Daphanie LaShaunn

Daphanie LaShaunn
LaShaunn in April 2024
Birth nameAja Smith
Born (1994-06-09) June 9, 1994 (age 30)
Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2022)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Aja Perera
Daphanie LaShaunn
Momoe-chan
Aja Smith
Billed height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Billed weight154 lb (70 kg)
Trained byFred Avery
Jay Fury

Aja Smith (born June 9, 1994) is a Brazilian professional wrestling referee and former professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Daphanie LaShaunn on the Raw brand.

Early and personal life

Smith is married to professional wrestler Leon Ruff. They announced their engagement on November 30, 2020,[1] and married two years later on September 5, 2022.[2] They have a dog named Juni.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit

Smith wrestled for a number of promotions on the independent circuit, most notably for Shine Wrestling, where she won two championships during her tenure, and less notably Girl Fight Wrestling, where she held the Girl Fight Championship for 842 days, from July 12, 2018, through to January 10, 2020.[4]

Shine Wrestling (2017–2020)

Perera made her in-ring debut for Shine Wrestling at Shine 42 on May 12, 2017, in a losing effort against Dementia D'Rose.[5] Perera would go on to win her first championship, the Shine Nova Championship, later that year at Shine 54 on November 2, 2018, after defeating Candy Cartwright.[6] Perera held the title for 189 days, before losing it to Shotzi Blackheart at Shine 58 on May 10, 2019.[7]

At Shine 61 on September 21, 2019, as the tag team of Triple Aye, Perera and Big Swole won the Shine Tag Team Championships from Rainbow Bright (Gabby Gilbert and Luscious Latasha).[8] They successfully defended the championships for 119 days, before ultimately dropping them to BYE (Jayme Jameson & Marti Belle) at a Shine live event on January 18, 2020, in Fern Park, Florida, in what was Perera's last match with the promotion.[9]

WWE (2020-present)

In December 2019, Smith was one of 40 athletes to attend a tryout held inside the WWE Performance Center, which was overseen by head coach Matt Bloom.[10] She officially signed with WWE on February 5, 2020. She started out by officiating matches on the NXT brand.[11]

At WrestleMania 38 on April 2 and 3, 2022, Smith made history as the first black female referee to officiate at WrestleMania. In addition, Smith and her fellow female referee Jessika Carr became the first two women to officiate back-to-back WrestleMania matches.[12]

During a live event in Vancouver on September 25, 2022, she won the WWE 24/7 Championship after pinning Nikki A.S.H. She successfully defended the championship after winning it by kicking out of a pin attempt from referee Shawn Bennett, but later lost the title that night to Dana Brooke.[13]

Other media

Smith made her video game debut in WWE 2K24 under her real name of Aja Smith. She can be selected as a referee in most match types, and is a playable character in the special guest referee match.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ WWE.com Staff (November 30, 2020). "NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff gets engaged to NXT referee Aja Smith". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  2. ^ LaShaunn, Daphanie [@RefBaeDaphWWE] (September 5, 2022). "I married my soulmate in the rain today. The best night of my life. I'm a whole wife, y'all!!!!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ LEONRUFFIN [@LEONRUFF_] (November 13, 2020). "I woke up with @RefAjaWWE on my left, our sweet boy Juni by our feet, and the @WWENXT North American Championship on my right. It's hard to wake up on the wrong side of the bed!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b "Titles - Daphanie LaShaunn". Cagematch.net. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  5. ^ "SHINE 42". Cagematch.net. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Trinofo, Richard (November 2, 2024). "Shine 54 iPPV Report: A New Champion, A Tag Team Implodes, Santana Shows A Different Side, And More". PWInsider. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Thompson, Andrew (May 10, 2019). "SHINE 58 Results (5/10/19): SHINE Tag Titles Match, Mercedes Martinez vs. Su Yung, More". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Walsh, Shannon (September 21, 2019). "Shine 61 In NYC Report". PWInsider. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "SHINE". Cagematch.net. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  10. ^ WWE.com Staff (December 7, 2019). "WWE holds tryout with former Bellator MMA champion, former Olympian, identical twins, retired Green Beret and more". WWE. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Vera, Amir (February 8, 2020). "WWE welcomes its first full-time African American female referee in Aja Smith". CNN. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  12. ^ Defelice, Robert (April 5, 2022). "Jessika Carr And Daphanie LaShaunn Made History At WrestleMania 38 Saturday". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Defelice, Robert (September 25, 2022). "Referee Daphanie LaShaunn (Aja Smith) Wins WWE 24/7 Title At Live Event, Quickly Loses It". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "24/7 Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.