After a decade away from professional wrestling, transgender former WWE star Gabbi Tuft arrived in Florida this week to prepare for a return to the squared circle.
Tuft carried her luggage around Tampa International Airport wearing black skinny jeans and a leopard-print belt.
Tuft, known as Tyler Reks during her first four-year run with WWE, was released from the company in 2012 and retired from competition in 2014.
Three years after coming out as a transgender woman in February 2021, the 45-year-old Tuft publicly expressed a desire to return to the ring on social media.
Tuft has nearly a million followers on TikTok and a recent video shows her in the ring performing her former finishing move, the ‘Burning Hammer’, in a side-by-side with when she executed the slam as Reks.
Tuft arrived in Florida to train with WWE superstar Natalya with an eye to return to the ring
Tuft has not wrestled in a match for the WWE since August 2012, when she was released
Tuft has talked about a return to the ring on her social media for several months
A return to the WWE would make Tuft the company’s first transgender superstar in history
On Wednesday, she posted a shot to Instagram captioned ‘Mother is Coming’, showing herself standing inside a wrestling ring with current WWE superstar Natalya.
Tuft has been training at ‘The Dungeon 2.0’ ran by Natalya and her husband TJ Wilson, who was known in WWE as Tyson Kidd before retiring in 2017 due to injury.
Natalya posted a photo to her Instagram Thursday at her training facility with Tuft alongside around a dozen others, including current WWE superstars Angelo Dawkins, Carlito, and Ashante Adonis.
WWE’s recent ‘Royal Rumble’ event was held in Florida and the WWE Performance Center is located in Orlando.
Tuft has dropped about 100 pounds from when she performed as Reks by changing her diet and fitness routine. Reks was billed at 6-foot-2 and around 250 pounds for her entire WWE run.
Tuft’s last official match took place at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate event, teaming with former WWE wrestler Curt Hawkins against All Elite Wrestling’s Lance Hoyt and Kevin Matthews.
