From Cheerleader to Ringleader: Meet WWE's Next Big Star Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss, the WWE SmackDown women's champion, stands 5'1". Set to defend a world championship in her first WrestleMania, her career stands 6'7".

The two-time women's champion is stepping into the ring against a who's who of SmackDown's dynamic female talent. Bliss carried the same heel moxie that made her into a premier force on the blue brand (she forecasted a win for herself) while somehow not coming off as overconfident (she stopped short of guaranteeing the victory.) 

"I'm 5'1," she said. "I'm not the biggest woman in our division, and I have every woman against me at WrestleMania—every available woman—so there's a little bit of nerves there, but I plan on leaving WrestleMania as SmackDown women's champion. Don't mistake that for a second." 

In some of her responses, Bliss toed the line between her cocky persona and the real-life Lexi Kaufman, a former Division I cheerleader and professional bodybuilder. The overachieving WWE Superstar overcame a life-threatening eating disorder to become a reviled heel and an unlikely star on SmackDown Live.

Credit: WWE.com

After cutting her teeth in NXT as an almost cartoonish character who showered NXT fans with pixie dust in the vein of Tinker Bell from Peter Pan, Bliss has found her voice as a provocateur who is well-versed in classic heel tactics of cheating and manipulation to stay on top. 

She's not a villain through some Napoleonic complex, where her actions are seen as overcompensatory, but rather with biting sarcasm and a signature condescending tone that she employs against her opponents and wrestling fans alike.

"I love what Alexa Bliss has turned into," she said. "It's so much fun. Every time I get to go out there, I just have so much fun, and I wouldn't trade it for the pixie, glittery [gimmick] at all. I love it." 

But even as Five Feet of Fury successfully fights to become noticed in a land of giants, she is still seen as something of an afterthought when it comes to women one day main-eventing WrestleMania. That theoretical milestone is assumed to belong to Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte and the women on Raw, who routinely appear in the final segment of the flagship show.

Last October, Charlotte and Sasha Banks became the first women to not only main event a pay-per-view but also compete in WWE's vaunted Hell in a Cell. 

"I would be happy for any of the women [to main-event WrestleMania]," Bliss said. "Obviously I would love that opportunity to be in the main event of WrestleMania, but I feel like with the caliber of women that we have during this women's revolution, and the women in NXT, what we are developing as the women in WWE is an amazing thing."

The women in WWE's most resurgent division may not be the only thing Bliss has to worry about in terms of competing for a spot in the WrestleMania main event. UFC megastar Ronda Rousey has dabbled in the WWE world, once telling James Montgomery of Rolling Stone that she wants to be a part of the women's revolution. 

In a recent interview with Adam K. Raymond of Maxim, rising UFC strawweight fighter Paige VanZant expressed similar desires to compete in WWE.

The promotion is not shy about bringing in part-time stars with mainstream appeal on board to main-event WrestleMania, a talking point that has become something of a sore point among the hardcore wrestling fans who feel these types are taking spots from more deserving WWE Superstars. Bliss, however, has a different take.

"I'm open for the challenge," she said. "I'm 100 percent up for that challenge."

Bliss continued: "If they're wanting to come to WWE, they're willing to come to see what our women have to offer. I'm sure they all have certain training and knowledge, but we do too. We all train differently, and we all know secrets that the other ones may not know." 

As WrestleMania season draws to a close, whispers of another WWE draft will continue to become louder until the inevitable ceremony happens. As much as Bliss has grown in NXT and on SmackDown Live, Raw—WWE's flagship—is a completely different animal.

Never too small for the moment, Bliss had a special message for every woman who competes for the red brand: "The women of Raw better get ready." 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.