{"id":333623,"date":"2026-07-08T21:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/333623\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T21:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:55:08","slug":"my-interview-with-miamis-lola-vice-the-wwe-nxt-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/333623\/","title":{"rendered":"My interview with Miami\u2019s Lola Vice, the WWE NXT champion."},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In June 2022, Loureda became the first Cuban-American woman to sign with WWE.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Breakout Tournament and continued to elevate her status as a pro wrestler\/sports entertainer.<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n

Vice said: \u201cI 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\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

That day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so nervous\u2019 I was soooo nervous,\u201d she said, \u201cbut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another highlight occurred in September 2025, when she wrestled Jayne for the NXT women\u2019s title in the co-main event of NXT No Mercy in Fort Lauderdale, near her hometown, at War Memorial Auditorium, before friends and family.<\/p>\n

\"Miami\u2019s Miami\u2019s Lola Vice challenged WWE NXT Champ Jacy Jayne with Fallon Henley in the co-main event of NXT No Mercy in September 2025 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale. The ring announcer is Mike Rome. Photo By Jim Varsallone <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember standing in the ring, hearing the people, and I was like, \u2018Wow, I\u2019m not just doing this for myself; I\u2019m doing this for them,\u201d Vice said. \u201cDefinitely, losing that match against Jacy, because of Laney came in [interference], that broke my heart That was one of those that like, \u2018I give up.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I had to pick myself up, and like, \u2018No. You need to accomplish your dream of winning this championship. You can\u2019t stop now.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lola Lola Vice of Miami wrestles Kayden Carter of Winter Park at a WWE NXT show at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce. Photo By Jim Varsallone <\/p>\n

What\u2019s it like wrestling in South Florida, her home terrain?<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WWE WWE NXT superstar Lola Vice, aka Miami\u2019s Valerie Loureda, wrestles at an NXT show at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce.. Photo By Jim Varsallone <\/p>\n

Recently she dropped the WWE NXt title to Kendal Grey in the main event of NXT\u2019s Great American Bash at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Master Frank\u2019s Taekwondo & Family<\/p>\n

Valerie Loureda is a fifth-degree black belt in taekwondo.<\/p>\n

Born into a taekwondo family. Her father, Francisco \u201cFrank\u201d Loureda, is an eighth-degree black belt and grandmaster who has operated his own academy, Master Frank\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Training in taekwondo as a toddler, by age 15, Loureda already earned \u201cMaster\u201d status, a title bestowed to only the most elite Olympic-caliber taekwondo fighters in that discipline. She prepared for the upcoming Olympic trials.<\/p>\n

Loureda quickly put her Olympic dreams on hold when her mom, Milagros \u201cMillie,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Loureda said a blessing occurred. A donor with a bone marrow match gave her mom new life.<\/p>\n

Her mom, a taekwondo black belt and a special education teacher at Miami-Dade Public Schools\/Banyan Elementary School, beat cancer.<\/p>\n

Her sisters earned black belts in taekwondo, too.<\/p>\n

Natalie is a fourth-degree black belt and Francesca a black belt. Both graduated from Lourdes.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Loureda\u2019s primary ATT coach, Steve Bruno, specializes in striking. He fought for UFC and is a former Spirit MC Middleweight Champ.<\/p>\n

Loureda has it all, making herself very marketable, which is important in today\u2019s sports entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

As a high school student at Lourdes in Miami, Loureda learned from broadcast journalist Ellie Rodriguez, formerly of WSVN-Channel 7\u2019s entertainment program \u201cDeco Drive.\u201d She participated in the school\u2019s first broadcast journalism class, and she interviewed singer Gloria Estefan. Loureda graduated from Lourdes in 2016.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In August 2021, she joined the broadcast booth alongside former UFC champion Julianna Pe\u00f1a 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"WWE WWE NXT superstar Lola Vice, who is from Miami, with fans at an NXT show at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce. Photo By Jim Varsallone See the action<\/p>\n

NXT will return to the Havert L. Fenn Center<\/a> on Friday, July 24.<\/p>\n

NXT is 8 p.m. Tuesdays on The CW.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Jim Varsallone<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Jim Varsallone writes a high school sports column twice a week, featuring top performers in all varsity sports (boys and girls) in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. He also covers pro wrestling, something he\u2019s done since his college days in the late 1980s. Now in his fifth decade of coverage, he currently follows WWE (Raw, SmackDown and NXT), AEW, Ring of Honor, TNA Impact Wrestling, MLW, WOW, NWA, and the South Florida indies, mainly CCW. He writes MMA, too — mostly profile stories and video interviews with American Top Team and Sanford MMA fighters in South Florida. As for pro wrestling, he writes feature stories and profile pieces, updates upcoming show schedules in South Florida, photographs the action and interviews talent (audio and video) — sharing the content here and via social media on his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel).
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