The Heartbreaking Story Behind Stephanie Vaquer’s Face Paint
Stephanie Vaquer broke onto the wrestling scene at a very young age.
La Primera debuted professionally in February 2009 when she was only 15 years old. She started wrestling in her native Chile under the ring name Dark Angel, competing in small local events around 2010. In 2013, she moved to Mexico to train under famous wrestlers such as Ricky Marvin and Último Guerrero.
Unfortunately, early in her career, Vaquer suffered major facial injuries, including a broken nose and orbital bone, which sidelined her for about a year. Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, Stephanie Vaquer revealed that her early career injury led to the birth of her iconic face paint.
She explained that the paint symbolizes overcoming the adversity and hardship she experienced while wrestling away from her family and support network in Mexico. It has since become part of her unique look, representing strength and resilience in the ring.
“When I start in pro wrestling, my second match, I broke my face here and my nose. Knees in my face, so my nose broke, and my orbital bone. So I take one year and rest. It was a hard time for me, because in that time I live in Mexico, I didn’t have family there. I don’t have money. I couldn’t do work.”
Vaquer won this year’s Evolution Battle Royal and earned herself a title opportunity. She is set to challenge IYO Sky for the vacant WWE Women’s Championship, which Naomi relinquished after her pregnancy announcement. The match will take place at Wrestlepalooza on September 20 in Indianópolis.
Rhea Ripley Warns Stephanie Vaquer
On this week’s Monday Night Raw edition, Rhea Ripley met with her backstage and warned her that she’d be coming after her following Wrestlepalooza, teasing a match between the two stars.
Mami vs La Primera will be a dream match for many fans, and guess what, it’ll be a dream match for the female Chilean pro wrestler as well. Stephanie Vaquer told Chris Van Vliet that The Eradicator is one of her dream opponents.
“One-on-one with Asuka. I really want because it’s not been one-on-one. Asuka or Rhea, Mami versus Mamacita.”