Hailing from Albania, Xena embodies a warrior mentality. Growing up, she tried every sport and extracurricular activity available to her, from the soccer field to the theater stage, she mastered it all. Pushed by her father to find a more practical path in life, but encouraged by her mother to pursue her creative passions, she struggled to see her true destiny. Xena decided to start anew in Los Angeles, undergoing a rebirth that suited her childhood nickname “Phoenix.”

Once in Los Angeles, she tested the waters in the boxing ring, leading her to mixed martial arts, then to muay thai, grappling, and finally to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In her first tournament, she won gold, choking out her opponent in 30 seconds. Xena walked away that day with a new purpose. Suddenly, at her peak, she felt a knot in her neck. Everything came to a grinding halt, and after a doctor’s visit she was diagnosed with a tumor. Xena fell into a deep depression, no longer able to train or compete. Once again she had to reinvent herself and start from scratch.

Shedding the hardships of her past and focusing on her inner strength, Xena turned to wrestling. She found a way to channel her frustration and her competitive spirit, embodying the mystical phoenix with her rise to success in the ring. As the first Albanian professional wrestler, Xena’s dream at WOW is to proudly represent her homeland, and prove to others that sometimes you must burn yourself to ashes in order to rise like the phoenix.