The Sword & The Gold Medal: Karmen Petrovic’s Journey 

Making her way to the ring, from Bosnia, she is a Commonwealth Games Gold medalist & Black Belt in Karate…..its KARMEN PETROVIC.

Wow, talk about an entrance for the now 28-year-old WWE NXT Superstar and semi-finalist in the 2023 Women’s Breakout tournament.

Karmen Petrovic is one of the fastest-rising stars in all of WWE right now. Currently signed to the NXT brand, Karmen is a personal favourite of mine. Karmen has a look which stands out from anyone that we have seen before, bringing along her Katana for every battle… a Katana which embodies a very personal journey to reach the top of each and every mountain that Karmen has faced and climbed.

So, without further ado, please allow me to introduce Karmen Petrovic in further detail. 

Karmen Petrovic: The Next Face of the Women’s Division

Petrovic’s real name is Monika Klisara. She was born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Klisara and her family escaped the Balkan War by migrating to Canada in the mid-nineties. Monika started taking karate classes at the age of five and became a black belt at the age of 12.

This journey led Monika to a gold medal win at the Canada Games, as well as another gold at the Commonwealth Karate Championships in 2018. Klisara impressed WWE officials during her tryouts and subsequently joined the Performance Center Fall 2022 Rookie Class.

Monika Debuted in NXT under her real name, Monika Klisara, where she teamed up with Zoey Stark to face the team of Indi Hartwell & Lea Mitchell at an NXT live House show in St. Petersburg, Florida on the 11th March 2023. Monika continued to feature heavily in tag team matches throughout early 2023 on NXT Live house shows, tagging with multiple superstars and facing names such as Blair Davenport, Roxanne Perez, Tatum Paxley & Valentina Feroz. Klisara wrestled under her real name for the final time in a losing effort to Lola Vice in June 2023 and was repackaged as Karmen Petrovic.  

A repackaged Karmen Petrovic faced Ivy Nile in Florida at an NXT Live house show in July of 2023 and then days later featured on television for the first time via NXT Level Up facing the very same opponent.

Over the next three months, Karmen Petrovic became heavily featured on NXT Level Up, racking up further experience facing names such as Jack Jayne & Fallon Henley (you can catch these matches on the WWE Network) whilst also being active featuring on NXT Live shows against Gigi Dolin & Lyra Valkyria. 

It wasn’t until the 2023 NXT Women’s Women’s breakout tournament that we got to witness Karmen’s first win on television… more on that in a moment.

The Power of The Sword: A Warrior Spirit

**** Exclusive ****

I was recently lucky enough to ask Karmen Petrovic about the ancestry meaning of the sword that she carries……. A Japanese Katana. Here is what Karmen had to say.

“In short, my katana is my spirit. Katana’s are known to be carried by Japanese Samurai’s and the Japanese Military, it is their weapon of choice. When I earned my black belt in Karate, I also earned my right to wield a Katana. With time, the Katana became not only a symbol of a warrior but also a protective piece.

Carrying the Katana is like carrying my soul outside of my body, it is a reminder of hard work, dedication, passion and unwavering fighting spirit. With it, I combine my martial arts skills, my respect for Japanese culture through my Karate teachings and my warrior spirit as I was born during the Balkan war in Eastern Europe. In Wrestling, I use it as a symbol for all of the above. I showcase my sword skills in order to prove that I am worthy of being in the ring as I’ve been fighting throughout my entire life”

I would like to once again thank Karmen Petrovic for personally sharing this with me. 

Breaking Out on the Black & Gold Brand

In October 2023, the NXT Women’s NXT Breakout Tournament began, featuring 8 of the fast-rising female stars on the brand. Karmen Petrovic made it to the Semi-Finals where she defeated Jaida Parker along the way but unfortunately lost to eventual winner Lola Vice.

Since the Women’s Breakout tournament, Petrovic has featured heavily on house shows, earning herself an NXT Women’s Championship match where she challenged the champion Lyra Valkyira and also faced Tiffany Stratton in a Triple Threat match. Unfortunately, it was not to be for Karmen on that night but this shows the trust that the NXT hierarchy has with Petrovic to thrust her into championship matches so soon into her WWE Journey.

Audiences were once again treated to watching Karmen in action on NXT TV where she was recently beaten by Arianna Grace on November 28th 2023.

With the attitude and look that Karmen Petrovic clearly carries, the future is extremely bright for this superstar. I have predicted that Karmen will feature heavily across NXT TV throughout 2024 and will also be given the opportunity to shine on NXT PLE’s where in 2025 she will carry the NXT Women’s Championship before making a huge Jump to the Main Roster in 2026.

Watch this space, because I am!