Biography
Melina Nava Perez was born on March 9, 1979, in Los Angeles, California. Though raised in an athletic household (her father was a boxer while her mother worked out on a regular basis), Melina Perez initially found herself drawn toward endeavors of a distinctly artistic nature. “When I was young and around my family, you could say I was a little diva,” Melina Perez explains. “I’d dance around, and I’d pretend like I was a little ballerina. I was always in my own little world.”
She subsequently spent the majority of her adolescent years pursuing a variety of non-athletic goals, including a stint in her school’s choir and a brief attempt at becoming a journalist. Melina Perez’s popularity among her fellow students played in instrumental role in her gig as Homecoming Queen: “I was never in one set clique,” she says. “I got along with everyone. [Being Homecoming Queen] was important to me because I represented all of my friends.”
It was thanks to one of her pals that Melina Perez first got into the wrestling scene, as she was encouraged to include the sport as part of her rigorous workout regimen. Her almost instantaneous ability at picking up wrestling’s various moves and holds proved instrumental in her decision to pursue a career within the industry, and, in the early part of 2000, Melina Perez took the first steps toward becoming a professional by signing up for sessions at Jesse Hernandez’s School of Hard Knocks.
melina perez makes her wrestling debut
Melina Perez made her debut in early 2002 under such ring names as Kyra and Melanie Little Deer, and it wasn’t long before she found herself gaining a reputation as a promising up-and-coming performer within both the Empire Wrestling Federation and the women-only CRUSH Wrestling. Later that year, Melina Perez signed up for a stint on the World Wrestling Entertainment’s reality show Tough Enough III, but was eliminated in the very first episode.
Undeterred, Melina Perez spent the next couple of years honing her skills and building up a devoted fan base. In March 2004, Melina Perez landed her highest-profile gig to date after she was added to Ohio Valley Wrestling’s roster of performers. She was eventually paired with Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury, with the trio -- now known as MNM -- going on to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship in November of that year.
melina perez appears on wwe
MNM’s steadily increasing popularity among wrestling fans paved the way for their first appearance within the WWE, with Melina Perez and her cohorts debuting on the April 14, 2005, edition of SmackDown! as a villainous tag team. In the months that followed, Melina Perez battled several recognizable figures from the WWE -- including Torrie Wilson, Trish Stratus and Michelle McCool -- and it wasn’t long before she had become one of the wrestling scene’s most promising new faces.
Recently, Melina Perez’s allegiance with Beth Phoenix has taken a turn for the acrimonious after a run of misunderstandings -- with the two duking it out during 2008’s pay-per-view special One Night Stand. She injured her ankle shortly after while battling Natalya and Victoria with Mickie James, though Melina Perez triumphantly returned on November 14, 2008, when she teamed up with Tyler Reks to victoriously take on Alicia Fox and Jack Gabriel.
