5 Things you didn't know about new AEW signing Marina Shafir: Married to a WWE Superstar; close relationship with Ronda Rousey

AEW Dark this past week saw the debut of Marina Shafir, when she faced Kris Statlander in a losing effort. The former mixed martial artist is best known for her stint in WWE NXT, where she trained and wrestled from 2018 to 2021.

Shafir, Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke were collectively known as the Four Horsewomen of MMA. When she debuted in NXT, she aligned with then NXT Women's Champion Baszler as her lackey.

Shafir's run on the black and gold brand was a little lackluster, to say the least. She mostly appeared on tag teams with Duke and never really got a chance to showcase her ability as a singles competitor. Once Baszler was called up to the WWE main roster, she floundered.

She notably did compete on Raw Underground in 2020 but other than a few appearances on 205 Live and NXT, she couldn't make an impact. Now that she's resurfaced in AEW, can Shafir prove to wrestling fans that she's here to stay?

In this, let's take a look at the 5 things you didn't know about Marina Shafir, the Supernova from Moldova.

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#5 AEW's Marina Shafir had a two-year undefeated streak in MMA

Before Marina Shafir transitioned to pro wrestling with WWE and now AEW, she made her name as a mixed martial artist. She grew up training in judo at a fairly high level from the age of 12.

Shafir began her mixed martial career at amateur level in 2012. In fact, she went undefeated in the first two years of her career. She won all five of her amateur fights by submission. Four of these victories came by armbar and one by arm-triangle choke.

She only suffered her first loss when she went professional in early 2014 in a first-round defeat. When Shafir eventually made the jump to pro wrestling, she left MMA with a professional record of one win and two losses.

#4 AEW's Marina Shafir is the first Moldovan-born wrestler to appear in WWE

AEW's Marina Shafir is the first woman from Moldova to appear in North America's two biggest wrestling promotions. Moldova doesn't have any major pro wrestling heritage to speak of so Marina Shafir should rightfully be considered a trailblazer for the country.

Shafir was born in Soroca, Moldovia and throughout her MMA career, Marina was known as "The Supernova from Moldova." But interestingly, Marina Shafir isn't the first-ever Moldovan WWE star since Alex Kozlov was signed to the company back in 2010 under the ring name Carlos Sanchez.

Kozlov only made one appearance on WWE TV, a losing effort to Alberto Del Rio on Smackdown in 2010. He was then released from his FCW developmental contract in 2012.

WWE has signed female wrestlers from European countries in the past. Aksana became the company's first Lithuanian WWE star, while WWE recently signed their first-ever French female star, Amale Winchester.

For Marina Shafir, AEW is the perfect platform to continue her pro wrestling journey while also flying the Moldovan flag high.

#3 AEW's Marina Shafir is married to NXT Superstar Roderick Strong

Another couple split between AEW and WWE. Unless you follow Marina Shafir on her social media, you might not know that the she is married to current NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong.

In December 2015, Shafir got engaged to the leader of the Diamond Mine. She gave birth to their first child, Troy Veniamin Lindsey, on April 24, 2017. The couple finally tied the knot and got married on November 7, 2018. A wedding which was recorded by best friend Ronda Rousey who put it on her official YouTube page.

Shafir and Strong recently celebrated their three-year wedding anniversary in November. It will be interesting to see if Roderick Strong might soon join his wife in AEW. It won't be the first time he has left this year.

#2 AEW's Marina Shafir and UFC legend Ronda Rousey have lived together

AEW fans might be excited to learn of Marina Shafir's close relationship with Ronda Rousey, who is seemingly no longer with WWE. While it's common knowledge that Marina Shafir, Ronda Rousey, Jessamyn Duke, and Shayna Baszler are close friends and are collectively known as the Four Horsewomen of MMA, they can also lay claim to having once been roommates.

Marina Shafir and Ronda Rousey became close friends when they trained together at the Glendale Fighting Club early on in their mixed martial arts careers. They bonded over their similar backgrounds in Judo.

The two women, alongside fellow Horsewomen Duke and Baszler, have all lived together for a number of years in Venice, California.

Although a dream match between the Horsewomen of both the MMA and WWE didn't come to fruition, Shafir, Rousey, Baszler and Duke have been spotted together on a number of occasions.

It remains to be seen if we will ever get that dream match, but it seems unlikely with 3 of the 4 MMA Horsewomen no longer with WWE. Marina Shafir having debuted for AEW recently may further derail any fans' hopes of one day seeing the match come to fruition.

#1 AEW's Marina Shafir has struggled to find work since getting released from NXT

AEW is a great landing spot for Marina Shafir. But it hasn't been an easy road for the wrestler since her release from WWE over the summer. She believes that other wrestling companies avoided her because she was "NXT-bred."

Shafir opened up about her struggles in a recent interview on the Shot of Wrestling podcast to reflect on her time at WWE NXT and what she's been up to since. When quizzed about her journey of getting back into the wrestling scene following her WWE release, Shafir believes that other companies aren't interested in her because of her past affiliation with NXT:

"I trained with Mercedes Martinez like six weeks back and it was hilarious because we were talking about, 'What you do and how you do it matters.' She goes, 'You're NXT bred.' Nobody wants me because I was raised in NXT," Marina Shafir said. "I don't have Indie experience and I don't speak that language. I speak TV language. I speak 'what do the producers want?' language. Not that it's a bad thing. Being part of that process matters how vulnerable you can be towards people. Coming from NXT, I still get the side-eye. Nobody wants me. Nobody wants the shooter from NXT who has a chip on her shoulder. Nobody f**king wants me."

It seems like the independent wrestling scene is prejudiced towards wrestlers who went through WWE development. While it is unfortunate that Shafir suffered such discrimination, her recent appearance on AEW still serves as positive news.

Here's hoping she gets more chances to showcase herself and prove her doubters wrong in AEW.