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Transgender pro wrestler and former WWE star Gabbi Tuft relishes her in-ring revival and teases what's next: 'We have a lot planned!'
On Monday night, less than 24 hours before transgender professional wrestling star Gabbi Tuft had her first official match in 11 years, her heart sank into her stomach. Tomorrow was the day she's spent what feels like a lifetime waiting for.
After last stepping through the ropes in the WWE as strongman Tyler Reks in 2012, and her last sanctioned match a year later, Tuft's squared-circle revival was here. Mother wasn't coming any longer, she'd arrived.
'It hit me like a ton of bricks,' Tuft exclusively told DailyMail.com.
The now-45-year-old Tuft once again didn't back down from the heavy weight of butterflies, especially with a loaded return, biting off more than most could after nearly a dozen years away from sports entertainment.
The third segment of the West Coast Pro Wrestling show titled 'Killin' Them Softly' was a 10-minute promo that debuted Tuft's new character, setting up the 19-minute main event against Jessica Roden, who wrestles under the moniker of J-Rod.
Tuft is pictured in the ring during her revival match in professional wrestling on Tuesday
Tuft was formerly known as Tyler Reks and wrestled for the WWE for four years
A half-hour dedicated to one performer on one show is usually given to someone at the top of the card, not someone officially lacing up her boots for the first time since 2013.
Tuft's return match will air at a later date, with her not spoiling the result a day later while talking to DailyMail.com, for those who were not in attendance at the event in Irvine, California, that was co-promoted through the United Wrestling Network.
After having the night to reflect, Tuft was elated on Wednesday with her re-introduction to professional wrestling.
'We tore the house down,' Tuft said.
J-Rod and Tuft did not run over their allotted time. The bumps and suplexes occurring for nearly a third of an hour was exactly the plan.
'One of the reasons that I did that is because I wanted to showcase the athletic ability that I had,' Tuft said. 'We saw a lot of the buzz before, people saying that I've been out of the ring for 10, 11 years, a 45-year-old superstar coming back.'
'And I've been training since January and I wanted to showcase that I could go 19 minutes and I wanted to make sure that everybody knew this wasn't just a fly-by night,' Tuft added. 'This wasn't somebody coming back that was going to get gassed in the middle of the match. We went, and went full speed for 19 minutes.'
Little information has surfaced about Tuft's new character, and whether she is a face, the wrestling term for a heroic persona, or a heel, the term for a villain.
Tuft can be seen climbing the ropes in her black and red gear, holding a chain that is attached around the neck of an associate.
A video emerged of Tuft coming through the curtain for her match with three valets, two that are nearly fully covered, with chains around their necks, and a female, being dragged and carried by the two others.
Tuft has been working towards a professional wrestling return for nearly a year
Tuft trained alongside WWE stars Natalya (bottom right) and Liv Morgan (bottom center)
Tuft had known for close to a month that Tuesday night was going to be her in-ring return.
Yet, before stepping through the curtain for her revival promo, the nervous butterflies came back in droves and connected Tuft with the Reks persona before officially moving forward.
Tuft recalled a conversation with former WWE world champion Dolph Ziggler, who spent nearly two decades on the company's main roster, where she asked him 'Do these butterflies ever go away? Do you ever stop getting nervous?'
What did Ziggler answer? 'Nope, and if they do go away, that means you don't care.'
'Knowing that I was nervous, just reminded me how much I care about the business and how the passionate I am about it,' Tuft said. 'And I wanted to give not just the people out there, but everybody watching, because I knew that the world's gonna be watching this. I wanted to give them the show of the decade.'
'We hit everything. There wasn't a botch. We hit everything we were supposed to, the way we were supposed to. Everything was crisp, everything was clean,' Tuft added.
Tuft continued that her character is 'very creepy in a way' and 'sadistic' and at the conclusion of her match against J-Rod, she straddled her opponent. Tuft's character wants to grab her opponent's face and whisper something in their ear.
For the audience, it's left up in the air what vital words Tuft relayed to her prone opposition. Tuft says she told J-Rod 'thank you', to which her opponent replied without the crowd hearing 'I love you! Thank you.'
Tuft was seen training one of her former finishers, the 'Burning Hammer', on social media
Tuft has also been spotted entering an All Elite Wrestling show in her native Texas months back
Tuft's road back to professional wrestling is unique in a few ways. Should Tuft sign with All Elite Wrestling or World Wrestling Entertainment, Tuft would become the first person to compete before and after beginning a gender transition for a major North American promotion.
Now that Tuft's in-ring revival is behind her, what's next?
She tells DailyMail.com things are planned and in motion. Exactly what those plans entail are secret.
'We have a lot planned, and there's a lot of things that I can't disclose at this point,' Tuft said. 'I can tell you that there will be more appearances soon, very soon. But where they will be, I can't tell anybody yet. We're going to continue the story one way or another. Mother's story is going to continue.'