NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca recently appeared on The Hall of Fame podcast with Booker T and Brad Gilmore, where she opened up about her meteoric rise, overcoming a major injury, and the gymnastics roots behind her now-iconic finishing move, the “Sol Snatcher.”
Reflecting on her journey from injury to championship glory, Ruca described the experience as “crazy.”
“Going from nothing, as in being injured for nine months to now, having not one but two titles… it’s great. I’m honestly loving being busy, definitely a full 180 from being in rehab every single day to now being in front of thousands of people.”
Booker T then playfully asked where she “stole” her innovative finisher from — prompting Ruca to explain its origins stem from her gymnastics background.
“It was a move that I did on the high bar, called a straddleback. I had seen a similar move from someone who did it like on the side of the rope, and they did it into a stunner. But I was like, ‘There’s no way my back’s going to handle that long term.’ So I tried to workshop it a little bit, and decided that landing in the cutter position was just the best thing for me. And it took off.”
The rising star also shared her thoughts on participating in Evolution 2, where she teamed with — and faced off against — WWE legends like Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss.
“It was incredible. It was really, really intimidating, I’m not going to lie, but in the moment, it was just so much fun,” Ruca said.
Booker T asked if she’d experienced that “out of body moment” yet, and Ruca didn’t hesitate.
“When you’re in the ring there, you kind of think about it for like, half a second, and then you just have to click back on… but definitely with Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss… every single person in there, I was like, ‘Damn, we made it. We did it.’”
Currently holding both the NXT Women’s North American Championship and the WWE Women’s Speed Championship, Sol Ruca is scheduled to appear at this Tuesday’s NXT television tapings at 713 Music Hall in Houston, Texas.
