Alicia Fox

Victoria Elizabeth Crawford^[1] (born June 30, 1986)^[2] is an American model, actress, and professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under the ring name Alicia Fox,^[1] performing on the Raw brand.

Crawford debuted on SmackDown in June 2008, using the Alicia Fox name and the gimmick of a wedding planner.^[4] In November, she moved to the ECW brand, where she managed DJ Gabriel.^[5] The following year, Fox began challenging for the WWE Divas Championship,^[6] which she won in June 2010, holding the title for two months,^[7] and becoming the first and only African American Divas Champion in WWE history.^[8] In October 2014, she began starring in the reality television series Total Divas on E! as part of the main cast.^[9]

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE[

Developmental territories (2006–2008)

Crawford made her professional wrestling debut for the WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) on July 1, 2006.[1] She won the OVW Women's Championship[1] that same year. Crawford was later assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) after WWE terminated its working relationship with OVW. She wrestled in FCW until her move to Smack Down in 2008.

Brand switches (2008–2010)[edit]

Crawford debuted on WWE's main roster on the June 13, 2008 episode of Smack Down, as Alicia Fox, in a backstage segment with Vickie Guerrero, which saw her portraying Guerrero and Edge's wedding planner.[4] During their wedding reception the following month, Triple H revealed Edge kissing Fox the day before the wedding on camera.[10] Fox involved herself in the WWE Championship match at The Great American Bash when she attempted to help Edge, but she was stopped by Guerrero.[11] The confusion surrounding her interference caused Edge to accidentally spear Guerrero.[11]

Fox at the Wrestle Mania XXV event in April 2009

After a three-month hiatus from television, Fox resurfaced on the November 18 episode of ECW, managing English wrestler DJ Gabriel, in a fan favorite role.[5] Their on-screen association was explained by WWE claiming that Fox had moved her wedding planning business to England during her hiatus from WWE television, where she had met Gabriel.[3] Gabriel and Fox began feuding with the Burchill siblings (Paul and Katie Lea) in late December 2008. Fox made her ECW in-ring debut on January 6, 2009, in a loss to Katie Lea.[12] The following week, Gabriel and Fox defeated the Burchill siblings in a mixed tag team match, giving Fox her first win as part of the brand.[13] In March, Fox and Gabriel feuded with Tyson Kidd and Natalya, with Natalya defeating Fox on March 3 episode of ECW.[14] Fox competed in the 25 Diva battle royal at WrestleMania XXV, which was ultimately won by Santina Marella.[2][15]

Fox was drafted to the SmackDown brand as a part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft on April 15.[16] She made her in-ring debut as a villainous SmackDown Diva on the April 30 episode of WWE Superstars, teaming with Michelle McCool to defeat Maria and Gail Kim.[17] After winning her debut match, Fox aligned herself with Michelle McCool, with the pair teaming together in tag team matches as well as accompanying each other to the ring for singles matches.[18][19] Fox was in the corner of McCool when McCool won the WWE Women's Championship at The Bash.[20] Alicia Fox then went on to have a several week feud with SmackDown Diva Maria Kanellis. However, the rivalry wasn't aired due to time difficulties. It was mostly Fox who won most the matches proving to be the best out of the two Divas. The rivalry came to an end after a No. 1# Contendors match won by Alicia Fox. The main reason the rivalry didn't continue was because Michelle McCool was the champion at the time and Alicia Fox was in an alliance with her.

On June 29 it was announced that Fox had been traded to the Raw brand.[21] The following week, she made her Raw debut in a tag team match, teaming with Maryse against Gail Kim and Mickie James in a losing effort.[20] She gained her first victory on Raw on July 13, when Fox, Maryse, and Rosa Mendes won a six-Diva tag team match.[22] Fox picked up her first pinfall victory by defeating Kelly Kelly during a tag team match on the July 20 episode of Raw.[23] On the August 10 episode of Raw, Fox was involved in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship, but was unsuccessful.[6] The following month, on September 14, she defeated Gail Kim to become the number one contender to the Divas Championship.[24] She received a match for the championship at Hell in a Cell against Mickie James on October 4, but was unsuccessful.[25] Fox became the number one contender to the Divas Championship again on the November 2 episode of Raw, by winning a battle royal which involved The Bella Twins, Eve Torres, Gail Kim, and Kelly Kelly.[26] She challenged Melina two weeks later for the championship, but was unsuccessful.[27] Melina then vacated the Divas Championship due to injury, and a tournament was set up to determine the new champion in early January 2010.[28] Fox defeated Kelly Kelly in the first round of the tournament, but later lost to Gail Kim in the semi-finals.[29][30] Fox was on the winning team in a 10-Diva tag team match at WrestleMania XXVI, but on the losing side the following night in a rematch on Raw.[31][32] On the April 5 episode of Raw, Fox was involved in a "Dress to Impress" battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, but was unsuccessful, and the match was won by Eve Torres.[33]

In May 2010, Fox began a storyline with Zack Ryder, after he requested that she and Gail Kim be ringside on several occasions to watch his matches, so he could impress them and find a new valet.[34] During his match with Evan Bourne on May 10, Fox interfered on Ryder's behalf, but was stopped by Gail Kim.[35] The following week, Bourne and Kim defeated Ryder and Fox in a mixed tag team match.[36] After the match, the evil Fox attacked Ryder in order to collect a "bounty" from the Raw guest host, Ashton Kutcher.[37]

Divas Champion (2010–2011)[edit]

An African-American woman with dark curly hair, wears a camouflage dress with a red belt and fur trim on the shoulders, white wrestling boots and knee-high red stockings. A blonde woman, wearing a black hooded jacket is visible in the background, standing with her back to the camera.

Alicia Fox at the 2010 Tribute to the Troops event

On June 20, 2010, at the Fatal 4–Way pay–per–view, Fox competed in a fatal four–way match for the WWE Divas Championship, which also involved Gail Kim, Eve Torres, and Maryse. Fox pinned Maryse to win the championship for the first time, and as a result became the first and only African American Diva to win the title.[7][8] In her first title defence, on the July 5 episode of Raw, Fox successfully defended the championship against Eve after feigning an ankle injury[38] and as a result, Eve was granted a rematch at Money in the Bank by Raw's anonymous General Manager, where Fox was again able to successfully retain the championship.[39][40] In August, Melina returned from an injury and attacked Fox, after the latter declared herself to be undefeatable and the greatest champion in history.[41] After defeating Fox in a non–title match on Raw,[42] Melina was granted a title shot, on August 15, at SummerSlam, which she won, ending Fox's reign at 56 days.[43]

On August 31, Fox was announced as the mentor of Maxine for the all–female third season of NXT[44] but Maxine failed to win the competition, and was the second rookie Diva to be eliminated.[45] Fox received a rematch for the Divas Championship against Melina on the September 6 episode of Raw, which she lost.[46] In December, Fox competed in a battle royal to determine the winner of the "Diva of the Year" Slammy Award, but was eliminated by Natalya[47] and also took part of a triple–threat number one contender's match, which was won by Melina.[48]

Various storylines (2011–2013)[edit]

On April 26, 2011, Fox was drafted back to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft[49] and in her first match back for the brand, acting as a villainess, she was defeated by Layla and suffered a shoulder injury.[50][51] On the May 27 episode of SmackDown, in her return, Fox and Tamina Snuka defeated the team of Kaitlyn and AJ Lee,[52] which later transitioned into a feud between the two sets of Divas, with Fox and Tamina regularly winning tag team matches and allying with Rosa Mendes.[53][54] The alliance between Fox and Tamina ended on the August 11 episode of WWE Superstars, when Fox defeated Tamina in a singles match.[55]

After a tag team match, which they lost, on the August 19 episode of SmackDown, Fox was attacked by Natalya, which provoked a feud between the two.[56] She began acting as a face while wrestling alongside several different Divas to face Natalya and Beth Phoenix, collectively known as The Divas of Doom, in tag team matches,[57] and also regularly competing against them in singles matches.[58][59] As part of the storyline, Fox also prevented Natalya and Phoenix from attacking other Divas, including Kelly Kelly[60] and AJ.[61] The storyline continued sporadically throughout the first half of 2012, with Fox losing tag team[62] and singles matches to Phoenix and Natalya.[63][64] Fox spent the remainder of 2012 and early 2013 competing in sporadic matches, usually on the losing side.[1] In mid–2013, Fox appeared on the rebooted WWE NXT, entering a tournament to determine the inaugural NXT Women's Champion, where she defeated Bayley in the first round, but lost to Paige in the semi–finals.[65][66]

Various alliances (2013–2016)[edit]

In September, Fox took part of the WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee's team which feuded with the cast of the Total Divas reality television show, which led to a traditional seven–on–seven elimination tag team match, in which Fox was the first to be eliminated, courtesy of Naomi.[67]

"Foxsana" Aksana (left) and Alicia Fox (right) in April 2014

Since January 2014, Fox formed a tag team with Aksana, later dubbed "Foxsana".[68][69][70] On April 6, Fox competed at WrestleMania XXX in the 14–Diva "Vickie Guerrero Invitational match" for the WWE Divas Championship, which was won by the defending champion AJ Lee.[71] After that, Fox started a feud with the newly crowned WWE Divas Champion Paige, losing to her in a series of matches on Raw,[72] Main Event,[73] and WWE Superstars.[74] Her losses provoked a storyline, in which she lost her temper after matches, taunting the ring announcers, ringside crew, and crowd and defacing the ringside area.[75][76] Fox was eventually able to defeat Paige on Raw on May 19 in a non–title match and celebrated by taking Jerry Lawler's crown afterwards.[77] Her victory set up a title match between the two at Payback, on June 1, which Fox lost.[78] Following a further loss to Paige on June 9, Fox attacked tag team partner Aksana, before defeating her in a match on SmackDown, officially disbanding Foxsana.[79][80]

After a hiatus, Fox returned to WWE television, on the September 29 episode of Raw, where she defeated AJ Lee, with the help of her former rival Paige[81] and subsequently, formed an alliance with her, and went on to pick up another win over AJ on October 20.[82] However, when Fox inadvertently cost Paige a title match at Hell in a Cell,[83] Paige dissolved the alliance by attacking her the following night on Raw.[84] This prompted a traditional four–on–four elimination tag team match, with each captaining a side, at the Survivor Series pay–per–view in November, where Fox's team won the match with a clean sweep.[85] In January 2015, Fox developed a rivalry with Naomi, during which she formed a brief alliance with The Miz and Damien Mizdow, and the trio went on to defeat Naomi and The Usos in a series of mixed tag team matches.[86][87] On the April 13 episode of Raw, Fox competed in a number one contender's battle royal for Nikki Bella's WWE Divas Championship, which would be won by Paige.[88]

On the June 15 episode of Raw, Fox was a part of the Divas that Paige tried to rally in an attempt to take a stand against The Bella Twins and join her, but no one accepted the offer.[89] Three days later on SmackDown, Fox assisted Brie Bella in her match against Paige, and thus aligning herself with The Bella Twins and formed "Team Bella".[90][91] After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige, Naomi, and Tamina, Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas Division by introducing the debuting Charlotte and Becky Lynch as Paige's allies, and NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks aligning with Naomi and Tamina, leading to a brawl between the three teams.[92][93] The three teams would ultimately face off, on August 23, at SummerSlam in a three team elimination match. Team Bella would first eliminate Team B.A.D. when Brie Bella pinned Tamina, however Team PCB would win the match after Brie was pinned by Becky Lynch.[94][95] On the August 25 episode of Tough Enough, Fox make a special appearance on the finale of the sixth season, wrestling finalists Amanda and eventual winner Sara Lee.[96] Fox spent the remainder of 2015 competing occasionally in singles matches and tag team matches with Brie Bella, while Nikki Bella was off television with an injury.[97][98][99]

After defeating Charlotte in a non–title match on the February 1 episode of Raw,[100] Brie was granted a match for the WWE Divas Championship at Fastlane on February 21, where she failed to capture the title.[101] During that time, Team Bella quietly disbanded and both Fox and Brie transitioned into fan favorites.[102][103]

Fox celebrating along her fellow Total Divas co-stars their victory at WrestleMania 32 in April 2016

Upon the fading of Team Bella, Fox teamed up with Brie against Team B.A.D. on the March 14 episode of Raw, where both of them were defeated after a distraction provided by Lana, transitioning herself into a face.[104] On the March 22 episode of Main Event, alongside Natalya she accompanied Paige to her match against Naomi, accompanied by Tamina and Lana. Later in the match, she and Natalya were viciously attacked by Summer Rae and a returning Emma, distracting Paige as they aligned themselves with Lana and Team B.A.D.[105] The following week, she along with Brie and Natalya accompanied Paige to her match against Emma on the March 28 episode of Raw, where she was defeated after Lana attacked Paige. Post-match, she along her allies were attacked by Emma, Summer, Lana, Tamina and Naomi, before they were saved by a returning Eva Marie.[106] As a result, a 10-Diva tag team match between the Total Divas team (Brie, Fox, Natalya, Eva and Paige) and the newly dubbed team B.A.D. & Blonde (Naomi, Tamina, Lana, Emma, and Rae) was announced for the WrestleMania 32's pay-per-view pre-show.[107] At the event on April 3, Fox's team won after Naomi submitted to Brie Bella.[108][109]

Raw and 205 Live (2016–present)[edit]

After being drafted to Raw as part of the 2016 WWE draft which took place on July 19,[110] Fox made her first appearance for the brand on August 15, where she was defeated by Charlotte.[111] On the September 5 episode of Raw, Fox was involved in a backstage confrontation with Nia Jax,[112] resulting in a match between the two on the September 12 episode of Raw, which would end in a no contest after Jax speared Fox through the ringside barricade.[113] At Clash of Champions, a rematch took place where Jax resulted victorious.[114] After suffering a streak of losses, Fox scored a victory over Dana Brooke on the November 4 episode of Superstars.[115] On the November 7 episode of Raw, Fox was announced as one of the participants in the 5–on–5 Traditional Survivor Series Women's Elimination match at Survivor Series from her brand's team, before winning a six-woman tag team match along with her fellow team partners.[116] At the event on November 20, Fox's team would get the victory for Raw and she eliminated Carmella before being eliminated by Alexa Bliss.[117]

On the December 6 episode of 205 Live, Fox started an on-screen relationship with Cedric Alexander by kissing him before his match against Noam Dar, in which Alexander was defeated. Dar dedicated his victory to Fox.[118] Two weeks later on Raw, Fox accompanied Alexander in a rematch against Dar, where he was victorious. Dar attempted to seduce her again afterwards.[119] On January 10, 2017, Alexander severed ties with Fox on 205 Live after she interfered during his match with Dar and ended up costing him the match.[120] Subsequently, Fox became Dar's new girlfriend and returned to being a villainess.