Latin female wrestlers like Marti Belle, are gaining popularity and acceptance among the public, creating a new image of powerful and strong women who, even though they are fighters, they never lose their charm and femininity.
Now is the turn of rising wrestling star, Martibel Payano. AKA Marti Belle in the ring, Payano is a New York City born life-long athlete with Dominican roots, who will be representing all the Latinas as the very first female Dominican-descent wrestler in the history of the WWE.
“Marti Belle is one charismatic young woman. Having the perfect mixture of attitude and sweetness, Marti always gets the crowd going, whether she’s a good girl or a villainous coward.
Marti’s wrestling is decent enough for her to be one of the more well liked ladies in the indy scene.”
When Marti was a baby she moved from the big city to La Romana, Dominican Republic. When she was 7 years old she moved back to New York, becoming fluent in English by age of 9, but never letting aside the Spanish language. She is currently living in Kansas City, MO.
As a dual-sport athlete, Marti played volleyball for four years, three of those in Varsity and played Varsity softball for three years, two of those as the starting pitcher at Washington Irving High School in NYC.
Marti is a competitor in everything she puts her efforts in. “The mental preparation is always the most difficult part. You must believe in yourself,” says Marti.
The athlete reveals that she has to wake up at 5 in the morning to workout and train with her coaches so she can be truly ready for her fights.
I was an ESL student, when I first moved back to NY, I didn’t speak any English and it took me a couple of years to become fluent.
I started watching wrestling at age 7 when I moved to NY and I think it also helped with my English.
Marti has a message to all the Latinos, who like her, love to represent their roots. “Never give up on your dreams.
If you love something and have passion for it, don’t stop until you’ve accomplished it. And when you feel like you’re there, keep pushing yourself,” recommends Marti.
“We are hard-working people, and when we set our minds to something, we are unstoppable,” she added
In May of 2019, Belle returned to ROH where she unsuccessfully challenged Allysin Kay for the NWA World Women’s Championship.
With National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) producing their weekly internet program, Belle made her debut on October 22 in the episode NWA Power, where she was victorious over Crystal Rose, she also appeared in the following months episode.
In November of 2020, Belle announced her departure from NWA and In August of 2021, NWA announced the return of Belle alongside Allysin Kay, going by the team name The Hex, to participate at NWA EmPowerrr, in a tournament to crown the new NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions.
At the event, The Hex defeated Red Velvet and KiLynn King in a tournament final to win the revived titles.
