Nikki Cross


Nicola Glencross is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nikki Cross.
Cross previously wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring name Nikki Storm, most notably for Insane Championship Wrestling,, Scottish Wrestling Entertainment, and Shimmer Women Athletes. She and Alexa Bliss are the first two-time Women's Tag Team Champions in WWE history.

Early life

Glencross was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, and graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She is also a qualified fitness instructor and personal trainer.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2008–2015)

In September 2008, Glencross began training at the Scottish Wrestling Alliance, where she made her debut for the promotion, performing under the ring name Nikki Storm. In February 2010, she began working on the British independent circuit, and became a mainstay for promotions such as her debuting at the Insane Championship Wrestling, and, where she held the three times. In 2013, Storm began touring in Japan with JWP Joshi Puroresu, and made some appearances for World Wonder Ring Stardom until the middle of the summer of 2015. In October 2013, Storm began wrestling for American all-female promotions Shimmer Women Athletes, Shine Wrestling and Women Superstars Uncensored. She has also wrestled for Global Force Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, World Wide Wrestling League, Queens of Combat, and World Xtreme Wrestling.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2014)

Glencross competed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 's British Boot Camp 2, which began airing in October 2014, in which she was unsuccessful.

WWE (2016–present)

NXT (2016–2018)

Glencross received a tryout with WWE in London during the autumn of 2015, and in April 2016, she was one of ten signees that had begun training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. She debuted for NXT on 22 April, during a live event. During a Facebook live video in August, she was introduced as Nikki Cross. She made her first televised appearance and in–ring debut on the 17 August episode of NXT under the name "Nikki Glencross", where she competed in a six-woman tag team match along with Carmella, and Liv Morgan, defeating Daria Berenato, Mandy Rose, and Alexa Bliss.
On the 12 October episode of NXT, Cross returned as part of the debuting heel stable, Sanity, along with Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young, and Sawyer Fulton. She and Young accompanied Fulton and Wolfe for their winning effort against Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger in the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. One week later, Cross scored her first televised singles victory over Danielle Kamela, however, the decision was reversed when Cross continued to attack Kamela after the match.
On the 11 January 2017 episode of NXT, Cross came to the aid of NXT Women's Champion Asuka, who was being attacked by Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, before turning on Asuka and attacking her as well. As a result, Cross, Royce and Kay were placed in a four-way match at the event on 28 January, which Cross failed to win. In May, Cross participated in a number one contender's battle royal for Asuka's NXT Women's Championship, where she, Ruby Riot, and Ember Moon were attacked by Asuka for being the last competitors left in the match and as a result, all four of them were placed into a four–way championship match at, which was later changed to a three–way match after Ember Moon suffered an injury. At the event, Cross failed to capture the title. In a rematch which was contested in a three–way elimination match once again against both women, Riot was the first eliminated before the match ended in a no contest as Cross and Asuka brawled backstage. This led to a last woman standing match between the two women for the NXT Women's Championship on the 28 June episode of NXT, in which Cross was once again defeated. On 19 August at, Cross accompanied and helped Sanity to capture the NXT Tag Team Championships from The Authors of Pain. In October, Cross earned herself a spot for the fatal four–way match for the vacant NXT Women's Championship at on 18 November, which was ultimately won by Ember Moon.
In early 2018, Cross began a little winning streak, defeating Lacey Evans and Vanessa Borne. During the 2018 Superstar Shake-up her fellow stable partners Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain were drafted to SmackDown, leaving Cross on NXT to work again as a singles competitor. Throughout the summer, Cross started a feud with Shayna Baszler over the NXT Women's Championship, which led to a match between the two at, in which Cross was once again unsuccessful and was defeated by technical submission. After a short hiatus, Cross returned in August and she was placed in the Aleister Black attack storyline where she was revealed to be a witness as she was on the roof of the building at the time he was attacked. In September, Cross also started a short feud with Bianca Belair which led to a match between the two that ended in a double count–out. One month later, on 17 October episode of NXT, a rematch ended in a no contest, after Aleister Black returned and interrupted it to ask Cross who his attacker is. Johnny Gargano was eventually revealed as the attacker and her involvement in the storyline sparked a match between Cross and Gargano's wife Candice LeRae, whom she was able to defeat in a singles match at. Cross wrestled her final match on the 9 January 2019 episode of NXT, where she lost to Bianca Belair, officially ending the feud between the two as well.

Main roster and teaming with Alexa Bliss (2018–present)

On the 6 November 2018 episode of SmackDown from Manchester, England, Cross made her surprise main roster debut by answering an open challenge from WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch, who defeated her in a non-title match. On the 17 December 2018 episode of Raw, Cross was advertised as one of the six NXT wrestlers about to be moved to the main roster. On the 14 January 2019 episode of Raw, Cross made her Raw debut, teaming with Bayley and Natalya in a winning effort against The Riott Squad.
At the Royal Rumble, Cross entered her first Royal Rumble match at number 8, lasting nine minutes before being eliminated by the IIconics. On the 4 February episode of Raw, Cross and Alicia Fox were defeated by The Boss 'n' Hug Connection in a match to determine the final Raw entrants in the tag team Elimination Chamber match to determine the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions at the Elimination Chamber event. On 8 April on Worlds Collide, she took part in a triple threat match for the NXT UK Women's Championship won by defending champion Toni Storm.
After not being mentioned during the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Cross was confirmed to have been drafted to the Raw brand on the 8 May taping of Main Event. After weeks without appearing on Raw, Cross returned on 13 May in a backstage scene with Alexa Bliss; this marked a change in her character, who appeared calmer and more collected than during her time in NXT. In the segment, Cross, seemingly sad and claiming that nobody even noticed that she had joined Raw, appeared to bond with Bliss, whose ring gear had been lost, and accepted to fill in for her in her upcoming match; Cross won her match later that night, a fatal four-way match against Dana Brooke, Naomi, and Natalya. This was her first match on Raw since February. She later unsuccessfully took part in the Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank event, having replaced Bliss who suffered an injury. After the event, Cross, having become Bliss' "best friend", started acting as her manager and tag team partner, starting on the 19 May episode of Raw during which she, Bliss and Becky Lynch defeated Lacey Evans and the IIconics.
On the 17 June episode of Raw, Cross and Bliss faced the IIconics for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful due to a distraction by Bayley, who was also in a feud against Bliss for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship; Cross, very upset by the loss, asked Bliss to be in her corner at Stomping Grounds, where Bliss would challenge Bayley for the title. Bliss was unsuccessful at the event; during the match, Cross, still upset at Bayley, had tried to attack her, which she subsequently believed to be the cause of Bliss' loss. Two days later, she appeared on SmackDown asking for another title opportunity for Bliss; she then defeated Bayley in a non-title match, earning Bliss another match for the title at Extreme Rules. Cross made the match at Extreme Rules a Handicap match for Bayley's title where she teamed with Bliss in a losing effort. On the 5 August edition of Raw, Bliss and Cross captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, marking Cross' first championship in WWE. Bliss and Cross defended their titles against the IIconics at SummerSlam, The Kabuki Warriors the following night on Raw and Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville at Clash of Champions. She and Bliss lost the titles at Hell in a Cell to the Kabuki Warriors, after Asuka used green mist on Cross, ending their reign at 62 days.
Although drafted separately instead of as a team during the 2019 WWE Draft, Cross and Bliss remained on Raw, but the team was then traded to SmackDown. Cross made an immediate impact on the brand, winning a match to earn a future shot at the SmackDown Women's Championship. On the Nov 1 episode of SmackDown, Cross unsuccessfully challenged Bayley for the SmackDown Women's Championship due to interference from Sasha Banks. A week later on the Nov 8 episode of SmackDown, Cross lost to Banks via submission. Cross got announced that she would be on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series along with Banks, Carmella, Lacey Evans, and Dana Brooke. At Survivor Series, Cross was the first woman to get eliminated and Team SmackDown would go on to lose that match. On the SmackDown after Survivor Series, Bliss would return and save Cross from an attack by Fire n' Desire after Cross defeated Rose. At WrestleMania 36 Cross and Bliss won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships for the second time by defeating The Kabuki Warriors. They lost the titles against Bayley and Sasha Banks on Smackdown. On the June 19, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Cross attacked WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks, which led to a match between Cross and Banks that Cross lost. The following week, Cross won a fatal four-way match to earn a SmackDown Women's Championship match against Bayley at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. At the event Cross lost the match when Bayley hit Cross with the Sasha Banks Boss Time brass knuckles. On the July 24, 2020 episode of SmackDown, An irate Cross demanded a rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Bayley agreed to the rematch, however, Bayley stated that Cross must defeat a worthy adversary in Bliss, setting up a match between Bliss and Cross where the winner would face Bayley for the title on the following week's SmackDown. Cross defeated Bliss to earn a rematch. On the July 31, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Cross shoved Bliss onto the floor after losing a SmackDown Women’s Championship match against Bayley.

Personal life

On 17 January 2019, Glencross married her longtime boyfriend and former Sanity stablemate, Damian Mackle, better known as Killian Dain.

Other media

Cross made her video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K18. She didn't appear in WWE 2K19, but she returns to the series in WWE 2K20.

Championships and accomplishments

  • '
  • *
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • *Ranked No. 18 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 100 in 2019
  • World Wide Wrestling League
  • * W3L Women's Championship
  • WWE'
  • * WWE Women's Tag Team Championship – with Alexa Bliss