Alexa Bliss Alexis " Lexi " Kaufman ( August 9 , 1991 ) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under the ring name Alexa Bliss , where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is a two - time SmackDown Women ' s Champion . In May 2013 , she signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to WWE Performance Center and developmental brand NXT in Orlando , Florida . In May 2015 , she aligned herself with NXT Tag Team Champions Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake , thus becoming their valet . Bliss made her main roster debut on the SmackDown brand in July 2016 and proceeded to win the SmackDown Women ' s Championship in December 2016 . She lost the title at Elimination Chamber in February 2017 , but won it back nine days later to become the first woman to win it twice . Early life . Kaufman was born in Columbus , Ohio . She has been involved in sports since the age of five , competing in softball , track , kickboxing , and gymnastics . In cheerleading , she reached Division I status in college . She also spent time in competitive bodybuilding , and has competed in the Arnold Classic . At the age of 15 , Kaufman suffered from a life - threatening eating disorder , but bodybuilding helped her overcome it . Professional wrestling career . WWE . NXT ( 2013 – 2016 ) . Kaufman was signed by WWE in May 2013 and reported to WWE ' s developmental territory NXT . On the July 24 episode of " NXT " , which was taped on June 20 , she made her first televised appearance , congratulating the inaugural NXT Women ' s Champion Paige . In August , she was added to WWE . com ' s NXT roster page and assigned the ring name Alexa Bliss . She acted as an unnamed ring announcer for the November 20 episode of " NXT " . Her first televised appearance on the main roster came at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 , 2014 , when she played a part in Triple H ' s entrance . She made her televised in - ring debut on the May 8 episode of " NXT " , competing in a tournament for the vacant NXT Women ' s Championship . She defeated former Divas Champion Alicia Fox in the first round , but lost to Charlotte in the semi - finals . On the June 19 episode of " NXT " , Bliss defeated Sasha Banks despite interference from Charlotte and Summer Rae . After some hiatus from the ring due a legitimate injury , Bliss returned on the March 11 , 2015 episode of " NXT " , where she defeated Carmella . The following week on " NXT " , she defeated NXT Women ' s Champion Sasha Banks by countout in a non - title match , which led to Bliss being granted a championship match against Banks on the March 25 episode of " NXT " , which she lost . On the May 13 episode of " NXT " , Bliss defeated Carmella after the NXT Tag Team Champions Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake set up a distraction . On May 20 at , Bliss helped Blake and Murphy retain the NXT Tag Team Champioship against Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore , forming an alliance with them and turning into a villainess character in the process . On the June 3 episode of " NXT " , Bliss once again defeated Carmella , this time with Blake and Murphy in her corner . On the July 29 episode of " NXT " , Bliss helped Blake and Murphy retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Vaudevillians ( Aiden English and Simon Gotch ) , and slapped both English and Gotch after the match . The Vaudevillians were granted a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Championship against Blake and Murphy at on August 22 , which they won after Blue Pants stopped Bliss from providing a distraction during the match . This led to a match between the two , where Bliss would go on to defeat Blue Pants in a singles match on the September 2 episode of " NXT " . Throughout October and November , Bliss started a feud with Bayley over the NXT Women ' s Championship , after Bliss interrupted Bayley ' s celebration about her match at on October 7 , confronting her and stating she has her sights set on the championship . After Bliss lost to Bayley in a six - person mixed tag team match , the two faced off in the main event on the November 18 episode of " NXT " , where Bliss was unsuccessful in capturing the championship . On the January 13 , 2016 episode of " NXT " , Bliss competed in a number one contender ' s battle royal , which was won by Carmella . After Blake and Murphy lost to Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura on the May 18 episode of " NXT " , Bliss and Blake abandoned Murphy , officially disbanding the trio . On the May 25 episode of " NXT " , Bliss competed in a triple threat match against Carmella and Nia Jax to determine the number one contender to Asuka ' s NXT Women ' s Championship at on June 8 , which was won by Jax . On the August 17 episode of " NXT " , Bliss competed in a six - woman tag team match along with Daria Berenato and Mandy Rose , in which they were defeated by Carmella , Liv Morgan , and Nikki Glencross in what would be also her last match in NXT . SmackDown Women ' s Champion ( 2016 – present ) . After being drafted from NXT to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft on July 19 , Bliss made her main roster debut for the brand on July 26 , where she confronted Becky Lynch before being interrupted by the brand female talents . Bliss achieved her first victory on the main roster by defeating Lynch after she replaced Eva Marie in the match on the August 9 episode of " SmackDown Live " . Bliss made her pay - per - view event debut at SummerSlam on August 21 in a six - woman tag team match , when she teamed with Natalya and Nikki Bella in a winning effort against Becky Lynch , Carmella , and Naomi . Bliss debuted a new look based on Harley Quinn from the film " Suicide Squad " at Backlash on September 11 , competing in a six - pack elimination challenge to determine the inaugural SmackDown Women ' s Champion , ultimately won by Becky Lynch . On the September 13 episode of " SmackDown Live " , Bliss won a fatal five - way match by pinning Nikki Bella to earn a Women ' s Championship match against Lynch at No Mercy on October 9 . However , due to Lynch suffering a legitimate injury , the match was rescheduled for the November 8 episode of " SmackDown Live " , where Lynch successfully defended the title against Bliss , albeit in controversial fashion , as the referee did not see Bliss ' foot on the bottom rope when she submitted to Lynch ' s finishing maneuver . On the November 15 episode of " SmackDown Live " , Raw Women ' s Champion Charlotte ( now going as Charlotte Flair ) appeared at ringside during a match between Carmella and Nikki Bella , which ensued a brawl between all members of the Raw women ' s team , with the SmackDown women ' s team making the save . At Survivor Series on November 20 , the SmackDown women ' s team lost to the Raw women ' s team in the traditional 5 - on - 5 Survivor Series elimination match , during which Bliss and Lynch furthered their dissent . On the November 22 episode of " SmackDown Live " , Bliss was informed by SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon that her rematch against Lynch for the SmackDown Women ' s Championship would be scheduled for . At the event on December 4 , Bliss defeated Lynch in a tables match and became the new Smackdown Women ' s Champion . In December , an angle began where both Bliss and Lynch used a gimmick named La Luchadora to face each other in matches while trying to conceal their identities . As the feud with Lynch intensified , another woman wearing the La Luchadora costume began assisting Bliss , who was revealed to be the returning Mickie James after Bliss successfully defended her championship against Lynch in a steel cage match , which main evented the January 17 episode of " SmackDown Live " , with Bliss and James forming an alliance . On February 12 , Bliss dropped the championship to Naomi at Elimination Chamber . On the February 21 episode of " SmackDown Live " , after Naomi was forced to vacate the title due to an injury , Bliss defeated Becky Lynch to capture the title for the second time . Other media . Bliss made her video game debut as a playable character in " WWE 2K17 " . Personal life . Kaufman is an avid fan of Disney , which she attributes to her family ' s annual trips to Walt Disney World starting at age three despite her family ' s low income at the time . She has cited Trish Stratus and Rey Mysterio as her influences in wrestling . In January 2017 , it was revealed that Kaufman is engaged to fellow wrestler Matthew Adams , better known by the ring name Buddy Murphy .