Leyla Hirsch (Russian: Лейла Хирш; born September 27, 1996)[5] is a Russian-born American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), she also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).
| Leyla Hirsch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hirsch in July 2019 | |
| Born | September 27, 1996[1][2] Moscow, Russia |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Leyla Hirsch "Legit" Leyla Hirsch |
| Billed height | 4 ft 11 in (150 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 125 lb (57 kg)[3] |
| Trained by | Joe Gacy |
| Debut | 2017[4] |
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (2017–present)
Hirsch made her professional wrestling debut at Combat Zone Wrestling's Dojo Wars: Super Show 4 event on September 29, 2017, where she lost to Dojo DEEJ in a intergender match.[6] During her time in CZW, she worked with other infamous personalities such as Penelope Ford, whom she faced at CZW Greetings From Asbury Park on February 23, 2018, in a losing effort.[7] She even challenged Eran Ashe for the CZW Medal of Valor Championship in a last man standing match at CZW Dojo Wars SuperShow Seventeen on February 15, 2019, but unsuccessfully.[8] Hirsch also competed in Westside Xtreme Wrestling, making her debut against Valkyrie at wXw Road To World Tag Team Festival: Neumünster on September 14, 2019.[9] She fought in the wXw Femmes Fatales 2019 Tournament where she managed to reach the final match, the prize being a wXw Women's Championship at the 19th Anniversary show. She eventually got defeated by LuFisto.[10] Hirsch had a brief run with the Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she was a part of the Tokyo Cyber Squad stable and often fought alongside her fellow stablemates Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona and Konami.[11] On August 28, 2021, Hirsch faced Kamile at NWA Empowerrr for the NWA World Women's Championship, which Hirsch lost.[12]
All Elite Wrestling (2020–present)
On October 21, 2020, Hirsch made her AEW debut on AEW Dark where she lost to Hikaru Shida.[13] The following day on AEW Dynamite, she unsuccessfully challenged Serena Deeb for the NWA World Women's Championship.[14] On November 11 on AEW Dark Hirsch picked up her first win AEW win against Tesha Price.[15] On February 4, 2021, on Dynamite, she took part in the AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Tournament, losing to Thunder Rosa in the first round.[16] It was confirmed on March 15 by AEW president Tony Khan that Hirsch had officially signed with the company.[17] On August 4 on AEW Dynamite Homecoming, Hirsch faced The Bunny in a NWA World Women's title eliminator which Hirsch won.[18] From December till March 2022, Hirsch feuded with Kris Statlander and Red Velvet. Hirsch would face Statlander at Revolution's buy-in show, turning up victorious. On April 6, Hirsch suffered a torn ACL in an AEW Dark Elevation taping. Six weeks later, she underwent surgery.[19][20]
Ring of Honor (2023–present)
On the July 6, 2023, episode of ROH on Honor Club, Hirsch made her debut for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), replacing Maria Kanellis in a six person tag match, where she teamed with The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) to take on The Infantry, in which Hirsch scored the victory after submitting Trish Adora. In a post-match promo, Hirsch declared that she would focus on ROH going forward.[21] Hirsch defeated Adora again by submission on July 21, during the pre-show of Death Before Dishonor.[22] After the match, Hirsch reapplied her submission on Adora until Skye Blue made the save.[22]
On December 27, 2023 Leyla entered the inaugural ROH Women's World Television Championship tournament[23] and was victorious against Rachael Ellering in the first round.[24] On the February 24th, 2024 episode of Ring of Honor Leyla faced Red Velvet in the second round of the ROH Women's World Television Championship tournament but was not successful.[25]
Personal life
Hirsch was born in Moscow, Russia and lived there shortly until she was adopted by an American couple at the age of 8 as an orphan, and grew up in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey.[26] At the age of 15, she began amateur wrestling in high school and college.[27] On March 10, 2022, shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hirsch issued a statement on social media in support of Ukraine. She called the Russian President Vladimir Putin a "brutal dictator".[28]
Hirsch is openly lesbian. She announced her engagement to her partner Jordan Haykin on October 15, 2023.[29]
Other Media
Hirsch, along with other CZW wrestlers, appeared in the music video "If I Ever See You Again" by the American rock band Grayscale. [30][31]
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 61 of the top 150 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Women's 100 in 2021[32]
- Ranked No. 473 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2020[33]
References
External links
- Leyla Hirsch's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database