
Nikki started spending much of her time in the gym where she would do all kinds of workouts. From pushups to situps, cycling to boxing. Nikki also practiced swimming. In the pursuit of fitness and health, Cross would leave the house after breakfast and would return at lunchtime. She also made certain changes to her diet. Cross followed the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. She stopped eating at restaurants and started preparing food at home. Cross also put an end to the food that contained sugar.
Alexa Bliss's Health Struggles
Alexa Bliss, Nikki's former tag team partner, has also been open about her struggles with eating disorders and mental health. Bliss revealed that she was hospitalized due to an eating disorder at the age of 15, where her weight fell to just 80lbs. “When I went to the hospital, I almost went into cardiac arrest,” said Bliss. “Dealing with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, I’m no stranger to mental illness. Every few years, I deal with a really bad spell of depression. “Mental illness can dictate someone’s entire life. I put myself in a position to be in the public eye, but I’m doing what I love.
Personal Life
The professional Scottish wrestler is married to and lives happily with another professional wrestler, Domain Mackle.