8 Things WWE NXT Fans Should Know About Ivy Nile
One of the most recent signees at the WWE Performance Center, might one day become one of the best. The pint-sized powerhouse Ivy Nile (real name Emily Andzulis) is just five foot two, but has 126 pounds of pure shredded muscle packed into that pint-sized frame! Up until recently, she was the anchor of the Diamond Mine in NXT, doing her best to hold everyone together as they recently nearly came apart at the seams.
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Like a lot of new superstars, fans have been clamoring to learn all they can about the lady nicknamed The Pitbull. That’s where we come in - we have found everything you need to know about the budding superstar. She debuted in late 2021 and has a lot of time ahead of her.
8 Won The Titan Games
The world first became aware of Ivy when The Great One himself did. She appeared in and won the first-ever Titan Games, hosted by The Rock. While she didn’t win the entire series, she was on the first-ever episode and was able to conquer Mount Olympus.
She has stated that along with her crazy workout regimen, she just kept visually seeing herself conquering the challenges, which helped her manifest her victory.
7 Before NXT
Before she got signed to NXT, the bodybuilder was like plenty of other folks and had a day job. She was a massage therapist in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee at the Pure Luxe Salon.
Not content with just one fitness-based gig, Nile pushed herself and dabbled in the world of MMA. She had one fight and was victorious before Sports Entertainment came calling.
6 Inspired By Her Sister
Take one look at her, and it’s easy to see that Ivy Nile is a determined human being. She began her journey at the behest of her sister. Her sister had fought through and survived cancer and urged Ivy to take part in The Titan Games in the first place.
She once told an interview with her hometown website, "So yeah, she pushed me to do this, and it was for her, and she has two little girls, and my nieces mean a lot to me, and I did it for them," Andzulis said. "And I did it for myself to prove to myself that I'm capable of a lot more, and I can handle it, and I can push myself to be better."
5 Her Training Ground
While it’s entirely possible to do so, it’s also pretty hard to look like a WWE Superstar just by playing WiiFit. Prior to getting signed and being able to train at the world-class Performance Center, Nile spent countless hours in the gym, powerlifting, as well as training in CrossFit as well as jui-jitsu, and boxing.
When she was prepping for Titan, she’s work out twice a day. So for anyone who has any interest in achieving Ivy Nile's look, when you're done reading, hit the gym.
4 Dating Ari M. Levy
Not only can The Pitbull break anyone in half with ease, her fiancé can too. She is engaged to physical trainer, Ari M. Levy, who is a USAW Sports Performance coach and trainer CrossFit.
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He even owns his own gym, CrossFit eXalted. The couple announced their engagement in February 2022.
3 Only 30 Years Old
With all of The Diamond Mine cooking on all cylinders in NXT, it’s only a matter of time before the entire crew gets called up to the main roster.
While the Creeds will be able to put on all kinds of tag team bangers, Ivy Nile will just continue to get better working with the likes of Bianca Belair, Natalya Neidhart, and Asuka. At just thirty years old, she has years left in her career. It’s way too early to tell just how good she’ll be, but Ivy certainly has all the tools to be a great wrestler.
2 JPWA Wrestling School
The Pitbull once called Knoxville, Tennessee home. While guys like Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler are synonymous with Nashville and Memphis respectively, The Big Red Machine is of Knox County in Knoxville as the town’s mayor. He also started up a wrestling school, run by the renowned trainer, Dr. Tom Prichard.
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The Jacobs Prichard Wrestling Academy hasn’t been open for too long, but they have already had a huge hand in training Ivy Nile and getting her ready for the WWE. Considering the level of talent Prichard had taught over the years (The Rock and Kurt Angle to name a few), Ivy Nile was left in great hands.
1 Raw Underground Appearance
When she had just started training, eagle-eyed fans might remember seeing Ivy Nile already make an appearance on Raw. During the pandemic-era segment, Raw Underground, Shayna Baszler arrived looking for a fight.
When she didn’t get one, she snatched up two ladies and put them down. Ivy Nile stepped onto the mat as well and even got some offense in on The Submission Magician before Shayna put her down for the tap.
