Gabbi Tuft

1. Overview

Gabbi Alon Tuft, born Gabriel Allan Tuft on November 1, 1978, is an American professional wrestler who gained prominence under the ring name Tyler Reks in WWE. After her wrestling career, Tuft transitioned to a public life as a TikToker and became known for her personal journey as a trans woman, publicly announcing her gender transition in February 2021. Her career spans from the independent professional wrestling circuit to World Wrestling Entertainment, followed by entrepreneurial ventures, and ultimately her advocacy and visibility as a trans woman.

2. Early Life and Background

Gabbi Tuft's formative years included her education and initial professional endeavors before her entry into professional wrestling.

3. Professional Wrestling Career

Gabbi Tuft's professional wrestling career began on the independent circuit before she signed with WWE, where she spent significant time in their developmental system and on the main roster, later returning to the independent scene.

3.2. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

Tuft's tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment included a period in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, followed by a run on the main roster, both as a singles competitor and as part of a tag team.

3.2.1. Florida Championship Wrestling (2008-2009)

In January 2008, Tuft signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to its developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). She made her FCW debut on February 5, 2008, teaming with Johnny Curtis in a losing effort against The Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez). Her singles debut in FCW occurred on February 12, where she lost to Hade Vansen. Tuft participated in an FCW Florida Heavyweight Title Battle Royal, ultimately won by Jake Hager. She also competed in the FCW Florida Tag Team Title Tournament, teaming with Rycklon. During this tournament, she secured her first victory in FCW, defeating Ted DiBiase Jr. and Afa Jr. in the first round, though the pair later lost to The Puerto Rican Nightmares in the quarter-finals.

Tuft received two opportunities 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 that also included Johnny Curtis, losing both times. On August 28, she participated in an FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contendership Fatal Four Way, which was won by Sheamus O'Shaunessy. Tuft then had two more FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship shots against O'Shaunessy, losing on both occasions.

By November 2008, her ring name was officially changed to Tyler Reks. On December 11, Reks and Johnny Curtis defeated The New Hart Foundation (DH Smith and TJ Wilson) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship in Tampa, Florida. After holding the titles for 139 days and successfully defending them numerous times, they lost them in a Two On One Handicap match to The Dude Busters (Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta). Reks later won an FCW Florida Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contendership match and on June 11, 2009, she captured the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship by defeating Drew McIntyre. She subsequently lost the title to Heath Slater at the FCW television tapings on August 13 and also lost her rematch for the title. She further lost a FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contendership match to Joe Hennig and a subsequent battle royal for the same opportunity. Her attempts to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship alongside Leo Kruger were unsuccessful against Los Aviadores (Epico and Hunico).

3.2.2. Main Roster Singles Competition (2009-2011)

Reks made her main roster debut on the June 30, 2009 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, presenting a surfer in-ring persona in a backstage promo with Zack Ryder. Despite a knee injury suffered just before her debut, she managed 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 earned her first victory by defeating Paul Burchill, whom she also beat 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 was won by Ryder. Beginning in November 2009, Reks took a brief hiatus from television, primarily working dark matches and house shows for both SmackDown and Raw, along with FCW matches. She was also a participant in the 26-man pre-show battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI.

In April 2010, following ECW's cancellation, Reks joined the SmackDown roster. After several months of only working dark matches, Reks reappeared as a heel on the October 15 episode of SmackDown, sporting a beard, chest hair, and new attire, without any reference to her previous time on ECW. Following a promo, she challenged and defeated Kaval for his spot on the SmackDown Bragging Rights team. On the Raw before Bragging Rights, she competed in a SmackDown vs. Raw 30-Man Tag Team Battle Royal, which SmackDown won. At Bragging Rights, Reks eliminated Santino Marella but was subsequently eliminated by Sheamus. However, Team SmackDown was victorious, winning the Bragging Rights Cup for the second consecutive time, which would become Reks' most significant accomplishment in her WWE career.

Reks was then placed on Alberto Del Rio's Survivor Series team. On the SmackDown episode preceding Survivor Series, she competed in a Ten-Man Tag Team Battle Royal, but her team lost. At Survivor Series, she was eliminated by Kofi Kingston, as Team Del Rio lost the match to Team Mysterio. Reks then began a feud with Chris Masters, defeating him once on SmackDown and twice on Superstars.

On January 30, 2011, Reks made her Royal Rumble debut at the namesake event, entering the Royal Rumble match as the sixteenth participant. However, she 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 and participated in a battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Her last in-ring television performance for five months saw her defeat JTG on Superstars.

3.2.3. Teaming with Curt Hawkins (2011-2012)

On April 26, 2011, Reks was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. After wrestling dark matches for several months, Reks made her Raw debut in a backstage segment alongside Curt Hawkins, Wade Barrett, and Alberto Del Rio. On the September 8 episode of Superstars, Reks made her in-ring return, teaming with Hawkins to defeat Titus O'Neil and Percy Watson.

Hawkins and Reks then began appearing on the fifth season of WWE NXT, initiating a rivalry by attacking The Usos on the September 27 episode. Over the subsequent two weeks on NXT, Hawkins and Reks faced The Usos in tag team matches, winning the first and losing the second. Reks made her singles return on October 16, losing to Yoshi Tatsu. She participated in a World Heavyweight Championship number one contender 41-man battle royal and the "All I Want For Christmas Battle Royal," but was eliminated from both. Hawkins and Reks lost to The Usos once again on December 6, and subsequently lost a non-title match to the then-tag team champions Air Boom (Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston) on the December 22 episode of Superstars.

Hawkins and Reks then engaged in a feud with the duo of Trent Barreta and Yoshi Tatsu, beginning in December 2011. Both teams played pranks on each other, with Tatsu being locked in a closet and Reks' hands being superglued to an Xbox controller. The feud concluded when Hawkins and Reks defeated Barreta and Tatsu on the January 18, 2012 episode of NXT.

Hawkins and Reks transitioned into the role of NXT's troublemakers, frequently tormenting NXT host Matt Striker about his career and asserting their own main-event status. They even assaulted Striker after a match. They compelled Striker to appoint William Regal as NXT's primary authority figure on the February 29 episode of NXT. Regal responded with strict measures to control Hawkins and Reks, including threatening suspensions and assigning them janitorial duties, which caused them significant frustration. On the March 21 episode of NXT Redemption, Striker was knocked out with chloroform by Johnny Curtis and Maxine and then kayfabe kidnapped by unknown individuals. It was later revealed that Hawkins and Reks were the kidnappers, intending to blackmail Maxine into using her influence to make Regal leave them alone. However, Striker was rescued by Derrick Bateman and Kaitlyn. On the April 18 episode of NXT, the freed Striker confronted Hawkins and Reks about the kidnapping, and Hawkins admitted their involvement. As punishment, Regal scheduled a match between Hawkins and Reks with Striker as the referee, stating the loser would be fired. Although Reks won, ostensibly saving her job, Regal decided to fire Reks as well, removing both from NXT.

Despite this, Regal's efforts to keep the duo away from NXT were short-lived. They successfully convinced the villainous higher authority figure John Laurinaitis to rehire them as NXT's security team on the May 9 episode of NXT. Hawkins and Reks continued to act as Laurinaitis's loyalists, confiscating anti-Laurinaitis signs at Over the Limit and attacking John Cena on the May 21 episode of Raw. Their association with Laurinaitis ended after he lost his position at No Way Out. On the final episode of the fifth season of NXT on June 13, Hawkins and Reks defeated Bateman and Percy Watson.

In July 2012, Hawkins and Reks became embroiled in a one-sided feud with Ryback. After both Hawkins and Reks lost singles matches to Ryback on SmackDown, Ryback defeated both of them in a handicap match at Money in the Bank. At Raw 1000, Hawkins and Reks, along with Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre, Hunico, and Camacho, attempted to ambush Kane to make a statement. However, a returning The Undertaker interrupted the attack, and the Brothers of Destruction quickly dispatched Hawkins and Reks. The duo would again lose to Ryback on the August 6 episode of Raw.

3.2.4. Departure from WWE (2012)

After being advised by SmackDown general manager Booker T to "step it up," Hawkins and Reks debuted a stripper-inspired gimmick on the August 17 episode of SmackDown, easily defeating a jobber tag team. A week later, Reks requested her release from WWE, stating her intention to retire from wrestling to dedicate more time to her family, particularly her recently born daughter. She and WWE officially parted ways on August 21, 2012, leading to the dissolution of the tag team. Upon her departure, Reks posted a message on social media, expressing gratitude to coaches and trainers such as Fit Finlay, Arn Anderson, Edge, Christian, Kane, Chris Jericho, Dr. Tom, Norman Smiley, and Billy Kidman. She also thanked Curt Hawkins, whom she considered a brother, and expressed appreciation to their fans, the #ReksAndHawkins and #RekkingCrew.

4. Post-Wrestling Life and Other Ventures

After retiring from full-time professional wrestling, Gabbi Tuft engaged in various business and community activities, significantly expanding her entrepreneurial and public-facing roles before her gender transition.

5. Personal Life and Gender Transition

Gabbi Tuft's personal life has included significant family milestones and a deeply personal journey of gender transition, which she has publicly shared and used for advocacy.

5.3. Gender Transition and Public Announcement

Gabbi Tuft's deeply personal process of gender transition began with her coming out to her wife, Priscilla, in September 2020. This was followed by a public announcement on February 4, 2021, where she openly identified as a trans woman. This courageous public step made headlines and marked a significant moment for visibility within the wrestling community and beyond, especially given her background as a male professional wrestler known for his masculine persona.

6. Wrestling Style and Signature Moves

Gabbi Tuft, under the ring name Tyler Reks, employed a powerful and agile wrestling style that combined strength with high-flying maneuvers.

Her primary finishing move, introduced later in her career, was the Killjoy. This maneuver involved lifting her opponent in a Canadian backbreaker position, then rotating them horizontally while simultaneously spinning 180 degrees herself to drop them into a DDT-like impact. She first used this as a finisher against Trent Beretta on NXT on January 17, 2012.

Previously, her finishing move was the Burning Hammer, a reverse Death Valley driver. However, she ceased using this move due to a reported dispute with John Cena. According to Reks, during a house show, Cena expressed displeasure with the similarity of the Burning Hammer to his own signature moves, telling Reks he needed to "think of a new move." Reks initially perceived this as a joke, as he had received permission from WWE management to use the move for several months. However, after using the Burning Hammer again in another match, Cena reportedly confronted him harshly in the locker room in front of other wrestlers. Despite Reks' attempts to apologize, Cena remained unreceptive, leading to a period where they did not speak until Reks' departure from the company.

Other notable moves in her repertoire included:

• Springboard Dropkick
• Big Kahuna (a springboard moonsault)
• Flatliner (sometimes performed by driving the opponent's head into the bottom turnbuckle of the corner post)

7. Championships and Accomplishments

Gabbi Tuft achieved several championships and accolades throughout her professional wrestling career.

• Florida Championship Wrestling
  • FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Johnny Curtis (1) and Joe Hennig (1)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 156 of the top 500 wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009
• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • Bragging Rights Trophy (2010) - with Team SmackDown (Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, Edge, and Kofi Kingston)
  • Slammy Award
    • Most Menacing Haircut (2010)

8. Reception and Controversies

Gabbi Tuft's career included notable interactions and professional disputes that drew attention within the wrestling community.

9. Entrance Themes

Throughout her professional wrestling career, Gabbi Tuft used several entrance music themes:

• "Gasoline Upcharge"
• "Hang Ten"
• "One Two Three" (Underscore Version)
• "Tyrannosaurus" (a remix of "One Two Three")
• "In The Middle Of It Now" (sometimes used when teaming with Curt Hawkins)