Who Is NXT Superstar Nikki Blackheart?

The newest addition to the NXT roster is called Nikki Blackheart. Not only has she not been formally introduced, but until Tuesday night's NXT, Blackheart wasn't the name she was wrestling under. Blackheart doesn't have a wrestling background, so she has been getting her NXT sea legs under her by competing in a handful of untelevised matches, wrestling under the name Martinez.

All of that to say, even if you have seen Blackheart competing at recent live events, you still wouldn't have known who she is while watching NXT on Tuesday, unless you recognized her. As for why WWE believes you should already know who Blackheart is despite a lack of introduction, and why she has been slotted directly into the main event scene of the NXT women's division, Blackheart is famous for another sport outside of pro wrestling.

Nikki Blackheart's Background

Blackheart was formerly a cheerleader in the NHL for the Florida Panthers. After leaving that career behind to pursue one in pro wrestling, Blackheart began training under WWE legend Gangrel, according to F4W Online. That combined with her look and athletic background has not only landed her on WWE's radar for over a year, but apparently Bayley has been incredibly impressed with what she has seen of Blackheart so far, which is high praise indeed.

It's believed Blackheart has been with WWE since February, but it's possible, even likely, that the next time we see her, she won't be called Nikki Blackheart. Again, according to F4W Online, it seems the real reason Blackheart didn't get a formal introduction on Tuesday is that WWE doesn't have a name for her yet.

There is apparently a name that will eventually be assigned to Blackheart, but trademark issues are preventing WWE from being able to officially confirm it. That means, whatever it is, it can't be uttered on TV or used on social media yet. Not only because it might cause legal issues, especially if something is holding up this process, but the last thing WWE wants when introducing a new star is to give them a name only to be forced to change it a week later.