Maria Masters

==Early Life==
Maria Mika Masters is the daughter of Forrest Masters and Sonya Blade. Her parents are incredibly wealthy. While she was always pampered by her overprotective father, her mother jumped on her every morning to wake her up with armbars. By doing this Maria learned how to master the armbar. Her father also trained her in Masters Ryu so she knew how to defend herself and never be helpless.  She’s headstrong and tough like her mother, outgoing and humorous like her father, and she admires her older brother Mel. At the age of 10, Maria’s mother Sonya accepted a position as General of the Earthrealm Special Forces offered to her by the United Nations. As a result, Maria spent most of her time with her father; even going with him on the road when he was with the WWE. Maria and her father formed a very close and unbreakable bond in the years to follow, while Maria’s relationship with her mother became somewhat strained and distant due to her barely being around; only coming home for holidays, birthdays, or the occasional week off. After graduating from high school, Maria asks her father to train her to become a professional wrestler but he told her that he would not because he didn’t want her going through the hardships of pro wrestling.
== Taken-21 ==
One day, Maria and her best friend Amy Guile decide to spar in her father Forrest Master's condo. During the spar, both girls exchange blows both verbal and physical when Maria suddenly pulls off her father's Shadow Kick, shocking them both. Amy points out that Maria broke one of Forrest's awards but Maria dismisses this, unconcerned at her father's reaction, though she goes on a tirade about how strict her mother Sonya is. Later that night, Maria and Amy go to a 21-and-over fight club. Maria takes Amy to the arena, showing her a match between two women while stating her confidence in their ability to take them on. Maria goes to use the bathroom and sign up, pausing to slip on her gloves when Amy catches up with her, panicking as she tells Maria it's not MMA but a deathmatch. Maria is disbelieving until an announcer confirms Amy's words and Maria curses as the spotlight lands on them and two bouncers grab the girls. Maria is tossed in the cage and after the announcer makes fun of her father's acting, Maria responds by flipping off the crowds and declaring herself the best fighter there. Maria is shocked when the announcer reads off her opponent's victories and the cryomancer Frost appears in front of her. Form the opening bell, Maria was on the receiving end of a severe beating at Frost's hands. Maria was brought to her knees and about to be finished by Frost when she manages to land a headbutt and sweep kick on her and choke her into unconsciousness with a submission hold. The announcer and crowds demand Maria finish Frost but Maria refuses. When both Maria and Amy are threatened, Maria angrily complies and puts her foot down on Frost's throat. Maria whispers an apology to her opponent, but before she can finish her, the roof to the club explodes. Maria is relieved, thinking it's her mother at first, but when sees two warriors armed with an axe and swords that begin to slaughter the crowd, Maria panics and begins dragging Frost off with her to escape. Amy manages to reach them and the two girls flee outside with Frost. When they stop to catch their breath, Maria explains to a questioning Amy that she wanted to save Frost in response to nearly killing her before apologizing to Amy for bringing her to the club. The two warriors confront the girls, and after revealing their affiliation with the Black Dragon, Maria screams at Amy to run again. As they run, Maria asks for her phone from Amy and snaps a shot behind herself as part of a trail, admitting they can't hope to outrun their pursuers. Maria and Amy are then sucked into a portal for Outworld, with Maria managing to drop her phone just before she disappears. Maria and Amy are revealed to be in Outworld, hands tied with rope and cloaks draped over their heads, being led by Black Dragon soldiers deeper into a jungle. Maria stages an escape attempt, faking a sprained ankle to get the drop on a Black Dragon before headbutting his jaw and kicking him in the groin, demanding to be let go. Maria's escape ends before it can begin when Kano knocks her unconscious with a single eye beam from his optic implant. Maria's unconscious body is carried by another Black Dragon soldier, but he is killed and Maria is dropped onto the ground when Red Dragon forces led by Mavado arrive, having come for the girls. Maria and Amy are faking being unconscious as the Black and Red Dragon clans heatedly debate who will take possession of them. Maria knows the clans will soon fight and is flabbergasted when Amy suggests they run blind with their hands bound. When the two clans go to battle, Maria and Amy get up, with Maria agreeing to run. As she's asking which way, the gunslinger Erron Black, who was the true perpetrator of their kidnapping, frees them from their bounds, saying he can get them out of there if they agree to fight. Amy chooses to fight Erron instead while Maria fights of Red Dragon soldiers. When Kano knocks Amy down with a single punch to get the Portal Stone from Erron, Maria urges her friend back up while getting one of the Black Dragon soldiers rifles. After Kano abandons Black and Mavado cuts the gunslinger down with his hookswords, Maria gets the Red Dragon's attention before opening fire along with Amy, shooting down several of Mavado's soldiers but failing to hit Mavado himself, using up all their ammo. Mavado leaps at the girls, cutting Maria's arm with his hooksword but Amy catches him a hold, allowing Maria to deliver a kick to his kneecap, shattering it. Maria picks up one of Mavado's swords as Amy shouts at her to finish him. Without hesitation, Maria swings the hooksword in a rising slash, cutting Mavado's abdomen open, spilling his internal organs out and killing him instantly. Despite killing Mavado, Maria and Amy are captured by the remainder of his forces and brought to Shang Tsung's Island and presented to Reiko and his spiritual adviser, the chaos cleric, Havik. Maria is inside her prison cell on Shang Tsung's island, chained and disheveled as Havik discusses with Skarlet the girl's heritage and untapped power; noting that fighting will bring it out and allow the chaos cleric to claim it for himself. Maria is then moved to another area and chained to the floor, forced by Havik to watch as Skalret pummels Amy. Maria calls to her friend to run but Amy is knocked unconscious, much to Maria's horror. Maria asks Havik why he is doing this to them and the cleric of chaos' response is because her father is Forrest Cage. Maria mockingly asks if Havik wants and autograph and Havik explains he wants power, specifically the power in Forrest Cage's bloodline; which allowed him to defeat Shinnok. Havik knows that this power can be unleashed when those possessing it see their loved ones in danger and asks Maria if Amy's life means nothing to her. Maria pleads with Havik, saying she doesn't have power like her father's. Havik muses that it may have skipped a generation, before deciding that Maria hasn't suffered enough to unlock it yet.
==Becoming A Pro Wrestler-21-30==
Maria Mika then leaves her fathers home to start her own life. She travels to Japan, like her brother before her, to seek training as a female pro wrestler as pupil of Harmageddon Youko aka the Great Muta. By way of a 2 year-interval training period, at the age of 23, Rainbow Mika(as she calls herself) was ready to make her debut as a pro wrestler. She thought of the perfect promotion to make her a star - she would travel the world and fight famous street fighters in order to become the "Star of the Ring". R. Mika meets up and coming pro wrestler and son of the great Zangief, Biff Zangief and cooperates in some way with his mission to destroy the Psycho Drive, though they end up rescuing people with Kinryuuzan as well. Afterwards, Mika continues to train as a pro wrestler so that she can finally meet him again later on. Karin and Mika meet, and the two fight. Karin is so impressed with Mika’s fighting ability that she promised that the Kanzuki Zaibatsu would sponsor Mika if/when she becomes a first-class wrestler. Six months later, Biff Zangief finally met R. Mika in her hometown for a public bout. In just under 20 minutes, Biff Zangief finally trounces Mika with a Final Atomic Buster. Despite the devastating loss, she still has nothing but respect for him afterwards. Biff Zangief remarks that she's got a high wall to climb, but she's well underway. Seeing how dedicated she is, her father eventually agrees to help her become a professional wrestler and gets her into the WWE.
=== World Wrestling Entertainment ===
Maria debuted in the WWE on the October 10th episode of Raw, using her real name, under the gimmick of WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus' biggest fan. The angle had the two WWE Divas competing together in tag team matches, with Maria's character becoming increasingly obsessed with Stratus. The storyline included a Halloween Costume Contest in which Maria was dressed like Stratus and helped Stratus retain the Women's Championship in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday by eliminating herself and Victoria at the same time. She even began utilizing Stratus' signature finishing moves as her own during matches. Maria became the number one contender for the Women's Title on December 12th by defeating Victoria in a match to determine who would face Stratus at New Year's Revolution.
=== 24 ===
Subsequently, the storyline between Maria and Stratus developed into a lesbian angle after Maria initiated an intimate kiss with Stratus under a sprig of mistletoe and complimented Stratus on her breasts. In the championship match at the pay-per-view, Maria jobbed to Stratus but continued to be enamored of her the next night on Raw, and she confessed her love for Stratus at the Royal Rumble. On March 6th, the storyline had Stratus confront Maria, telling her that they needed time apart from each other. The duo teamed together at the March 18th, edition of Saturday Night's Main Event to defeat Candice Michelle and Victoria. After the match, Maria agreed to honor Stratus' wishes and attempted to kiss her. After Stratus pushed her away, Maria turned heel by attacking Stratus in the ring and later vowing to destroy her. The two women wrestled each other at WrestleMania, where Maria was booked to win the match to claim her first reign as Women's Champion. During the match, despite the fact that Maria was playing the heel character, the fans frequently cheered Maria and booed Stratus whenever Stratus hit an offensive maneuver. The angle ended at Backlash during a rematch after Stratus legitimately dislocated her shoulder when Maria threw her out of the ring. Maria dropped the Women's Title on August 14th to Lita after Lita hit Maria with the title belt while Lita's on-screen boyfriend Gunloc distracted the referee, resulting in a face turn for Maria’s on-screen persona. After the Women's Championship was vacated due to the legitimate retirement of Trish Stratus, Maria entered a tournament to determine the new champion. She defeated Victoria and Melina in the qualifying rounds before making it to the finals at Cyber Sunday, where she lost to Lita. The two Divas wrestled in a series of matches where Lita chose the stipulations, all of which involved hindering Maria’s wrestling ability. The storyline feud ended at Survivor Series, where Maria defeated Lita to win her second Women's Championship. After this, Karin finally sponsored Maria , since Maria achieved her dream of becoming a reputable pro wrestler. 
=== 25 ===
An angle was created between Maria and Melina on January 29th when Melina became the number one contender for the Women's Title. Following a successful title defense on February 5th, Maria teamed with Super Crazy in a mixed tag team match against Melina and Johnny Nitro. After Melina pinned Maria for the victory, she challenged her to a rematch for the title. Maria dropped the Women's Championship to Melina on February 19th and, in continuation of their storyline feud, failed to regain the title during the first ever Women's Falls Count Anywhere match in WWE history. Near the end of the match, Maria fell from the turnbuckle and landed on her neck but was not seriously injured. The scripted feud between Maria and Melina continued on April 2nd when Maria interrupted and attacked Melina during a photo op on Raw. At a house show in Paris, France on April 24th, Maria won her third Women's Championship during a Triple Threat Match that also involved Victoria. Since Maria pinned Victoria, however, and not Melina, Jonathan Coachman announced that a rematch would take place immediately. Maria dropped the title back to Melina, giving her the shortest Women’s Championship reign in WWE history. On the November 26th edition of Raw, Maria defeated Melina in a number one contenders match for Beth Phoenix's Women's Championship, setting up a title match between the two at Armageddon, a match in which Phoenix successfully defended her Women's title. 
=== 26 ===
On the April 14th edition of Raw, held in London, Maria defeated Phoenix to win her fourth Women's Championship. Phoenix got a rematch on the May 5th edition of Raw, but Maria retained her title. At SummerSlam in a Winners Take All tag team match she lost the Women's Championship to Phoenix, with Kofi Kingston's WWE Intercontinental Championship being on the line as well, losing it to Santino Marella. After Maria lost her Women's Championship, she had two rematches for the championship but was unsuccessful in regaining the title. 
=== 27 ===
Following an appearance in the 25-Diva battle royal at WrestleMania, Maria began feuding with WWE Divas Champion Maryse going into Night of Champions on July 26th. At the event, Maria defeated Maryse to win her first Divas Championship, becoming only the second Diva in history to have held both the Women's and Divas titles. Throughout the summer, Maria successfully defended the title against Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix on editions of Raw, and against Alicia Fox at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 4th. The following week on Raw, Maria dropped the belt to Jillian Hall after an approximate three month title reign. After the show, Maria was moved to the SmackDown brand for the first time in her career due to a Diva trade made by Raw guest host Nancy O'Dell. Maria made her SmackDown debut on October 23rd by defeating Layla. The next week, a controversial angle began that saw WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool and Layla bully Maria, resulting in a five-on-five elimination tag team match at the November pay-per-view event Survivor Series, where Maria’s team prevailed over McCool's team. On the December 3rd edition of SmackDown, Maria became the number one contender for McCool's title by defeating Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a triple threat match. The following week, Maria challenged McCool for the Women's Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, but was unsuccessful after interference from Layla. 
=== 28 ===
The storyline feud continued into the Royal Rumble on January 31st where Maria finally defeated McCool to win her fifth Women's Championship. Over the next couple of weeks, SmackDown consultant Vickie Guerrero was introduced into the rivalry, choosing to side with Team Lay-Cool after Maria accidentally doused her with cottage cheese. On the February 26th edition of SmackDown, McCool used her rematch clause to face Maria for the Women's Championship, with Guerrero acting as special guest referee. After Guerrero slapped Maria in the face, McCool pinned her to regain the title. On March 9th, WWE.com announced that Maria was diagnosed with a staph infection on her right knee. She returned on the March 22nd edition of Raw, where alongside Kelly Kelly, she accompanied Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim in their losing effort against Michelle McCool, Maryse and Layla, who had Vickie Guerrero and Alicia Fox in their corner. This set up a 10-Diva tag team match at WrestleMania in which Maria made an unsuccessful in-ring return after Guerrero pinned Kelly following a "hog" splash. Maria's final match in WWE aired on the April 23rd edition of SmackDown where she teamed with former rival Beth Phoenix against Lay-Cool in a losing effort. She was released from WWE one day later.
=== Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ===
On September 22nd, it was reported that Maria had signed a contract with TNA Wrestling and would join to the promotion on the October 7th live episode of Impact! Maria  arrived in TNA on October 7's Before The Glory special episode of Impact!, announcing that she would be the special guest referee for the TNA Knockouts Championship match between Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Tara at Bound for Glory. At the pay-per-view, Maria counted the pinfall which made Tara the new Knockouts Champion, prompting Rayne to shove Maria amidst an argument with Tara, and Maria replying with a punch. On the following edition of Impact!, Tara lost the title to Rayne while Maria made her intentions for the Knockouts Championship clear, after a confrontation with the new champion. Maria wrestled her first match the following week, defeating Sarita, before being attacked by Rayne's ally, Tara. Maria wrestled her first TNA pay-per-view match at Turning Point, where she battled Tara to a double disqualification. On the November 18th episode of Impact! Maria defeated Angelina Love to become the number one contender to the championship. At Final Resolution Maria was defeated by Tara in a Falls Count Anywhere match, following interference from Rayne after she sprayed a fire extinguisher and hit Maria with the Knockout Title belt. On the following episode of Impact! Maria defeated Tara in a Steel Cage match. 
=== 29 ===
On January 9th, at Genesis, Maria lost her match against Rayne for the Knockouts Championship due to interference by Tara. The following month at Against All Odds, Maria once again failed to win the Knockouts Championship, this time losing to Rayne in a Last Knockout Standing match, after another interference by Tara. On the March 17th edition of Impact!, Rayne agreed to give Maria one last title match at Lockdown with the added stipulation that should Maria fail to win the title, she would have her hair shaved off. On March 18th, Maria separated her shoulder at a house show in Jacksonville, Florida. Maria's injury was put into a storyline, where it was caused by Rayne and Tara running over her in a motorcycle. On April 17th at Lockdown, Maria defeated Rayne in a steel cage match, which lasted less than a minute to win the TNA Knockouts Championship for the first time. Maria became the first woman to have held the WWE Women's Championship, Divas Championship, and the TNA Knockouts Championship. On the May 5th edition of Impact!, Maria made her first successful title defense against Miss Tessmacher. On May 15th at Sacrifice, Maria successfully defended her title against Rayne and in the process helped Tara get a release from her exclusive contract with Rayne. The following month at Slammiversary IX, Maria successfully defended her title against the evil Angelina Love, however, after the match, both Love and Winter attacked her. This led to a match on August 7th at Hardcore Justice, where Maria lost the Knockouts Championship to Winter, following a distraction from Love. On the September 1st episode of TNA Impact, Mickie won the Knockouts Championship back from Winter, after a kick to the head. Two weeks later at No Surrender, Winter defeated Maria again for the Knockouts Championship. Maria defeated Tessmacher to qualify for a 4-way match at Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory, Sky won the Knockouts Championship match which also involved Winter and Rayne. On the November 17th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria defeated nine other knockouts in a gauntlet match to earn a match with the new Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. On December 11th at Final Resolution, Gail defeated Mickie to retain the Knockouts Championship, following a distraction from Madison Rayne. In the main event of the December 29th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria challenged Kim for the Knockouts Championship, but was defeated following interference from Madison Rayne. 
=== 30 ===
On the January 5th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria and Traci Brooks failed to capture the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship from Kim and Rayne. Three days later at Genesis, Maria failed in her Knockouts Championship challenge against Kim, after being disqualified for using brass knuckles. On the January 19th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria defeated Rayne in a steel cage match. On the January 26th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria and Velvet Sky were defeated by Tara in a #1 Contender's three-way match for the Knockouts Championship. Two days later at the tapings of the February 9 episode of Impact Wrestling in London, Maria competed as a villainess in a losing effort to Velvet Sky. On the April 5th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria was defeated by Sky in a six-way number one contenders match, also involving Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, Tara, and Winter. On the June 7th episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria again failed to earn a shot at the Knockouts Championship in a four-way match, during which she started showing signs of a heel turn due to jealousy towards Sky. On the June 21st episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria was chosen over Sky as the next challenger for the Knockouts Championship, but failed to recapture the title from Miss Tessmacher. Maria's storyline with Sky ended abruptly the following month, when Sky was granted her release from TNA. On the August 2nd episode of Impact Wrestling, Maria unsuccessfully competed in a four-way number one contenders match involving Gail Kim, Tara and the eventual winner Madison Rayne. After a three month absence, Maria returned to in-ring action on the November 15th episode of Impact Wrestling, winning a Knockouts battle royal to become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. On December 9th at Final Resolution, Maria was unsuccessful in winning the championship from Tara after a distraction by her boyfriend Jesse. Maria received another shot at the Knockouts Championship on the December 20th episode of Impact Wrestling, but was again defeated by Tara. After this, Maria abruptly retires from pro wrestling. 
== Mortal Kombat X-31 ==
At the request of her mother, Maria becomes a sergeant in the Special Forces under her mother. Forrest, who has also joined the Special Forces so he can be closer to his wife, puts together a team consisting of: Amy Guile, Kenshi’s son Takeda Takahashi, Kung Lao’s son Kung Jin, and Maria who functions as the leader. For their first mission, Maria and her team are sent to the Lin Kuei temple to assess if Sub-Zero is still an ally. She tries to lead the team for a sneak attack, but Jin does not listen and approaches the Grandmaster as he and his men are meditating. As they are suddenly surrounded, Maria tries to reason it out with Sub-Zero. When he refuses, Jin and the others attack without Maria’s order. All four of them are defeated by Sub-Zero and are bounded. Maria tells him that he will be in trouble if he kills them. Much to their surprise, he agrees and sets them free. Upon spotting Forrest, they realize that the mission was merely a training exercise so Sub-Zero can test their skills as a team. He tells Maria that she and her allies show promise, but they will fall short if they do not start functioning as one. The team is then called back to headquarters by Sonya, where they meet Li Mei, the leader of refugees from Outworld. From her, they learn that Mileena has Shinnok’s amulet and cannot control its power, which is why Li Mei’s village was destroyed. To confirm with Kotal Kahn that Li Mei’s story is true, Sonya sends Maria and her team to Outworld. After crossing worlds, the team is stopped by Erron Black, a mercenary working for Kotal Kahn. He demands for them to state their business, and Maria replies that they are emissaries sent by Raiden carrying his official seal. Erron does not believe them, but Jin convinces him to spare them and take them to Kotal Kahn. Along the way, they see a bread thief about to be executed. Jin intervenes, causing a fight with the team and the Outworlders. After Jin defeats Erron Black and Ferra and Torr, D'Vorah arrives and tells them to wait while she fetches the emperor. Maria then angrily demands that Jin explain why he will risk it all for a bread thief, and his reply is that not all thieves are irredeemable since he once was a thief himself. Once Kotal Kahn arrives, Maria informs him about the Outworld refugees and that Mileena has the amulet. However, the emperor begins to suspect them of aligning with the rebel leader. Jin then asks for a match to absolve the team of all accusations. Kotal Kahn accepts and Jin wins the match. It is then decided that they will work together to stop Mileena’s rebellion. Maria then receives a call from Sonya, who has just received information from interrogating Kano. Mileena’s location is in the Kuatan Jungle, surrounded by several Tarkatan troops. As Kotal Kahn prepares for an attack, D'Vorah suggests that she sneaks into the camp to steal the amulet. Maria then insists that she go with the Kytinn, and although D’vorah initially refuses, Kotal Kahn allows it since he is indebted to her team. As the battle ensues, Maria and D'Vorah sneak into the rebel camp, where they ambush Rain. He confesses that he is the one who advised Mileena to use Shinnok’s amulet, knowing that it kills her each time she uses it. Once both sides have fallen, he plans to take the throne himself. Then Maria is ambushed and knocked out by Tanya, leaving D'Vorah to fight and defeat both Edenians on her own. Just as she prepares to kill them, Maria stops her and they continue into the main tent. D'Vorah uses her insects to open the lock on the chest containing the amulet, much to Maria’s disgust. However, Mileena arrives and the Kytinn battles her, leaving Maria to deal with the lock. After D'Vorah defeats Mileena, the rebel leader is brought bounded to Kotal Kahn. Maria and her team watch in horror as D'Vorah kills Mileena with her flesh-eating parasites. Maria and her team then prepare to go back to Earthrealm with the amulet, but Kotal Kahn has them captured, stating that he does not trust them with the amulet and he plans to use them as bait to lure Raiden. The four of them are locked inside a ship, and they each reveal a little bit about themselves. Maria confesses that it is tough for her being Sonya’s daughter, and she always feels like a second-rate Masters. As an Osh-Tekk comes down to toss them some food, Takeda overloads his senses, rendering the guard unconscious, and he steals the keys and frees himself and his teammates. As they make their escape, they spy on Reptile, Ermac, and Erron Black, and they learn that D'Vorah has betrayed Kotal Kahn, taking Shinnok’s amulet with her. Then they fight Kotal Kahn's henchmen, this time as a team. After Takeda defeats all of them, the four of them escape before their enemies recover. In the jungle, they contact Kenshi and inform him that D'Vorah is on her way to the Sea of Blood. Jax, who is with the blind swordsman in the Netherrealm, deduces that the Kytinn is on her way to meet with Quan Chi to free Shinnok from his amulet. The four of them continue to pursue D'Vorah, but her trail goes cold. Later, when Quan Chi is captured by Jax, Maria tells her mother that they will try to capture the Kytinn, but Sonya tells her that they do not have time and orders her team to return to Earthrealm so they can regroup and redeploy. But upon their return, they find everyone beaten and lying on the ground, Quan Chi beheaded, and Forrest missing. Maria rushes to her mother and asks her where her father is. When Sonya slips into unconsciousness, Hanzo Hasashi answers Maria that Forrest has been captured by the resurrected Shinnok and is being brought to the Sky Temple. As the only remaining defenders of Earthrealm, Maria and her team head for the Sky Temple. Suddenly, they see the sky becoming red and black due to Shinnok corrupting the Jinsei. After Amy lands the ship, Maria tries to repair it but to no avail. Kotal Kahn then appears and attacks them, mistakenly believing that they have aligned with D'Vorah. The team retreats into the woods, allowing them to ambush the Outworld army. Amy manages to tell Kotal Kahn that Shinnok is corrupting Earthrealm’s life-force and he should join them; but the emperor refuses, believing that he can strengthen Outworld’s defenses by bringing their heads to the fallen Elder God. Maria’s team is then surrounded by the Outworld army, but they are suddenly rescued by Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei. The Grandmaster praises the four of them four standing together against formidable odds and allows them to continue to the Sky Temple while he pushes Kotal Kahn back to Outworld. Upon arriving at the temple, the team spies on D'Vorah and the revenants. They learn that Shinnok plans on attacking the Heavens to defeat the Elder Gods after completing his invasion of Earthrealm. Knowing that they have no time to lose, Maria and her team prepare to launch a surprise attack. But their cover is blown when Takeda slips on a rock and hangs on the cliff for life. As Amy tries to pull him up, Maria and Jin engage in battle with Sindel and Kitana respectively. The former Edenian queen offers Maria a chance to join them by taking her to Quan Chi, but the young soldier refuses her offer and tells her Quan Chi is dead before defeating Sindel. After Kitana knocks out Jin, Maria fights her with Amy and Takeda, but the princess wounds her companions. She defeats Kitana to prevent her from killing anyone. As she and Jin help their teammates up, they are spotted by the other revenants. Amy and Takeda urge the others to go on ahead and let them buy time. Although worried for her friends, Maria complies and she and Jin head for the Jinsei. Inside they find the corrupted Shinnok inside Earthrealm’s infected life-force, Raiden defeated and bound, and D'Vorah inflicting her flesh-eating bugs on Forrest. Maria and Jin proceed to fight the Kytinn, but the archer is knocked out, leaving the soldier alone in defeating D'Vorah. She then rushes to her father and tries to set him free, but he tells her to get Shinnok and that he loves her before passing out. The fallen Elder God then emerges from the Jinsei, intent on killing both Maria and Forrest. Maria does her best in fighting Shinnok but is easily knocked aside and she is forced to watch as Shinnok tortures Forrest. Enraged, Maria unlocks her inherited powers, which protect her from Shinnok’s attack. With her newfound strength, she defeats the fallen Elder God and renders him unconscious. After Jin recovers and joins Maria, they free Raiden and help him to the Jinsei, watching as he heals Earthrealm’s life-force. Then they bring him back out, and Maria rushes to her father while Jin tends to the Elder God. Sonya later arrives with the Special Forces and joins with her daughter and Forrest, and the family is happily reunited.
==Making a Promise-33-==
Maria then, at the age of 33, decided to follow in her father and older brother’s footsteps and compete in MMA to show the world the true potential of Masters Ryu and to prove to the world that women kick butt too. The only problem was that her father was unable to get her into the UFC since the company does not have a female division. Forrest and Maria begged the president of the UFC Dana White to include a women’s division but Dana said that there is simply no interest in Women’s MMA. Dana made a promise with them that if they could build peoples inntrest in Women’s MMA then he’ll consider creating a division in the UFC. Maria made a vow that to Dana that in two years she’ll be in the UFC. Maria made her professional mixed martial arts debut at King of the Cage: Turning Point at the age of 33. She submitted Ediane Gomes with an armbar in 25 seconds. Maria faced kickboxing champion Charmaine Tweet in an MMA bout at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship: School of Hard Knocks 12 in Calgary, Canada. She submitted Tweet with an armbar in 49 seconds. Maria is notable for introducing trash talking to Women's MMA. In many interviews Maria has used harsh language and openly downplayed the abilities of her opponents, which she explains as a way to generate more publicity for the sport. Maria was scheduled to make her Strikeforce debut against Sarah D'Alelio at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The fight was pushed back and eventually took place on the Strikeforce Challengers 18 main card in Las Vegas, Nevada. Maria defeated D'Alelio by technical submission due to an armbar early in the first round. The victory was controversial as referee Steve Mazzagatti only stopped the fight because D’Alelio appeared to make a brief sound. According to instructions given to fighters before they compete, this is typically deemed to be a verbal submission. Mazzagatti initially did nothing, but after Maria looked at him and stated that D’Alelio had submitted, he stopped the fight. D'Alelio admitted after the fight that she let out a verbal indication of pain. Maria faced Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 20 in Las Vegas. She won via submission due to an armbar in the first round, dislocating Budd's elbow in the process.
==Championship Pedigree==
Following the fight, she announced plans to move down to 135 pounds to challenge Miesha Tate, the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion at the time, with whom she had developed a much-publicized rivalry. Maria challenged Tate for her Strikeforce title in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 34. She defeated Tate by submission due to an armbar in the first round, again dislocating her opponent's elbow, to become the new Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Maria appeared in All Access: Maria Masters on Showtime. UFC President Dana White revealed during the program that "In the next 10 years, if there's a woman in the octagon, it's probably going to be Maria Masters." Ronda also appeared on Conan. Maria defended her Strikeforce title against Sarah Kaufman at Strikeforce: Maria vs. Kaufman in San Diego, California. Maria said that she would throw Kaufman's arm at her corner after ripping it off with an armbar, and threatened to choke or pound Kaufman's face to death. During the fight, Maria would quickly take down Kaufman and submit her with an armbar in just 54 seconds to retain the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. After the fight, Maria announced that if former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos wanted to fight her, it would have to take place at bantamweight.
==Masters' Always Keep Their Promises==
At the age of 34, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that Maria had become the first female fighter to sign with the UFC. UFC President Dana White officially announced at the UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz pre-fight press conference that Maria was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. At the age of 35, Maria's status as a top MMA fighter led to multiple commercial partnerships. In April, she was featured in a 30-second commercial for American mobile network operator MetroPCS. In June, she performed as the insureon Protector in a two-minute spot for small-business insurance agency insureon. Maria defended her title against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 at the age of 35 two years after she made her vow to compete in the UFC. Despite being caught in an early standing face crank attempt from Carmouche, Maria got out of it and successfully defended her Bantamweight Championship title, winning the fight at 4:49 into the first round by submission due to an armbar. After Cat Zingano defeated Miesha Tate at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale, Dana White announced that Zingano would be a coach of The Ultimate Fighter 18 against Maria. On May 28, it was announced that Zingano would not be a coach and opponent for Maria after Zingano suffered a knee injury earlier that same month which would require surgery; therefore, Miesha Tate instead would coach on The Ultimate Fighter 18 against Maria. Maria faced Miesha Tate, in a rematch from Strikeforce, at UFC 168. After going past the first two rounds, with Tate surviving an armbar attempt and a triangle attempt, Maria finally submitted Tate via armbar in the third round to retain her Bantamweight Championship.  During this year Maria also costarred in two movies: Expendables 3 and Fast and furious 7 also costarring her brother Mel, her father’s protégée Elijah, and directed by her father Forrest Masters himself. It was also around this time that she started dating pro wrestler Biff “Slamovich” Zangief.  It was announced at the UFC 168 post-fight press conference that Maria would defend the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against fellow Olympic medalist and undefeated fighter, Sara McMann in the main event at UFC 170 when Maria would be 36. Maria won the fight by TKO after knocking down McMann with a knee to the body. This marked Maria's first career win other than by armbar.