Jackie Cruz

Jackie Cruz
Birth name	Jacqueline Cecelia Cruz
Born	February 17, 1979 (age 40) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Resides	Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse(s)	Shawn Burke (m. 2002)
Children	2
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Jackie Cruz
Billed height	5 ft. 2 in. (1.59 m)
Billed weight	120 lbs. (54.4 kg)
Billed from	Las Vegas, Nevada
Trained by	So Cal Pro
Debut	1998

Jacqueline Cecelia Burke (nee Cruz; born February 17, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer best known by her ring name Jackie Cruz. She is best known for her time in the Millenium Wrestling Federation, where she won the promotion's Women's Championship on three occasions. After the company's closure in 2007, she wrestled for promotions all over the world. Cruz took an indefinite hiatus from in-ring competition beginning in 2010 and has made sporadic appearances since then. She and her husband own and operate a wrestling school, Hollywood Fight Club, in Los Angeles.

Early Life

Cruz is the second child of Rogelio Cruz and Terri Cruz (nee Sanders). She has an older sister, Evelyn (born 1975), and a younger brother, Daniel (born 1982). Her father's family is from Puerto Rico and her mother is African-American. Her parents are originally from the Miami area and moved in the mid-1970s. Cruz graduated from Bonanza High School in 1997, foregoing college plans and working several jobs in order to save money to train. It was at this time that she moved in with her older sister and her husband in the Los Angeles community of Silver Lake to be near wrestling schools and promotions in the area.

Professional Wrestling Career

Training and Early Career (1997 - 1998)

Cruz began training in late 1997, and it was at this time that she met her future husband, Shawn Burke. She debuted in June 1998 at an independent show in Reseda.

Personal Life

Cruz resides in the Larchmont neighborhood of Los Angeles with her husband and two children, Justin (born 2006) and Alina (born 2009). She and Burke married in September of 2002. Cruz has been best friends with Claire Archer since 1998. 

In Wrestling

• Finishing Moves
  • Blackout (Hammerlock legsweep DDT) -- 1998 - 2003; used as a signature move from 2003 - 2010
  • Cruz Control (Sunset flip powerbomb, transitioned into a double-knee backbreaker) -- 2003 - 2010
  • Starmaker (Inside toe-hold inverted figure-four leglock) -- 2000 - 2010

• Signature Moves
  • Bridging fisherman suplex
  • Bridging reverse chinlock
  • Dragon sleeper, sometimes with bodyscissors
  • Handspring stinger splash
  • Leg lariat
  • One-armed neckbreaker slam, sometimes to an oncoming opponent
  • One-handed bulldog
  • Repeated shoot kicks to the chest or midsection of a tree of woe-hung opponent
  • Rope-aided reverse hurricanrana
  • Russian legsweep, floated over into a pin
  • Somersault plancha
  • Springboard clothesline
  • Springboard dropkick, to an opponent on the ring apron

• Wrestlers Managed
  • Shawn Burke

• Wrestlers Trained
  • Aria Jaxon
  • Dani Woods

• Entrance Themes
  • "Honey" by Mariah Carey (June 1998 - August 2001)
  • "We Need a Resolution" by Aaliyah (August 2001 - April 2007)
  • "Toy Soldier" by Britney Spears (April 2007 - May 2010)

Championships and Accomplishments

• Millennium Wrestling Federation
  • MWF Women's Championship (3 times)
• So Cal Pro
  • SCP Women's Championship (2 times, inaugural)