Valerie Loureda Confirms When She Will Start At WWE PC

Valerie Loureda is getting "the greatest gift that she could ask for" on her birthday this year.

The Bellator star and Taekwondo fighter recently signed with WWE, and revealed on the latest episode of Busted Open Radio that she'll be starting at the WWE Performance Center on her birthday, July 19th.

"I'm very happy," she told the hosts, "but more than anything, I'm excited that I'm finally announcing that I'm moving to Orlando soon and starting my journey for real."

Loureda attended this year's WrestleMania and fell in love with the spectacle of the show. "I always knew what the WWE was," Loureda said. "I was a fighter, but I was also a dancer my whole life, for 15 years."

Loureda is also excited to represent Latinas and become the first Cuban-American woman to sign with the WWE. "It's a no-brainer. It was my destiny and now its my time."

According to Loureda, it was WWE's Triple H and Senior Vice President James Kimball, along with her representative from First Round Management, Abraham Kawa that put the signing together. "I had to be patient, I went to my tryout in Orlando, and it came true for me."

Loureda described the three days of training that she underwent at her tryout, as well as attending an "NXT" live show. Now that she's signed, she's waiting and training, and sharing the joy with her family, all of whom are black belts in Taekwondo. Her father is a stuntman and actor and told her she could make it in WWE, and her mother cried with joy, believing WWE will give audiences the opportunity to Loureda as not only a fighter but an entertainer. The Loureda family will be attending this weekend's Money In The Bank show, her family's first live WWE event.

"I just want to be in Orlando already and train hard," Loureda said. "That's what makes me happy. This does make me happy because I'm announcing something big in my life, but what really makes me happy is working hard."