How Miami’s Lola Vice made pro wrestling history. ‘I was able to make it happen’
Miami’s Valerie Loureda continues to make history while competing, entertaining for the No.1 pro wrestling company in the world, World Wrestling Entertainment under the TKO banner.
Loureda, known as Lola Vice in WWE, is a perfect fit for this multi-billion dollar company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange. She combines athleticism, toughness, hard work, dedication, passion, mic skills and a great look with her social media and marketing abilities.
In June 2022, Loureda became the first Cuban-American woman to sign with WWE.
She trained at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, learning from a talented group of coaches, including former WCW wrestler Norman Smiley, a Miami Beach Senior High School alum.
She made her WWE debut on its NXT brand in October 2022 under the ring name Lola Vice. In 2023, she won the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament and continued to elevate her status as a pro wrestler/sports entertainer.
The 27-year-old standout won the AAA mixed tag team titles with Mr. Iguana in Mexico. They won those titles on Feb. 7, 2026, when they defeated Ethan Page and La Hiedra (replacing an injured Chelsea Green).
At NXT Stand & Deliver on April 4, 2026, in St. Louis, Vice made more history by defeating Jacy Jayne and Kendal Grey in a triple threat match to win the NXT Women’s Championship. That made her the first female Cuban-American wrestler to win a title in WWE and also a double champion (holding two belts simultaneously-AAA mixed tag and WWE NXT title).
Vice said: “I remember like it was yesterday I was sitting here telling you that this was my dream to win this championship [WWE NXT title], and now I just don’t have this one [WWE NXT title], but I have this one [AAA mixed tag title, too]. It just shows you that hard work pays off. This is a dream come true for me.”
That day.
“I was so nervous’ I was soooo nervous,” she said, “but I had my Cuban flag on, and I knew that I was going to do whatever it took to win that title that day, because it was long overdue for me, and I was able to make it happen and knock out Jacy Jane.”
Another highlight occurred in September 2025, when she wrestled Jayne for the NXT women’s title in the co-main event of NXT No Mercy in Fort Lauderdale, near her hometown, at War Memorial Auditorium, before friends and family.
“I remember standing in the ring, hearing the people, and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m not just doing this for myself; I’m doing this for them,” Vice said. “Definitely, losing that match against Jacy, because of Laney came in [interference], that broke my heart That was one of those that like, ‘I give up.’
“And then I had to pick myself up, and like, ‘No. You need to accomplish your dream of winning this championship. You can’t stop now.’ That is the moment of my career that I will remember for the rest of my life. I believe it was pivotal for Lola Vice, and shortly after that, I was able to come back and beat Jacy. That was heartbreaking, but at the same time, it needed to happen to turn me into the champion I am now.”
What’s it like wrestling in South Florida, her home terrain?
“I remember that chants were all like Hispanic chants, and I just felt at home; I was at home, and my family was there. I was able to do this in front of my family; so that in itself was an accomplishment.”
Recently she dropped the WWE NXt title to Kendal Grey in the main event of NXT’s Great American Bash at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Master Frank’s Taekwondo & Family
Valerie Loureda is a fifth-degree black belt in taekwondo.
Born into a taekwondo family. Her father, Francisco “Frank” Loureda, is an eighth-degree black belt and grandmaster who has operated his own academy, Master Frank’s Taekwondo Academy, since 1985 in Miami. He began teaching taekwondo in Miami for the W.R. Thomas Middle after-school program. He opened his own location in 1992 in Kendall.
Training in taekwondo as a toddler, by age 15, Loureda already earned “Master” status, a title bestowed to only the most elite Olympic-caliber taekwondo fighters in that discipline. She prepared for the upcoming Olympic trials.
Loureda quickly put her Olympic dreams on hold when her mom, Milagros “Millie,” waged a bigger fight: cancer. At age 16, Loureda became a surrogate mother to her two younger sisters, Natalie and Francesca, helping them any way possible.
In 2017, Loureda said a blessing occurred. A donor with a bone marrow match gave her mom new life.
Her mom, a taekwondo black belt and a special education teacher at Miami-Dade Public Schools/Banyan Elementary School, beat cancer.
Her sisters earned black belts in taekwondo, too.
Natalie is a fourth-degree black belt and Francesca a black belt. Both graduated from Lourdes.
Before WWE, Loureda became an MMA fighter at age 20, competing for Bellator where she posted a 4-1 record. Instead of returning to her taekwondo pursuits, she opted to train in MMA at the award-winning American Top Team in (South Florida) Coconut Creek. MMA became a viable option as a career as the sport continued to grow thanks to MMA fighters like Ronda Rousey, who is a WWE alum.
Loureda’s primary ATT coach, Steve Bruno, specializes in striking. He fought for UFC and is a former Spirit MC Middleweight Champ.
Loureda has it all, making herself very marketable, which is important in today’s sports entertainment industry.
In 2022, she began training in professional wrestling at the CCW Training Facility in Pompano Beach under the direction of WWE alum Gangrel (aka David Heath of Deerfield Beach).
As a high school student at Lourdes in Miami, Loureda learned from broadcast journalist Ellie Rodriguez, formerly of WSVN-Channel 7’s entertainment program “Deco Drive.” She participated in the school’s first broadcast journalism class, and she interviewed singer Gloria Estefan. Loureda graduated from Lourdes in 2016.
Loureda attended Florida International University, majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in Spanish. She completed her degree online, while pursuing her professional athletic and sports entertainment endeavors.
In August 2021, she joined the broadcast booth alongside former UFC champion Julianna Peña and WWE broadcasting alum Max Breto to call the action for Combate Global MMA from Univision Studios in Miami. The card streamed live on Paramount+ in English and Univision and TUDN USA in Spanish.
NXT conducts house shows occasionally at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce. Loureda has competed on some of those shows with family and friends attending.
See the action
NXT will return to the Havert L. Fenn Center on Friday, July 24.
NXT is 8 p.m. Tuesdays on The CW.
This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 5:12 PM with the headline "How Miami’s Lola Vice made pro wrestling history. ‘I was able to make it happen’."
