5 things you need to know about Ruby Riott

After a long and successful independent wrestling career as Heidi Lovelace, Ruby Riott made her NXT debut in December 2016. Since then, Riott has taken the mainstream wrestling world by storm, showcasing a unique skill set and shattering stereotypes along the way.

Less than a year after her NXT debut, Riott was called up to the SmackDown roster, where she would team with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. Collectively known as The Riott Squad, the stable would run roughshod over WWE's main roster scene and prove to be a thorn in the side of notables like Natalya, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey.

The 2019 Superstar Shakeup effectively split the heel stable apart and Riott would take time off to address major shoulder injuries. She is yet to return to the ring, but that could all change soon.

Riott recently appeared on Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show and opened up about her career, her recent battle with injuries, her matches with Ronda Rousey, her feelings about The Riott Squad and much more.

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#5. She has made a career out of fighting against the status quo

It doesn't take an ardent student of professional wrestling to see that Ruby Riott stands out from her counterparts. The tattooed WWE Superstar looks less like the prototypical Charlotte Flair and more like the front woman of a local punk band. She is small, standing at only 5'4" and weighing a mere 122 pounds. Due to her unique look and size, she has fought against the grain throughout her professional career and silenced doubters everywhere she's been.

Things were no different when she joined OVW in 2012. Long before NXT, OVW was WWE's developmental brand. Women's Evolution hadn't exactly hit the mainstream yet and Riott was pressured to fit the mold.

She told WWE Hall of Famer Vickie Guerrero,

"I've had places before - when I worked for OVW years and years and years ago - that was a place where I felt they were trying to make me [different]. I was told to wear more skirts and to dress prettier. I was told to be more of a girl in the ring and I felt like I was in a straitjacket. I was like, 'I can't. I don't know what to do here.' Everything I did, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. This was not me. Nothing looked organic, so once I left there and kind of started falling into myself along the way, that was when I started to really be able to nail in who I was, and what I wanted to represent to my fans and anybody who watched me."

Riott struggled to find a place in the world of professional wrestling, but has now found a home in WWE,

"We've never been told to change since I've been with WWE. I've always had the tattoos and I've continued to get more. I've never been encouraged since I've been in WWE to be anything, but myself. That's the thing I've been most grateful for. Since I've been in NXT, they were like, 'Just take your ball and do what you want with it.' I've always just tried to stay me and they've always been behind it, so I'm very grateful for that."

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#4. Her injury is worse than you think it is

Ruby Riott has been out of action since April 2019

Ruby Riott has been missing from action since April 2019. She underwent shoulder surgery in May and hasn't been seen on WWE television since. Riott revealed the extensive nature of her injuries and opened up about the challenges she faces making an in-ring comeback.

She told Vickie Guerrero,

"In May of 2019, I had to have shoulder surgery on my right shoulder. I had a labral tear. From what they described, it was from twelve 'o clock to six 'o clock, which was quite a large tear and they put six anchors in my right shoulder."

To make matters worse, Riott had to undergo another shoulder surgery eight weeks later.

"I had the same shoulder surgery done to my left shoulder and there was seven or eight anchors put into my left shoulder, so I had double shoulder surgery and that makes for quite the recovery and quite some time. Since I started in December 2010, this is the longest I've ever been away from professional wrestling, ever."

Riott calls her surgery and subsequent road to recovery, "a journey and an adjustment," and reports having lost "a lot of muscle" in her shoulder and her arms. While she is extremely motivated to make her return and hopes to do so in early 2020, she is unsure about the exact time frame when she will be cleared.

#3. Punk rock gave her the name Ruby

Ruby Riott hasn't exactly been sedentary since her surgery. While she worked the indies, she had a full time job and isn't one to simply count the passing hours. Despite a difficult road to recovery, Riott has made the best of things and has been able to pursue what she enjoys doing outside the ring.

The weekend after she came home from surgery, Riott got a sharpei puppy, whom she named Juventud Guerrera. She followed that additiona to her family with another puppy, who isn't quite as well behaved and keeps her incredibly busy.

Riott, a music connoisseur, has also taken the opportunity to go to several concerts. The punk rock fan has been able to see Less Than Jake, Teenage Bottlerocket, Against Me!, and The Misfits. Riott attests that many of the performers in the punk rock community are also wrestling fans.

The WWE Superstar opened up about her love for music,

"Concerts and wrestling shows give me the same feeling. It's kind of a feeling of camaraderie within the audience. I get this incredible feeling when I go to concerts because everybody in that moment is all together. We're all singing the same songs and we are all screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs. It's just such an amazing feeling to share in that journey of the songs with whatever band I may be listening to at the time. I get that same feeling of going to concerts that I do with a wrestling crowd - of trying to take them on a journey while I'm in the ring."

Riott's favorite band is the legendary punk rock group Rancid. She took the name Ruby from the group's song "Ruby Soho."

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#2. She is a cerebral performer

Former RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey hoisting Ruby Riott

Ruby Riott doesn't simply wrestle: she performs. Riott often thinks her way through wrestling matches in a way similar to that of a mathematician thinks through a difficult equation. Take her matches against former RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey, for instance. She counts her RAW match against Rousey as one of her very favorites in WWE.

Riott put a great deal of thought into the match and revealed a peek inside her creative approach,

"Working with her, I had to look at my opponent so much differently than I traditionally do and I loved that. Once you're conditioned into looking at your opponent as a sports entertainer...you're kind of going through a lot of the same motions. With Ronda, it was such an amazing thing because I knew there were certain things that I had to approach with her differently."

Riott approached the match while taking Rousey's prowess as a fighter into consideration,

"If I put her in any kind of hold - guaranteed - she knows about twelve different ways out of it and probably more. If she was on her feet, I was in trouble, so I had to look at working with her in that way and differently than anybody I'd ever worked with before. It was an amazing challenge for me to be able to create that story in a different way."

Riott offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a classic professional wrestling bout,

"As a wrestler, how do I approach this fighter and do something to her that she's not going to be prepared for? I tried to use the ring a lot throughout the match simply because that's not something somebody from her background would necessarily be prepared for.

Headbutts are things that are not necessarily legal in mixed martial arts, so I had to look at things from such a different perspective and it was such a challenge for me as a performer, and such a different part of my brain I was using. Once it was over, we were very proud of the performance that we put together. It was definitely an amazing experience."

Riott may not have to wait much longer to put on more classics in WWE. Who's on her list when she returns? Riott wants matches against Lacey Evans, Becky Lynch, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and The IIconics.

#1. The Riott Squad's bond goes far beyond the squared circle

The Riott Squad: Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan

When WWE teamed Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan together as The Riott Squad, the company told the trio not to get used to one another. The group was only meant to be temporary and not expected to last long, but the three Superstars aimed to prove their doubters wrong. The company's lack of long-term commitment only served to motivate the trio and strengthen their bond in the process.

Riott described the group's close-knit friendship,

"The Riott Squad is honestly the best thing that's ever happened to me. The two of them honestly are so smart and so kind. The best way to describe our bond is selfless - for the three of us.

Within the group, no matter what happened, or who that night had a match, or who that night got to talk on a promo, or whatever happened, we all just wanted to do the best for each other. There was never animosity and I think that's so important in a business that can sometimes get you a little bit jealous. With us, it was never that and it was that from the get go."

Riott is incredibly grateful for the friendship she shares with the two women,

"The three of us compliment each other so well. I always say that Sarah is my brain and Liv is my heart. Sarah knows me better than anyone in the world. I can come to her and say, 'I feel this way,' and she's like, 'This is why you feel this way.' If I'm conflicted about a situation, I come to Liv and she's like, 'Follow your heart. Do what you feel inside.' She's always encouraging me to think with my heart. I've learned so much outside of the ring from them. I've learned inside the ring so much, but outside the ring, they've made me a better person. I'm so grateful for them."

Whether the group reunites upon Riott's return remains to be seen, but one thing is certain. In a sense, The Riott Squad will always be together.

(Transcription Credit: Michael McClead, Sportskeeda)

Readers may listen to Vickie Guerrero's interview with Ruby Riott in its entirety below:

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