BellaDonna

Beatriz Liana Belmonte (formerly Hardy, formerly Copeland; born December 28, 1978) is a retired Mexican American professional wrestler best known for her work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the name BellaDonna.

Early Life

Beatriz Liana Belmonte was born on December 28, 1978 in Lakewood, California to Mexican immigrants, Selena and Javier Belmonte. Beatriz is the second youngest of the five Belmonte siblings, the youngest being fellow wrestler, Deborah “Angel” Belmonte. Belmonte often vacationed in Mexico with her family, where, at approximately the age of fifteen, she began training to be a professional wrestler alongside two of her siblings. As compromised with Mr. Belmonte, the three would have to continue their education, maintaining a 3.0 GPA throughout high school, and going on to college to achieve at least an Associate’s degree, if they wanted to continue their training. Belmonte attended the University of Southern California (USC) on a full scholarship, she majored in Music Performance and earned a Bachelor’s degree.

Professional Wrestling Career

Early Career (1993-1998)

Beatriz, like her brother and sister, started her wrestling career in Mexico. Through a few family connections the three began training under the Mexican luchadors Dos Caras and his brother Mil Máscaras, and would eventually continue honing their skills under the tutelage of the Guerrero wrestling family. The Belmonte siblings would go on to wrestle on and off, during the summers, for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and the World Wrestling Association (WWA) as well as several Southern and Baja California promotions throughout the rest of the year. Belmonte wrestled under the name Tristeza (Sadness) while in Mexico. During her time in CMLL Belmonte would come to brush shoulders with fellow future WWE wrestler, Chris Jericho. When wrestling in CMLL and other promotions Belmonte would often wrestle against her sister as opposed to the other few female wrestlers. She once stated in a lucha libre magazine, ''“'Yo prefiero luchar contra mi hermana sobre otras luchadoras porque todavía no estoy a gusto con mis habilidades. Sé que tengo más que aprender y no quiero terminar perjudicando a una compañera de trabajo debido a mi falta de experiencia. Es por eso que prefiero luchar contra mi hermana, somos familia y la culpa que sentiría no sería tanta.'" (Translation: “I prefer to wrestle against my sister over other female wrestlers because I'm still not comfortable with my skills. I know I have more to learn and I don't want to end up hurting a coworker due to my inexperience. That's why I'd rather wrestle against my sister, we're family so the guilt I'd feel wouldn't be as much.”) This fear of hurting her fellow female wrestler is what pushed Belmonte towards inter-gender matches, but once again Belmonte preferred going against her brother. On June 9, 1997 Belmonte won her first championship at the age of 19, defeating Japanese wrestler Mariko Yoshida for the CMLL World Women’s Championship. Belmonte went on to lose the championship in August 1997 to Lady Apache'' in a three-way match. During her early stints in Mexico, Belmonte and her sibling approached AAA regular Eddie Guerrero asking if it were possible to receive extra training from him during their times in Mexico. Guerrero originally refused believing that the sibling trio was too young and unprepared for the type of training he would have liked, Guerrero also believed that the siblings didn’t have the heart it took to be true wresters, but after several months of seeing them practice he changed his attitude toward the three and agreed to help train them. <p style="text-align:justify">It was during the mid-90s that Belmonte and her siblings would train with the Guerreros, whether it be with Eddie in Mexico or other members in Texas or even California.

<h3 style="text-align:justify">World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1998-2009) <p style="text-align:justify">In late 1998 once Belmonte had left Mexico to get ready for her return to college her father, through a few more family connections, managed to get her a tryout match with the WWF. She would go on to face WWF newcomer, Jacqueline. Belmonte would go on to impress the WWF brass with her age and skill, signing a developmental contract with the company the next month.

Debut, the Brood, and the New Brood (1998-1999)
In 1998, on August 16th, Belmonte made her debut on Sunday Night Heat alongside her storyline mentor Gangrel. Under the name Nightshade, Belmonte would become Gangrel's valet and an essential part of the gothic faction The Brood.

The character of Nightshade was portrayed as a seductress, something which Belmonte claimed to have a hard time pulling off, and was a key part in the recruitment of Edge, Christian, and The Hardy Boyz for the respective stables of The Brood and The New Brood.

Final Run and Departure (2009)
<p style="text-align: justify;">Belmonte would have her last match at SummerSlam 2009, dropping her Women's Championship to her sister.

Personal Life
Belmonte has broken few bones throughout her career, but some of her more noticeable battle scars are from before her career. During high school, Belmonte had her nose broken during a soccer game in her senior year.

During her initial training days in Mexico under Dos Caras and Mil Máscaras, Belmonte would date former  WWE Superstar, Alberto Rodíguez (Alberto del Rio). In 2001, Belmonte would begin dating fellow wrestler and former on-screen affiliate, Adam Copeland (Edge). The two would marry later that year. In 2002 Belmonte and Copeland would welcome their only son, Joseph Javier Copeland (8.55 lbs; 18 in) into the world on October 2, 2002. Belmonte would file for divorce in March of 2005 after finding out about Copeland's infidelities with fellow WWE Diva, Amy Dumas (Lita). The divorce would be finalized in September of that year. The two would share split custody of their son. Since then, Belmonte and Copeland have repaired their relationship with Belmonte claiming that it is "better than it was before." In 2011, Belmonte would give the majority of the custody of their son to Copeland.

Belmonte would marry Matt Hardy in Las Vegas, Nevada (in October of 2005) because of an unexpected pregnancy. The two have since stated that marrying for that reason was a mistake but have since learned to love each other. They would welcome their first child, Gabriel Matthew Hardy (8.83 lbs; 17 in), on June 13, 2006 into the world. Two years later, on March 16, 2008, they would welcome their second, Seraphina Moore Hardy (7.79 lbs; 15 in), to the world. Belmonte and Hardy would divorce in 2014 but remain close.

Following her divorce from Matt Hardy, Belmonte would state that she feels that she's never been cut out to be a wife, a mother yes, but not a wife. Belmonte would also state that if she could she would have an open relationship with Rodriguez, Copeland, and Hardy as she loves each of them but wouldn't be able to tie herself down again.

Finishers

 *  Delirium  (Corkscrew Shooting Star Press) – 2000-2006; rarely used thereafter
 *  PoisonRana  (Reverse Frankensteiner)
 *  Sedation  (Straightjacket bow and arrow)

Signatures

 *  Hallucination  (Tornado DDT)
 *  Paralyzer  (Swinging vertical snap DDT)
 * Float-over DDT
 * Frog Splash – in tribute to Eddie Guerrero
 * Hurricanrana
 * Lasso from El Paso (Elevated cloverleaf with a knee to the back) – in tribute to Eddie Guerrero
 * Missile dropkick
 * Moonsault
 * Reverse of Fate
 * Snap suplex
 * Spear – 2001-2005; rarely used there after
 * Spinning heel kick
 * Standing moonsault (with theatrics)
 * Suicide dive
 * Three Amigos (Triple rolling vertical suplexes) – in tribute to Eddie Guerrero
 * Twist of Fate

Entrance Themes

 * Blood by Jim Johnson (1998-1999)
 * Scattered by Green Day (2001-2005)
 * In Memory by Shinedown (2005-2009)

Championships and Accomplishment

 * CMLL World Women's Championship (1 time)
 * Mexican National Women's Championship (1 time)
 * WWF/E Women's Championship (5 times)

Miscellaneous/Trivia

 * Belmonte is a key part of the Twisted Fates Series.
 * Belmonte is one of the TFS Originals.
 * Belmonte can be considered the "original" TFS Original.
 * Belmonte has had the most name changes of all TFS OCs.