You’d think Sol Ruca was born to wrestle.
She has flashy moves, an acrobatic specialist who can move just about any way she desires. She’s high-flying, willing to be the daredevil to make the crowd gasp while making it look effortless. The charisma has arrived and has blended with her in-ring talent. Plus, have you seen her finisher, the Sol Snatcher?
She looks like a natural. Of all the women on the NXT roster, it’s fair to say she has the highest ceiling among the young crop of stars.
That’s what makes this fact crazier: She has been wrestling for only three years.
“I still am pretty, pretty green,” Ruca told USA TODAY Sports. “I do feel like I am getting closer and closer to confidently saying, ‘I think I got this.’”
It certainly looks like she has the hang of it. The opportunities are crashing toward her like waves, and it’s like she’s on a surfboard, riding them flawlessly. She’s the NXT Women’s North American Champion and Women’s Speed Champion, the latter of which could be considered a main roster title.
She has appeared on SmackDown, allowing more of the WWE universe to get a first look and be wowed by the talent. And it’s not just fans who are enthralled by her, but plenty of wrestlers are taking notice of “the future” of the business.
Getting into wrestling
Wrestling wasn’t part of Ruca’s childhood. Instead, it was gymnastics.
From Ontario, California, Ruca – whose actual name is Calyx Hampton – spent much of her youth at Wildfire Gymnastics in Orange County. Starting there at the age of 8, Ruca was already collecting hardware in California, winning state and regional titles during her 10 years with the club.
She committed to Oregon’s acrobatics and tumbling team before her senior year of high school. In Eugene, she was a vital member of a Ducks squad that reached the national semifinals every year she was there.
It wasn’t until after Ruca graduated college that WWE reached out to her about trying out. She was a social media influencer, showing off her acrobatic skills that piqued the interest of WWE.
In March 2022, Ruca became one of the new recruits at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, and quickly impressed trainers. Although gymnastics and wrestling share some similar aspects, it was a dramatic learning curve for someone just getting in the business. Someone who really helped with learning the ropes was Alba Fyre. Ruca recalled a time Fyre was helping classes and when she locked up with her, Ruca realized “this is how it should feel. This is what it’s all about.” It clicked, and she was ready to run with it.
Creating the Sol Snatcher
Ruca made her in-ring debut just three months after reporting. It was a hot first year, and she went viral when she debuted the Sol Snatcher, a springboard flip cutter that stunned fans.
“I felt like I could pick up moves pretty quickly and the fundamentals pretty quickly, just because that’s what gymnastics was,” Ruca said.
It took around a month for Ruca to come up with the Sol Snatcher. The original version of the move was to be a stunner instead of a cutter, but it meant Ruca landing on her bottom, which would eventually get painful.
“I had to workshop that a little bit, and decided that the cutter was just the best option for longevity and executing it flawlessly,” she said.
Ruca practiced the move on a squishy ring at the performance center and eventually built up the courage to try it in a match. Now, she arguably has one of the most exciting finishers in the company. She wouldn’t say hers is the best in all of wrestling, but if you just consider the “flashy, flippy” wrestling, she’ll say she’s at the top.
“I’m happy that I tried it when I did, because once I did that, it went viral, and I kind of just shot off from there,” Ruca added.
How injury helped Sol Ruca
Ruca was picking up steam, but it came to a screeching halt when she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in April 2023. It could have been a major setback for someone on the rise.
Turns out it was a blessing in disguise.
For as impressive as Ruca was, it was a challenge learning to wrestle – especially when it was all new to her. Yes, you have to physically perform, but there are mental aspects that were really testing a former athlete.
“In order to really grasp professional wrestling, you need to know the psychology,” she said. “You need to know how to put a match together, and I think that is probably the hardest thing for most athletes. Being able to be in a match and be in the moment, instead of just doing all your stuff and hitting hard and doing all that, you have to actually put on a whole performance and put on a character in a show.
“In athletics, you don’t get that opportunity. You have to be serious the whole time. So I think that’s another thing that athletes, as well as myself, struggle with at first.”
It was during her injury recovery when Ruca got to just take time to observe. Actually watch wrestling. See what the best of the business do. Just study it instead of studying and performing at the same time, which led to feeling a bit lost at times.
By the time she was cleared to return, Ruca was a “completely different person” who understood how to succeed.
“I had a better understanding of what I was doing. I had more of a set goal of how I want to be perceived and kind of like how I want to portray myself on TV,” she said. “I think just having that time off, it was tough, but I think it was definitely necessary for my career to be able to just take a step back.”
Since then, Ruca has been on a tear. She has become a bonafide wrestler, looking far from a person who is still in their formative years of being in the ring. Not only is she capturing attention for her skills, but she’s also stealing hearts with her personality. Ruca has also formed a partnership with Zaria, dubbed ZaRuca, that has become a fan favorite friendship.
It all led into what was a massive April for Ruca. She won the Women’s Speed title, and in the same week, won the NXT Women’s North American Championship in a thrilling six-person ladder match at Stand and Deliver, becoming one of the big winners of WrestleMania weekend.
She’s still a double champion, and now seemingly working almost any and all shows.
“It’s been crazy, to be honest,” she said. “Going from nothing to double champion and getting the opportunity, not only to work with NXT talent, but going up to Raw, Smackdown and defending the Speed title against people that I’ve never been in the ring with before. I just feel like I’m getting so much more experience this way, and I’m just improving every single time I go out there.”
Catching the eye of WWE stars
Ruca has certainly caught the eye of wrestlers on all levels of WWE. Jordynne Grace, who has officially been with the company for six months, has noticed who is the future of the company in NXT. She feels like she can tell who could be in the main event of WrestleMania one day.
When asked by USA TODAY Sports which star Grace thought of, the first one who came to mind was Ruca.
“You’ve seen her wrestle. It’s actually ridiculous,” Grace said. “She’s been wrestling, what, two to three years at this point? So, you can only imagine what she’s going to be able to do in the future.”
And she has the attention of arguably the most decorated woman in WWE. Charlotte Flair competed against Ruca in the fatal four-way tag team championship match at Evolution, and was the recipient of a Sol Snatcher. That interaction has the 16-time champion already itching for a match, knowing the potential.
“I’m looking forward to a one-on-one with Sol Ruca,” Flair said. “I just think the sky’s the limit for her.”
All of the opportunities and praise could certainly get to Ruca’s head, but it’s far from reality. A permanent residence on the main roster is the goal of every NXT star, but Ruca feels like her time on the brand is far from over.
She still is constantly learning and in need of it, while wanting all critiques and criticism with it. She also feels like getting that main roster experience helps her training with fellow NXT stars so they can improve their stock.
Did a lot of work and pressure find Ruca quickly? Sure, but she’s ready for it. She’s excited to “show the world what I got,” proving she has the makings of a major star. There’s no telling how far Ruca can go.
Not bad for someone just getting into wrestling.
“I love where I’m at, and can’t wait to keep doing it,” Ruca said.