Trivia / Ivelisse Vélez

• Breakup Breakout
  • Sofia Cortez and Paige were the "Anti-Diva Army" in FCW but had split by the first episode of NXT. She would be released not too later — while Paige would become the first NXT Women's Champion and later Divas' Champion. It should be noted that Britani Knight was more famous than Ivelisse before they were repackaged and put together, even taking Vélez's fleeting stints in larger companies like Tough Enough into account. The gap was filled in somewhat by Vélez's Lucha Underground run but it wasn't closed.
  • Notable in that both ladies kept the 'Anti Diva' gimmick but took it in different directions and became hugely popular for the stages they wrestled on as a result—it's just that Paige is on a much bigger stage than Ivelisse.
• Creator Backlash:
  • She's not a fan of the 'Baddest Bitch' nickname.
  • She's not too proud of a necklace, bracelet or blue bustier she wore while in WWE's FCW, saying she only dressed in such a manner because she was getting enough criticism for "wrestling like a man" and wanted to appease WWE enough to ensure she'd keep getting a paycheck.
• Dye Hard: Is naturally a blonde but has had her hair dyed every natural color but blonde since 2012.
• Hostility on the Set
  • Her feud with Jack Evans on Lucha Underground apparently wasn't entirely worked, as she is one of the most commonly cited reasons for him giving up and departing from the show, and she's fine not to comment on it. (The most she spoke about it was claiming that Evans went as far as challenging her to a legitimate fight.) For contrast, when Tessa Blanchard described Velez being hostile towards her at Impact Wrestling Velez insisted she was trying to help Blachard and that there must have been some misunderstanding.
  • Also in Lucha Underground, she became hostile towards Kobra Moon when Moon refused to take part in some spots Bengala called and broke Bengala's jaw, feeling Kobra Moon was out of line since Bengala was the veteran. Moon claims she didn't know how to do the spots at the time, that he gave her a potato first, and that she has no desire to engage in an off camera feud with Ivelisse.
  • And again with the former Kobra Moon, Thunder Rosa, at All Elite Wrestling. Ivelisse seemingly gave Rosa a potato, then pulled her second punch when she saw Rosa was still reeling and pie faced her instead, causing Thunder to deck Velez in the mouth and grab her by the hair. The referee tried to calm them down but two women mainly threw more stiff shots at one another in between blowing most of the spots they did attempt until Ivelisse stopped selling completely, all while rolling her eyes at the camera. Velez initially claimed that she was frustrated with Rosa forgetting the sequence they planned, later claiming that Rosa refused to follow Ivelisse's directions. Thunder dismissed the punches they threw as her trying to salvage the match, though Velez said she almost hit Rosa for real. Velez does claim to like her friends more than she dislikes Rosa, however, as when Mercedes Martinez expressed interest in the Tag Team title belts of Mission Pro Wrestling, Thunder Rosa's promotion, Velez, who had previously been avoiding it, said she'd be Martinez's partner if that's what it took to get what Martinez wanted.
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: Debuted in Lucha Underground by teaming with Son of Havoc - who was her fellow Tough Enough contestant Matt Cross.
• Playing Against Type: Juliette the Huntress was primarily a heel. Ivelisse has a tendency to get booked in promotions initially as a heel, but end up getting over, resulting in a Heel–Face Turn. It was surprising however when she was booked as a Face for the TNA Gut Check. Especially since she appeared as a heel at all subsequent TNA events.
• Real Song Theme Tune
  • "The Outsider" by A Perfect Circle.
  • "Love Dem Gun Sounds" by Waka Flocka Flame
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor
  • Ivelisse has been iffy with the details about why she was released from WWE. At the time it was said for supposed "attitude problems" and acting arrogant. During the Bill DeMott controversy that arose a few years later, she confirmed that she had been released for speaking up against him - and that she was released to be made an example of. She's still kept the specifics vague however.
  • Her brief time in All Elite Wrestling ended after she was released for refusing to sell for Thunder Rosa. Ivelisse claims she was released for speaking up about abuse by a coach, but she still made sure to confirm that she doesn't like Thunder Rosa and wasn't sorry about what she did.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: From a creative standpoint, Vélez enjoyed Lucha Underground, from a business standpoint not so much. Delays in the airing of seasons, which she was contractually obligated to stay off of non Lucha Underground television until the completed airing of was her first gripe but after she canceled a date for a Lucha Underground show that she ended up not booked on Vélez decided to join King Cuerno, Joey Ryan and Kobra Moon in forcing the promotion to let them work where they wanted so long as they made their scheduled Lucha Underground dates. By 2019 they had succeeded.
• She Also Did: She was acting as the trainer for the beginner women in FCW before Sara Del Rey was hired.
• Star-Making Role: Before she appeared on WWE Tough Enough she mainly wrestled the Chicago indies, and had only appeared as a Jobber on the SHIMMER pre-shows. After her stint on the show, and time in WWE developmental, she enjoyed more high profile bookings afterwards.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Was set to make her mixed martial arts debut for FightCard Entertainment, March 1st 2013 in Chicago but it conflicted with TNA Gutcheck, which she opted to pursue instead since no opponent had been announced. Had TNA found more use for her, the beating she took from the baby faces of SHINE might have been used to explain her absence from further shows.
  • She wanted to dye her hair brown while in WWE - feeling blonde hair didn't fit the 'Anti Diva Army' gimmick. WWE insisted she remain blonde however.
  • According to her she was on the verge of being called up to the main roster, and was about to start filming for video packages when she was released.
  • Among the leading causes to the rise of Vélez and Yim in SHINE was Jazz, Mercedes Martinez and Radiant Rain all working through injuries, leading to Vélez "retiring" the latter until hip surgery let her get back in the ring. Rain's issues came from a car accident, so things could have been very different with more luck behind the wheel.
  • There were a few enterprises across the independent circuit interested in booking her against Karlee Perez after she, going by Catrina, helped the Disciples Of Death defeat Vélez's team for the Lucha Underground Trios title belts. Unfortunately it couldn't be done immediately because Vélez had been injured on a Lucha Underground show previous to the incident and when Vélez finally seemed ready she was injured on yet another Lucha Underground show. Lucha Underground itself ended up being where it finally happened.
  • In 2016 Vélez received an invitation from World Wonder Ring ST★RDOM but she could not make it after breaking her ankle for the second time.