Gabbi Tuft (born November 1, 1978), formerly known as Tyler Reks, is an American professional wrestler best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She wrestled on their Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands.
After debuting in professional wrestling in February 2007, Tuft was signed to a developmental contract with WWE in January 2008 and was assigned to the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) territory under the ring name Tyler Reks.
Early Career in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW)
She made her FCW debut on February 5, 2008, with Johnny Curtis in a losing effort against The Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eddie Colon and Eric Pérez). A few days later on February 12, she made her singles FCW debut, losing to "The South City Thriller" Hade Vansen. She participated in a FCW Florida Heavyweight Title Battle Royal, which was won by Jake Hager. She also took part in the FCW Florida Tag Team Title Tournament with Rycklon.
During this tournament, she had her first victory at FCW defeating Ted DiBiase Jr. and Afa Jr. in the first round, however the pair subsequently lost to The Puerto Rican Nightmares in the quarter finals. Tuft then had two chances at the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship against then-champion Jake Hager; first in a one on one match and then in a triple threat match along with Curtis. On August 28, she participated in an FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contendership Fatal Four Way along with Curtis, Tyrone Evans, and Sheamus O'Shaunessy, who went on to win the match. By November 2008, her ring name was changed to Tyler Reks.
Championship Success in FCW
On December 11, 2008, Reks and Curtis defeated The New Hart Foundation (DH Smith and TJ Wilson) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship in Tampa, Florida. After numerous defenses and 139 days of holding the titles, they lost them in a Two On One Handicap match to The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta). Reks won a FCW Florida Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contendership match and on June 11, 2009, she captured the Florida Heavyweight Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre. She later lost the title to Heath Slater at the FCW television tapings on August 13. She later lost to Slater again during her rematch for the title. She lost to Joe Hennig in a FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contendership match and lost a FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contendership battle royal.
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Gabe Tuft comes out as transgender - Gabbi Alon Tuft
Main Roster Debut and Career in WWE
Reks made her main roster debut on the June 30, 2009 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, with a surfer in-ring persona, in a backstage promo with Zack Ryder. Reks had suffered a knee injury just prior to her debut, but was able to work through it and made her in-ring debut on the July 2, 2009, episode of WWE Superstars, losing to Ryder. On the July 21 episode of ECW, Reks gained her first win after defeating Paul Burchill, and then beat him again the following week. Reks participated in a 10-man battle royal on the September 15 episode of ECW for an ECW Championship opportunity against Christian, but the match would go on to be won by Ryder. Reks would begin a brief hiatus from television starting in November 2009 and began mainly working dark matches and house shows for both SmackDown and Raw and FCW matches.
Move to SmackDown
In April 2010, Reks joined the SmackDown roster following ECW's cancellation. After months of only working dark matches, Reks appeared as a heel on the October 15 episode of SmackDown, while sporting a beard, chest hair, and new attire in addition to never referencing to her time on ECW. After a promo, she challenged and defeated Kaval in a match for the latter's spot in the SmackDown Bragging Rights team. On the Raw before Bragging Rights, she participated in a SmackDown vs. Raw 30 Man Tag Team Battle Royal, in which SmackDown was victorious.
Bragging Rights and Survivor Series
At Bragging Rights, Reks was able to eliminate Santino Marella, before being eliminated by Sheamus. However, Team SmackDown was successful in winning the Bragging Rights Cup for the second consecutive time, which would end up being Reks' most significant accomplishment in her WWE career. After this, Reks was placed on Alberto Del Rio's Survivor Series team.
On the SmackDown before the Survivor Series, she competed in a Ten Man Tag Team Battle Royal but her team lost. On January 30, 2011, Reks made her Royal Rumble debut at the namesake event, entering the Royal Rumble match as the sixteenth entrant, but was eliminated from the match in only 34 seconds by CM Punk and the New Nexus. Reks was involved in another dark battle royal at WrestleMania XXVII. Reks participated in a battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.
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Draft to Raw and Tag Team with Curt Hawkins
On April 26, Reks was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. After wrestling dark matches for a few months, Reks made her Raw debut in a backstage segment with Curt Hawkins, Wade Barrett, and Alberto Del Rio. On the September 8 episode of Superstars, Reks made her in-ring return as she teamed with Hawkins to defeat Titus O'Neil and Percy Watson. Hawkins and Reks then began appearing on the fifth season of NXT, by attacking the Usos from behind on the September 27 episode of NXT. Over the next two weeks on NXT, Hawkins and Reks faced the Usos in tag team matches, with Hawkins and Reks winning the first match and the Usos winning the second match. Reks made her singles return on October 16 losing to Yoshi Tatsu.
Reks participated in a World Heavyweight Championship number 1 contender 41 man battle royal and the "All I Want For Christmas Battle Royal" and was eliminated in both. Hawkins and Reks would lose to the Usos once again on December 6. As punishment, Regal put Hawkins and Reks in a match against each other with Striker as referee and the loser of the match would be fired. Hawkins and Reks would then engage in a one-sided feud with Ryback in July 2012.
Departure from WWE
On August 20, Reks asked for his release in order to spend time with his family.
| Championship | Times |
|---|---|
| FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (with Johnny Curtis) | 1 |
| FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
Life After Wrestling and Transition
Since retiring from professional wrestling in 2014, Tuft has been working in marketing. In February 2021, Tuft announced that she is a transgender woman and would be known as Gabbi Tuft. Since her transition, she has been featured on several television shows and media outlets including: The Tamron Hall Show, Breakfast Television, The New York Times, E!
Tuft is the 301st most popular wrestler (up from 610th in 2024), the 10,330th most popular biography from United States (up from 16,778th in 2019) and the 126th most popular American Wrestler.
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