Zayda Steel

Zayda Steel
Birth nameFatima Zahra
Born (2003-10-13) October 13, 2003
Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring names
  • Zayda Steel
  • Zayda
Billed height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Billed fromArlington County, Virginia
Trained by
  • Brian Johnson
  • Diego Cruz
  • Drolix
DebutAugust 7, 2022

Fatima Zahra (Arabic: فاطمة الزهراء; born October 13, 2003) is a Moroccan-American professional wrestler. She currently performs in the independent circuit and is also signed to WWE under the WWE ID program, where she performs on the Evolve brand under the ring name Zayda Steel. She is a member of The Vanity Project stable.

Early life

Steel was born in Inglewood, California on October 13, 2003, to a Moroccan mother.[1] At 18 years old, Steel dropped out of high school to pursue a career in professional wrestling.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2022–present)

Steel made her in-ring debut on August 7, 2022, at Combat Zone Wrestling Limelight 8, losing against Trish Adora. In Steel's debut year, she appeared for promotions like MCW Pro Wrestling, and various independent show in the West Virginia and Pennsylvania region.[3] In the following years, Steel made various appearances for other notable independent promotions like Beyond Wrestling, DEFY Wrestling, Progress Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling and Booker T's Reality of Wrestling.[4][5]

On August 1, 2025, at Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) ID Showcase, Steel qualified for the triple threat match tournament final to crown the inaugural WWE Women's ID Champion against Kylie Rae and Zara Zakher, where Rae won to become the inaugural champion.[6]

Major League Wrestling (2023–2024)

Steel's first appearance for Major League Wrestling (MLW) took place on September 3, 2023, during MLW's flagship show MLW Fusion. Steel competed under the ring name "Zayda". Steel got her first MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship on the MLW Once Upon A Time In New York event, in a losing effort against Delmi Exo.[7]

Steel would get another opportunity at the Women's Featherweight Championship on May 11, 2024, in a four-way match against Janai Kai, Delmi Exo and Miyu Yamashita at MLW Fury Road 2024, losing to champion Janai Kai.[8]

Steel was part of Mister Saint Laurent's "World Titan Federation" faction, alongside Matt Cardona, Richard Holliday, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Gene Snitsky, Tom Lawlor, Steph De Lander, Josh Bishop, Brett Ryan Gosselin, A.J. Francis & Alexander Hammerstone.

Dream Star Fighting Marigold (2024)

On April 15, 2024, former World Wonder Ring Stardom executive producer Rossy Ogawa held a press conference to announce his new promotion Dream Star Fighting Marigold.[9] On May 20, 2024, at Marigold's debut event Marigold Fields Forever, Steel performed in a tag-team match alongside Mai Sakurai in a losing effort against Myla Grace and Nagisa Nozaki.[10]

Steel appeared on the next Marigold event Marigold Summer Destiny on July 13, 2024, tagging with Myla Grace in a losing effort against Nagisa Nozaki and CHIAKI.

At the Marigold Summer Gold Shine 2024 event, Steel competed in an eight-woman tag team elimination match teaming with Bozilla, CHIAKI & Myla Grace versus Kizuna Tanaka, Mirai, Utami Hayashishita and Victoria Yuzuki, which ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw.[11]

WWE (2024–present)

Steel signed with WWE in November 2024 as part of the WWE ID program, becoming the third WWE Superstar of Moroccan descent, after Layla and Amale to be signed by WWE.[12][13] Steel made her WWE debut on the April 2, 2025 edition of Evolve, losing to Brinley Reece.[14] In April, Steel joined Swipe Right (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes), Jackson Drake, and Bryce Donovan to form The Vanity Project stable.[15] On the May 21 edition of Evolve, Steel lost in a Fatal Four-Way match against Kylie Rae, Aria Bennett and Chantel Monroe to earn an opportunity for the inaugural Evolve Women's Championship match.[16]

Championships and accomplishments

  • New Texas Pro Wrestling
    • New Texas Pro Women's Championship (1 time)[17]
  • Warriors Of Wrestling
    • WOW Women's Championship (1 time)[18]
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 123 of the top 250 female wrestlers in 2024[19]

References

  1. ^ The Wrestling Classic (February 13, 2024). Zayda Steel On her Arab Background, Breaking into Wrestling, WWE Tryout, Confidence & More. Retrieved July 28, 2025 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Steel, Zayda (July 26, 2025). "Name a piece of wrestling lore about yourself". X.com. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "CZW Limelight 8 at State Theater of Havre de Grace wrestling results - Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  4. ^ Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) (June 16, 2025). "GCW returns to HARTFORD on Saturday, July 5th!". @gamechangerwrestling on Instagram. Retrieved July 28, 2025.[self-published]
  5. ^ DEFY Wrestling (November 20, 2024). "PROGRESS Women's Champion will be putting her title on the line in TWO HUGE TITLE MATCHES". @defyNW on X.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  6. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 1, 2025). "Kylie Rae Becomes First-Ever WWE ID Women's Champion". Fightful. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  7. ^ MLW (March 16, 2024). MLW Once Upon a Time in New York. Retrieved July 28, 2025 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Zayda Steel (May 18, 2025). Zayda Steel v Miyu Yamashita v Janai Kai v Delmi Exo - MLW FURY ROAD. Retrieved July 28, 2025 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ Edwards, Scott (April 23, 2024). "Utami Hayashishita Talks Marigold, Queen's Quest, Iyo Sky, More | Interview". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  10. ^ "Marigold Fields Forever Results (5/20): Bozilla & Sareee vs. Giulia & Utami Hayashishita | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Black, Ethan (August 19, 2024). "Marigold Summer Gold Shine Night 10 Results (August 19th, 2024)". bodyslam.net. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "#WWEID welcomes @ZaydaSteel". @WWEID on X.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  13. ^ Staynings, James (December 7, 2024). "1st WWE ID Prospect: Zayda Steel is the Real Deal". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  14. ^ "Zayda Steel impresses in her WWE debut against Brinley Reece: WWE Evolve highlights, April 2, 2025 | WWE". www.wwe.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  15. ^ Vetter, Chris (April 23, 2025). "WWE Evolve results (4/23): Vetter's review of Bryce Donovan vs. Timothy Thatcher, Carlie Bright vs. Kalyx, Zara Zakher vs. Aria Bennett, Jackson Drake vs. Sean Legacy". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  16. ^ "WWE EVOLVE #12 05 21 2025 - OWW". May 22, 2025. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  17. ^ zerepwrestling (March 2, 2025). "Zayda Steel Announced for New Texas Pro's "Sirius" on March 23". PWPonderings. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  18. ^ Broggi, Fabio "Fantomius". "Zayda Steel: Profile, Career Stats, Face/Heel Turns, Titles Won & Gimmicks | Pro Wrestlers Database". The SmackDown Hotel. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  19. ^ "Internet Wrestling Database - Zayda Steel: Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ratings". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
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