The AEW Dark tapings at Universal Studios on December 3 included the debut match of a former WWE NXT competitor. Spoilers about the bout are available below.
Marina Shafir made her first apperance in AEW at tapings. Per Jacob Cohen, who was in attendance, Shafir faced Kris Statlander in a singles match on Friday.
Scoop #16: Kris Statlander vs Marina Shafir pic.twitter.com/7N9nJFiJsR
— Jacob Cohen (@MrJacobCohen) December 3, 2021
The AEW debut of @MarinaShafir !#AEWDark pic.twitter.com/jhydkUCwyl
— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) December 3, 2021
Shafir, a former MMA fighter, signed with WWE in May 2018, and she subsequently worked on the NXT brand alongside Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler as the MMA Horsewomen. She wrestled a few matches before she was inactive on WWE for several months. Shafir eventually returned on the August 17, 2020 episode of WWE RAW when she competed on RAW Underground.
WWE released Shafir on June 25, and she has been wrestling on the independent circuit in recent months; scompeted at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 7 on October 22.
Shafir spoke with WrestleZone ahead of Bloodsport about finding new opportunities to showcase her skills after WWE, noting that she’s been trying to learn as much as she could and be more in tune with herself.
“Any opportunity that I get is an opportunity to get closer to who I am as a performer. The more I get put into these situations where I get to learn who I am as a performer would act and be like. It all very closely resonates to who I am, how I was raised, where I come from and what my morals are about. These opportunities — [Championship Wrestling From Atlanta] was a lot of fun, maybe a little too much fun — I’m just trying to be a sponge. I have ideas,” Shafir explained, “but I really just want to get to know my environments and see how I can also add to the environment, without being pushy about it. I don’t want to force anything that isn’t natural and I don’t want to force people to care. I don’t feel like anybody should have to force people to care, but I am really starting to get in tune with who I am when I’m in there and it’s becoming a lot more fun for me.”
