Mercedes Martinez

Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez.

She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a former ROH Women's World Champion.

She is also known for her time in WWE, primarily on the NXT brand.

Jazmín Benítez was born on November 17, 1980, in Waterbury, Connecticut.

She is of Puerto Rican descent.

In high school, she played both basketball and softball.

She then attended college at Teikyo Post University, where her major was criminal justice.

Mercedes Martinez got involved in professional wrestling after an injury sustained playing basketball in college.

Martinez was a standout basketball player in high school.

She later transitioned to professional wrestling due to her love for contact sports.

Martinez began her training under Jason Knight in October 2000.

She defeated a male wrestler by the name of "Juice" in her first match on November 12, 2000.

In 2001, she gained exposure under promoter Sheldon Goldberg.

Goldberg subsequently formed a women's division in New England Championship Wrestling around Martinez, including bringing in foreign talent such as Yoshimoto Ladies Pro's Sumie Sakai.

The duo traded the North American Women's Championship.

Through 2003 and 2004, Martinez competed in various promotions in New England such as Connecticut Championship Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling, and Ian Rotten's IWA Mid South.

In IWA, Martinez was brought in to face the star of the women's division, Mickie Knuckles.

As Martinez explained in an article for the Boston Herald in 2004, "Wrestling just came at the right time."

On November 6, 2005, Mercedes wrestled in the inaugural event of the new exclusive women wrestling promotion, Shimmer Women Athletes run by Dave Prazak, who discovered her while watching a Kiryoku Pro DVD.

Martinez wrestled Sara Del Rey in a 20-minute time limit draw, and both were given a standing ovation after their match.

In 2005, Martinez joined World Xtreme Wrestling.

She participated in several matches, and then started feud with Talia Madison for the WXW Women's Championship.

On July 8, Martinez defeated Madison to become the new Women's Champion.

Martinez continued to wrestle for Shimmer and various independent promotions across America through 2006.

On March 25, 2006, Martinez made her Ring of Honor (ROH) debut in New York City where she competed in a Shimmer sanctioned match versus her counterparts of Allison Danger, Daizee Haze, and Lacey.

On December 22, Martinez suffered an injury in an ROH match teaming with Jimmy Jacobs against Haze and B. J. Whitmer.

However, the title was declared vacant on September 3, when she won the WXW Cruiserweight Championship from Drew Blood on February 19, 2006.

She returned to Ring of Honor by the end of December 2007, aligning herself with The Vulture Squad.

On May 27 it was announced that Martinez and ROH had amicably parted ways.

On January 6, 2007, Martinez defeated Cindy Rogers to regain the Women's Championship.

When she had to undergo shoulder surgery in February 2007, a "Phantom Title Change" storyline was done where Kacee Carlisle claimed she beat Mercedes in an Empty Arena Match to become the new champion was Mercedes's exit for her surgery.

On May 2, 2009, she took part in Shimmer's Volume 23 where she lost to Awesome Kong.

Later in the night, as part of Volume 24, she defeated Madison Eagles.

The next day, she lost to Serena Deeb for Volume 25, and teamed with Deeb to take on Sara Del Rey and Kong for Volume 26, but had a losing effort in that match.

She lost against the debuting Ayako Hamada on November 8, 2009, after a Hama-Chan Cutter, but was able to score a pinfall over Cat Power as part of Volume 28 after hitting her with the Fisherman Buster.

On October 2, 2011, Martinez turned heel for the first time in her Shimmer career, starting a rivalry with Athena.

On June 26, 2016, after being retired for two years, Martinez made a surprise return to Shimmer, aligning herself with Nicole Savoy and Shayna Baszler and defeating Madison Eagles in an impromptu match to win the Shimmer Championship for the first time.

She lost the title to Kellie Skater on November 12, only to regain it the following day.

On November 12, 2017, Martinez lost the title to Savoy.

Prior to going to WWE in 2020, Martinez was a mainstay on the independent circuit, winning numerous titles - including three WSU Championships, two Shimmer Championships, one Shine Championship and one Phoenix of Rise Championship.