The Rock Congratulates Former TNA Knockout On Signing With WWE

Thea Trinidad (former TNA Knockout Rosita) has signed with WWE. The 26-year-old Queens, NY native is engaged to WWE Superstar Austin Aries and has been wrestling on the independent circuit under her real name.

Trinidad portrays former WWE performer AJ Lee in Fighting With My Family, the movie about the Knight wrestling family that’s being produced by WWE Studios and The Rock’s Seven Bucks production company.

She wrote on Instagram:

“Finding the words to describe how I feel right now is extremely difficult because this still feels so surreal. I remember telling my family I wanted to be a professional wrestler and work for WWE around 4 years old.. most thought it was just a phase but my dad encouraged me.. even after I did a swanton bomb on him while he was sleeping.. quite the wake up call!

“That’s who I was, the girl who did moonsaults in her pool and tried escaping my brother’s version of the Walls Of Jericho. After years of denial and depression over my dad’s passing, I finally came to the realization that I can keep him alive by keeping my promise and accomplishing our dream. Which brings me to @therock ..he was my dad’s FAVORITE, so you know there was a ton of eye brow raisin’ and smackdown layin’ in our house! When I met him I thought “even if I never speak to this man again, I need to thank him for giving me and my dad these amazing memories that I cherish” and not only did I get to share that with him but we became friends and I’m honored to call him my mentor. Thank you DJ for believing in me and pushing me to become a better performer & person.”

The Rock posted a congratulatory message, which you can check out below:

"After years of hard work and grind.. Congratulations to my good bud/mentee @theatrinidadtmt on finally signing her @WWE contract. When we met years ago, I always felt she had star potential but more importantly, I knew she was a good quality human being. When the opportunity came along, I cast her in a starring role in our @sevenbucksprod's #FightingWithMyFamily. Her performance was brillIant. So much so, upon wrapping our movie, WWE saw that star potential and offered her a contract. Her relentless drive and resilience to "make it" comes from a very powerful and emotional backstory with her father. They bonded by watching wrestling and she made a promise to him that one day she would make it in the WWE. Sadly, her father passed away in the 9/11 attacks and never saw Thea's dream come true. But you know he's right there with her and so proud. We're rooting for her every step of the way. Congrats Thea and as we always talk about, be the hardest worker in the room. #Respect #Trinidad #WWE 💪🏾"

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