Emma Diaz grew up in Kendall with aspirations of competing in gymnastics at the Olympics.
How that road has changed.
While competing in one sport, another door opened. And another and another.
From gymnastics, dance and cheerleading to flag football and then rugby and amateur wrestling, which led to her current life in professional wrestling.
She never thought that would be her calling.
But Diaz is Catalina Speed, starring for WOW – Women Of Wrestling, an all-women’s pro-wrestling promotion co-owned by Jeanie Buss, a WOW executive producer and governor of the NBA Los Angeles Lakers.
Photo: Miami’s Emma Diaz is Catalina Speed, a WOW – Women Of Wrestling superhero, competing in women’s professional wrestling nationally, including South Florida. Photo Via WOW Website
A daughter of a Cuban judo national team member who defected to Miami, here is Emma Diaz’s story.
For the 24-year-old South Floridian and her family, it’s been some journey already, which began when her father spent seven days on a raft through the treacherous waters from Cuba to Miami.
Her dad, Angel, defected, settling in Miami, after spending a year in Guantanamo Bay. Her father’s inspiring story fueled her determination, drive and passion for athletics and life.
By chance, Diaz happened to become a professional wrestler, spending a brief time in the top pro wrestling organization in the world, WWE, training with the ring name Carolina Cruz at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Now known as Catalina Speed, she is part of the all-women’s promotion WOW – Women Of Wrestling.
In national syndication weekly, WOW is broadcast 1 a.m. Sunday nights on The CW My33 TV in South Florida. WOW, along with the NWA, can also be seen 24/7 on the Wrestling Central channel on Roku.
Born in Miami and raised in Kendall, Diaz put her focus on gymnastics, longing to make the U.S. Olympic team. Judo and MMA weren’t her interests.
She trained at Universal Gymnastics (now known as Leyva Gymnastics Academy) in The Hammocks. She danced at Dance Unlimited in Miami and cheered for the Kendall Kolts youth cheer and football program and also prestigious Top Gun, a nationally recognized competitive cheer team in Miami.
Those gymnastics dreams didn’t materialize, but along the way, she became a flag football player at Western High School in Davie, after her family moved to Broward County.
She planned to become a firefighter after graduation in 2019, but her life changed dramatically, again by chance. A rugby club coach saw her training at a park just a few months from graduation and asked if she wanted to try the sport. She did, and quickly progressed by utilizing her aggressiveness, coordination and speed. That led to a college scholarship from Life University in Marietta, Georgia.
While competing in rugby and also amateur wrestling as a dual sport athlete in college, another unexpected opportunity presented itself. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) invited college athletes from around the country, including Diaz, to a tryout in Los Angeles. Diaz accepted and participated in the grueling workouts, which also included cutting a promo (speaking on the microphone).
With her aggression, athleticism and family story, WWE was impressed, inking her to a developmental contract in 2023. She was an integral part of the reality series “WWE: Next Gen“ on Roku.
Photo: Miami’s Emma Diaz is Catalina Speed, a WOW – Women Of Wrestling superhero, competing in women’s professional wrestling in Las Vegas. Photo Via WOW Website
In 2024, WWE released her, but she was determined to continue pursuing a pro wrestling career, working on the independent circuit, including South Florida-based Coastal Championship Wrestling, where WWE alum Gangrel serves as CCW’s head trainer and wrestler.
It didn’t take long for the nationally syndicated company WOW to come calling.
David McLane, founder of all-women’s pro wrestling promotions G.L.O.W. and WOW, signed her in 2025. She competes under the ring name Catalina Speed, a play on words from her athletic background and the need for speed, i.e. NASCAR. She enjoys car races. Her catchphrase: “There’s only one speed, and that’s mine.”
As a girl , Diaz attended Sunset Park Elementary School in Kendall and Glades Middle School near Miami.
As an adult, while training at the WWE PC in Orlando, she met WWE NXT superstar Lexis King (aka Brian Pillman Jr.), and the two have been dating ever since. She graduated from college, the first in her family to do so, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology (kinesiology/exercise science) from Life University. Her family and boyfriend are proud of her inside and outside the ring.
Diaz appreciates her family, especially what her father did, which led to all these opportunities for her. Her mom, Melanie Hernandez, is very supportive, too.
Working on the West Coast (Los Angeles and Las Vegas) with WOW, she is interested in acting, too, but her priorities these days are with WOW. She can also take independent wrestling bookings.
Catalina Speed is ready to rev up the action. She is as an athletic, tough, agile wrestler, using what she has learned in the ring, along with her athletic endeavors in gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, flag football, amateur wrestling and rugby to take things to a new level on the WOW broadcasts.
