Transgender former WWE star Gabbi Tuft has landed in Las Vegas amid continued speculation about a stunning return to wrestling.
The 45-year-old Tuft, known for her time in the ring under the name Tyler Reks during her first four-year run with WWE, was fired from the company in 2012 and retired from competition in 2014.
She came out as transgender to her wife Priscilla Tuft in 2020, before making the news public in February 2021. And now, three years later, she is rumored to be expecting a sensational comeback.
Her arrival in Vegas late Tuesday comes shortly before The Rock and Roman Reigns are scheduled to attend the Feb. 8 event at the city’s T-Mobile Arena.
Speaking in December, Tuft hinted that a return could be on the cards when asked if she is teasing a comeback by Struggling zone.
Transgender former WWE star Gabbi Tuft has landed in Las Vegas amid rumors of WWE return
Tuft, 45, was seen walking through the airport late Tuesday evening
Trans wrestler Tuft said she lost 190 pounds of weight and muscle mass during transition
“Teasing is a good word,” she said. ‘I had no interest in coming back after I left, I thought I was done with it for good. I didn’t expect to miss it as much as I did.
“It was kind of, on my higher priority list, to explore what options are available and what I would want to do if I came back.”
During her first run, Tuft weighed about 280 pounds and ate 10,000 calories a day to build a physique that meant she was “the alpha male of alpha males.”
Now she has revealed the steps she took to go from “a man with dreadlocks down to my ass” – and someone who drew comparisons to the mountain from Game of Thrones – to a woman.
‘That’s who I was. I was the protector. I was the alpha male of alpha males, and everything I did revolved around that.” Tuft told Fox.
‘But when I made the decision to switch medically. It was so powerful that I was truly ready to let it all go.
“God, it’s so hard to get rid of that much muscle. It’s quite a job.
‘I was shocked at how much muscle strength I retained. I forced my body to burn muscle with these long, drawn out, high-intensity cardiovascular sessions and stayed in keto for a very long time, and I stopped lifting weights. That’s the short version.
Tuft spoke out about the transition earlier this week, saying it felt like a ‘second puberty’
Tuft’s wife Priscilla supported her transition, although the two are now in the process of divorce
Tuft, pictured wrestling as Tyler Reks, during her first four-year run with WWE
“It’s been a sobering year to six months.” She also admitted that taking estrogen is “like going through a second puberty.”
Tuft also revealed how her wife, Priscilla, was no longer “sexually attracted to her” during that period. The couple is now separated and is amicably working toward a divorce.
She added: ‘I had a moment where I had stopped presenting theater for a few months because (my wife) had said that she wasn’t sexually attracted to me at the time because all she saw was visions of I was dressed up.
“And once again, this is me, still a 265 pound man in all my manly glory. So at that moment it seemed like cross-dressing was really happening.
‘We’re separated now, and we’re kind of in the middle of a divorce that we don’t want to finalize so quickly. She and I are still best friends. We are co-parents. We see each other every day.
‘There is so much love between us. We had our ups and downs when we broke up. But we’ve come full circle.”