In the current era of sports and entertainment, in which nobody is just one thing, a story about a wrestler who also practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu is nothing new. But if that wrestler is a woman, and if that woman also has a degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Southern California, the tale gets a bit more interesting. Carrying it a little further, if you find out that the woman is Eve Torres, a superstar Diva and recent WWE Divas champion, and that she practices jiu-jitsu at the world famous Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, the plot truly thickens.

Be a Diva

It’s not giving too much away to say upfront that Torres’ story has a happy ending, one in which she competes in front of thousands of fans in events like the “Fatal 4-Way” and the “Battle Royal.” Her entree to wrestling came after a lifetime of entertaining through movement: gymnastics as a kid, dance squad in college, dancing for the Los Angeles Clippers. Torres likes entertainment, and she likes sports. And nothing marries the two better than World Wrestling Entertainment. So when Torres, who had always been a WWE fan (The Rock was her favorite), heard about the 2007 Diva Search, a national contest looking for the next female wrestling star, she entered — and won.

“I’ve been with the WWE almost two years, and one thing that is important to me is representing the Divas brand,” Torres says. “We’re all hard workers. We’re all athletes, and I like that it shows young girls that it’s OK to be a strong, butt-kicking woman who can still be very sexy at the same time. You don’t have to pretend to be weak or stupid. That’s the image that being a WWE Diva promotes.”

Style and Gracie

After watching Torres perform a flying armbar in the ring, “weak” is certainly not a word that comes to mind. And the fact that she graduated from USC with honors and solves Rubik’s Cubes as a hobby pretty much puts any questions about brainpower to bed. In fact, Torres might be the polar opposite of both words. How else do you explain that after spending almost every night of the year abusing her body in the ring, she willingly practices martial arts with the most badass fighting family on the planet — the Gracies?

“For me, it’s the best overall workout,” she says. “There is nothing else where I can do an hour of rolling around and I’m completely covered and drenched in sweat. I got into it because my little brother used to do it in high school. He would always put me in crazy holds, and I saw that it’s all about technique and discipline. So one day, I walked into the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, Calif., and I started training. I still think it’s amazing that I train with the Gracies.”

For those not familiar, the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy was established in 1925 in Rio de Janeiro by Carlos Gracie. Since then, according to the academy’s Web site, more than “40 members of the Gracie Family have dedicated their lives to developing the most effective system of self-defense the world has ever known.” In short, this isn’t a martial arts academy for the faint of heart.

“My mindset isn’t about going in there and trying to kick everyone’s butt,” Torres says. “To be honest, I roll around with a bunch of guys while I’m there, but I go into it for self-defense purposes. I’m on the road for most of the year, and it makes me feel good that if there’s ever a situation where I’m attacked, I can handle myself.” .....READ MORE