Heads up WWE, NXT, and AAA, Karmen Petrovic Is Taking Opportunities [Exclusive]

Karment Petrovic signed with WWE in 2022 and made her in-ring debut on an episode of NXT Level-Up in 2023. She's ready for a lot more.

"I believe my karate background has helped me adapt to whatever brand I'm on, whatever the situation is — NXT, AAA, a main event, TNA, Bloodsport. I'm a chameleon," Petrovic said. "I adapt to whatever it is. Keep the opportunities coming."

Yep, heads up WWE, NXT, AAA, and anywhere else with a wrestling ring. Petrovic is coming to take what's hers. In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Petrovic spoke on a variety of topics regarding her development in WWE, including how karate helped her transition to pro wrestling, seeking advice at the WWE Performance Center, spreading her wings and working outside of the WWE bubble, AAA, NXT Heatwave, and much more.

"Having my karate and combat background has helped me immensely coming into WWE," Petrovic said. "The discipline, the respect, and knowing that when the timing is right. I was able to bridge the gap between a completely different world and this world of wrestling. Before WWE, I'd never stepped into a wrestling ring. Never locked up. So, it's a completely different world."

Karate was a major part of Petrovic's life. She's a former member of the Canadian National and the Ontario Provincial Karate teams. Petrovic is a gold medalist at the Fonseca Cup competition, the Ontario Provincial competition, and the Ontario Summer Olympic Games.

Karmen Petrovic reveals the biggest difference between WWE and karate competition

Petrovic said that there are some similarities between karate competition and pro wrestling, but that the mindset as a performer is drastically different.

"I came into (karate) competition not thinking about anything other than -- I'm going to win, and to the person in front of me — I'm sorry, it's your bad day today," Petrovic said. "With wrestling, a lot more is out of our control, but there's also so much that's in our control. For example, the way we look, the way we present ourselves, character moments. With karate, because of how disciplined and how black-and-white the sport is, we didn't have that kind of creativity. So wrestling has opened up this incredible world of: How do I want to present myself?"

Karmen Petrovic anuncia la llegada de Los Perros del Mal#AAAenFOX pic.twitter.com/sfaF7Dyzdc
— Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (@luchalibreaaa) July 12, 2026

The idea of being whoever she wants to be is one that stuck with Petrovic and a highlight of being a pro wrestler. The fact that she gets to choose her gear or ideate on her faction or storylines is a benefit to working as a pro wrestler.

Because of the different mindset needed to be a pro wrestler as a opposed to a karate competitor. Petrovic said that her early training and development at the WWE Performance Center was rooted around rewiring her brain to accommodate the frame of mind. That was harder than the physical training in the ring.

"I had to rewire my brain," Petrovic said of her pro wrestling training. "I'd been training karate since I was five, up until around COVID, right before I signed with WWE. In combat we have certain rules — in karate we don't go to the ground; it's a striking sport, not a grappling sport. So I had to get okay with touching the ropes. I had to tell myself, it's okay to hit the ropes, it's okay to get out of the ring.

"Then there was hitting the ground — bumping was new to me — and grappling: being okay with people being on me, around me, grabbing me. With karate it was all done at a distance, and if you got too close, I'm punching you in the face. So I had to get that out of my head real quick."

As for learning how to bump, Petrovic said that was an easier part of he training. She adapts well to physicality and when she got dinged up in the ring, it was just another day at the office for her.

Who advises Petrovic at the WWE Performance Center?

So, with the WWE Performance Center in her grasp at all times, who does she go for to get advice? Petrovic said she has a massive rolodex of mentors that can help her grow as a performer.

"The first person who really helped me bridge the gap between the karate background and this world is Fit Finlay," Petrovic said. "When I first got into his class and he coached me, something clicked. You can have this badassery to you and want to fight — because my style isn't super high-flying. I don't do a lot of flips. The thing that makes me different is my striking and how well I do it. He showed me there's a way to bridge it.

"The next person is Shawn Spears. He's been my coach most recently, and his mind for how he produces a match and tells a story is incredible. With karate, we didn't really have storytelling, and that's something I feel like I lacked in the beginning. Now I'm understanding it more, and I want to keep understanding it, because my whole goal is to make the audience feel something and keep coming back for more."

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! AAA and NXT Heatwave on the same day, in the same arena! 🔥

Presale starts now! Use code: WWENXT

🎟️: https://t.co/R47WVdv2mP pic.twitter.com/hLUDEUK0Xw
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 7, 2026

Has Petrovic had any anxious moments during her WWE training? Certainly. One of the biggest challenges she said she faced in WWE developmental was working outside the WWE bubble for TNA. Petrovic said that doing that was nerve-racking, but that it helped her grow as a performer. Again, Petrovic said she adapted to the situation and was able to find herself even without having experience working for different wrestling promotions on the independents.

NXT and AAA will be teaming up for a massive weekend in action at the end of August. Petrovic has recently become a regular on the AAA program and is a part of the Los Perros del Mal. Both brands are colliding for a major event on August 30 and Petrovic will be a part of it if she has anything to say about it. Petrovic said that the mix of AAA and NXT content is effective and where the audience and performers can get two different things at the same time.

"They're two completely different worlds," Petrovic said. "AAA has incredible athleticism, over-the-top fans — it's something indescribable until you feel it for the first time, like I did recently. And with WWE, we have incredible storytelling, athletes from every kind of background coming in and showcasing different body types and different athletic abilities. What we each bring to the table is so different. Having it collide in one day is going to be an insane day."

PERROS DEL MAL PARA SIEMPRE 🪽🐾⛓️‍💥 pic.twitter.com/cVBYdLwqnG
— karmen petrovic 🗡 (@karmen_wwe) July 23, 2026

Petrovic says that the NXT women's division is the best division of wrestling in the world. With that comes competition between talents, but she doesn't exactly look at it that way.

I come into the building — or into whatever opportunity I'm given — with my best foot forward, and I give 110%," Petrovic said. "Because we're upholding such a great standard, it's pushing all of us to be better, to come in with a better attitude, and we raise each other up. Competition is everywhere, but we don't look at it as competition. We look at it as sharpening each other's swords."

Swords? Petrovic knows a little something about those.

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