Rok-C To Make History At Death Before Dishonor
The inaugural ROH Women’s World Champion will be crowned on Sept. 12.
Photo Credit: RING OF HONOR/Mike Adams
If Rok-C wins gold on Sunday, she can’t celebrate at Paddy Whacks, Out of Wack Jack’s or any other Philadelphia bar.
She’s only 19 years old!
Debuting in Ring of Honor just five months ago, “The Prodigy” is already on her way to making history. At Death Before Dishonor XVIII, she meets fellow ROH newcomer Miranda Alize in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Women’s World Champion. Considering the talent and experience in the 15-woman tourney, Rok-C has become the Cinderella story of the summer.
In the first round, the five-sport athlete from Laredo, TX upset Sumie Sakai, the first and longest-reigning Women of Honor World Champion. That belt was shelved in 2020 after the company didn’t renew last titleholder Kelly Klein’s contract. (Klein has since filed a lawsuit against Ring of Honor and parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group.)
In the quarterfinals, Rok-C pinned Quinn McKay, the 2019 ECWA Women’s Super 8 winner. And then this past weekend, she forced Angelina Love (who has been in the sport longer than her opponent has been alive) into submission to advance to the finals.
“Death Before Dishonor will be the biggest match of my career,” Rok-C told The Wrestling Estate. “My parents are so proud. They’ll be in Philly for the pay-per-view.”
At 10 years old, Rok-C (a nod to The Rock and her first name Carla) decided she wanted to be a professional wrestler. In high school, she took the bus by herself for six-hour rides to train at Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling in Houston. By 16, she debuted for the promotion and two years later became its youngest champion.
“The WWE women’s revolution definitely inspired me, but I started watching wrestling when women were just managers and whatnot,” Rok-C said. “AJ Lee was doing it all – wrestling, managing and being the general manager. That inspired me the most. She proved that women can do it all. I want to do it all.”
Coincidentally, Rok-C’s opponent this Sunday – Miranda Alize – also trained at Reality of Wrestling. Their paths didn’t cross back then, but they have this year when both began competing in ROH. As the women’s division was rebooted, the company brought in several athletes from the independent scene for tapings in an empty arena setting. Everybody involved was subject to the “ROH bubble” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We couldn’t leave our hotel rooms,” Rok-C said. “We couldn’t go outside. Food had to be delivered straight to our room. Only two people could be in the gym at one time. I felt really safe and that meant a lot to me because, at the time, I was living with my parents, my sisters and my older sister’s 2-year-old daughter.”
For their first ROH match in front of an audience, Rok-C and Alize teamed up against Chelsea Green and Sakai before Glory By Honor Night 1. The next night, they appeared on the pay-per-view and were victorious again, besting Green and Willow. That weekend was Rok-C’s first time wrestling in Philly. “A couple of wrestlers warned me that the Philly crowd can be tough and mean, but when I wrestled, they were awesome,” she said.
The City of Brotherly Love may hold a special place in her heart come Sunday. She and Alize have the responsibility of reigniting the company’s women’s division on such a grand stage. If Rok-C emerges victorious, it’ll be the culmination of her six-year journey.
“Women’s wrestling is on fire right now,” Rok-C said. “Years ago, women were on TV for maybe three minutes with one match on the card. Just last week, we saw NWA Empowerrr, a whole pay-per-view for women’s wrestling. That’s amazing. So, I don’t want there to just be a Women’s World Championship in Ring of Honor. I want us to main event, too. The women are capable of so many amazing things.”
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