Nikki Roxx

Our resident philosopher looks at the Hardcore Honey who lost her spot in TNA after Slammiversary VIII.

Lovely and lethal, that's a phrase that could easily describe Roxxi. She's closing in on a decade as a pro wrestler and has gone through many personality adjustments on her way to becoming the Hardcore Honey. At Slammiversary, Roxxi put her career against Madison Rayne's TNA Knockout title. She came up a little short and now faces the next step in her career.

A solid training

Nicole Raczynski grew up a wrestling fan in the Boston area. Nicole met and became friends with pro wrestler, April Hunter. Hunter saw something in her friend and urged her to train for wrestling. Nicole received some training from Hunter's then-boyfriend, Slyk Wagner Brown, but the majority of her training came from Killer Kowalski (the same man who trained HHH and Chyna). Kowalski actually trained Nicole for free (possibly as a favor to Hunter or because he had a "soft spot" for females trying to break into the business). Nicole took the ring name Nikki Roxx (a nickname she had as a child). Her debut match was in March, 2002. She teamed with her friend, Hunter, as the Killer Babes. After touring the East Coast indies, Nikki accepted tours in Mexico, where female wrestling his highly promoted. She worked for both major companies (AAA and CMLL).

A star Shimmers

Nikki was there from day one in Shimmer. She has worked, off and on, with the company for five years. Roxxi had significant roles on the first 14 Shimmer DVDs. She started as an opener but rose to the Main Event by 14. She had a tremendous battle against Amazing (Awesome) Kong during Volume 6. Her work ethic brought her to the attention to scouts for both the WWE and TNA. When Nikki signed with TNA, she was forced to leave Shimmer. She would return in 2008 for a series of special appearances. Upon her return to Shimmer, she worked both singles and tag team matches. Roxxi actually worked her first match back from the badly broken ankle in Shimmer on April 10, 2010. She will likely return to Shimmer, now that her TNA career appears over. More on that later.

The changing face (and character) of Roxxi

TNA's Abyss met Nikki at an indy show in mid-2007. He went to the "Powers-that-Be" and suggested that she should be considered for the expanding Knockout division. After scouting reports from various agents, Nikki was offered a contract with the company.

Nikki made her first appearance, as the valet to the Voodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. and Kip James), at Victory Road 2007. Her character was supposedly the granddaughter of the legendary Louisiana witch/priestess Marie Laveaux. Named Roxxi Laveaux, she twisted and gyrated as somewhat of a cross between a witch and a gypsy. She hypnotized refs and immediately began a feud with Christy Hemme. Roxxi was the 10th entrant into the Gauntlet match to crown the first TNA Knockout Championship. She made it to the finals, only to be defeated by the eventually champion, Gail Kim. Roxxi went through a major slump after losing to Kim. She was eventually fired from VKM by Kip James.

The Hardcore Honey

After leaving VKM, Roxxi ran afoul of the Beautiful People. They offered to give her a make-over. The seemingly shy and naive Roxxi was attacked by Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. Roxxi would survive the battles with the Beautiful People and become the very first Queen of the Cage. Not long after, Roxxi battled in a Make-over Battle Royal. She made it to the final two. The rules of the match were that the winner would get a title shot and the loser would have her head shaved. Gail Kim took the win and Roxxi got sheared. The Beautiful People got involved because, had Roxxi won, the shearing would have been done to Angelina Love (Gail Kim had won immunity). The shearing was a catalyst to an all new persona. The shy witchling was gone and the Mistress of Hardcore was born.

Roxxi cast off not only her hair but her surname after the loss. She became an instant fan favorite for having the courage to actually allow her head to be shaved. Roxxi also began to change into her Hardcore Honey character. Roxxi battled in several Hardcore matches. She took some nasty bumps and often came up bloodied. Roxxi continued to battle the Beautiful People but also set her sights on Awesome Kong, a women she had battled, several years earlier. Roxxi even disguised herself as Kong's handler, Raisha Saeed, to attack Kong. Roxxi also worked with Taylor Wilde to bring in The Governor (Daffney doing a Sarah Palin impression). Roxxi got into hot water with TNA after a real-life scuffle, backstage, with Rhaka Khan. Khan was fired and Roxxi was suspended for 60 days. TNA decided, during the suspension, to release Roxxi (partially from pressure from Kurt Angle, who was Rhaka's boyfriend, at the time).

Roxxi returned for three weeks between August 31st and September 18, to help flesh out the tag team tournament to determine the first ever Knockout Tag Team Champions. She and Madison Rayne were knocked out in the first round. Roxxi also served as a LumberJill for the match between Alissa Flash (Raisha Saeed) and Cody Deaner.

A quick run in the indies and Mexico

After leaving TNA, Roxxi changed back to being Nikki Roxx to work a few indy shows on the East Coast. Her biggest appearance after leaving TNA was on the September 28th edition of Ring of Honor (broadcast on HDNet). She lost to old foe, Sara Del Ray. She accepted an offer from Konnan to travel back to AAA. There, she was scheduled as one of the new recruits of Konnan's La Legion Extranjero (The Foreign Legion). She only made one appearance in AAA, before returning to TNA.

The Ankle Injury

Roxxi came back to TNA on December 17, 2010. She defeated then-TNA Knockout Champion, ODB, in a non-title match. 4 days later, Roxxi broke her ankle in two places during a match with Ayako Hamada. During her recovery, Roxxi was released (March 4,2010) as part of a cost-cutting measure.

The very brief return

On May17, 2010, Roxxi made a surprise return to defeat Knockout Champion Madison Rayne in a non-title match. Roxxi immediately earned herself a Knockout title match at Slammiversary VIII. Before the match, held on June 13th, Madison taunted Roxxi to put her career up against Rayne's title. Madison blasted Roxxi in the face with a microphone, busting her open. Roxxi hit her Voodoo Drop finisher, but Rayne fell out of the ring. Rayne caught Roxxi with a kick, as Roxxi returned to the ring. Madison hit her Rayne of Terror (Zack Attack) finisher to retain her title and expel Roxxi from TNA.

In Conclusion:

Nikki Roxx/Roxxi has had a great career over the last 8+ years. She's become the leading Hardcore/Extreme female in the business. Her options are wide open. Mexico is a big possibility. Shimmer loves Nikki. There's always the possibility of a run in the WWE. No matter what the future hold, Nikki/Roxxi will thrive. You can see many of the Nikki Roxx matches at ClickWrestle.com. Remember, you can make a Greatest Matches DVD of your favorite matches. Just follow the instructions (kids, get your parents' permission, first). You can also see several galleries of Roxxi/Nikki at OnlineWorldofWrestling.

Peace
--Jay Shannon
Jade89512@yahoo.com