Lori Tanaka

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Lori Tanaka
Tanaka in March 2023
Born	Lori Elena Ayane Tanaka January 5, 1976 (age 48) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Other names	L0R1-76 Lori Akira Lori Desmond Lori Suicide
Occupation	Professional wrestler • model • singer • rapper • songwriter • musician • record producer • pornographic actress • stripper
Years active	1990–present (musician) 1994–present (model) 1994–1997 (pornographic actress) 1997–2007; 2011–present (wrestler)
Home town	Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Spouse(s)	DeSean Desmond (m. 1998; ann. 1999) Joey Holmes (m. 2003)
Partner(s)	Kelli DiMarco (2019–present)
Children	2, including Casey Tanaka
Parent(s)	Hiro Tanaka (father)
Relatives	Teresa (half-sister) Kari Jayden (niece) Lee Page (half-brother-in-law) Amiee Sutton (daughter-in- law)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Cutie Pie Dudley Lori Lori Tanaka
Billed height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Billed weight	137 lb (62 kg)
Billed from	Dudleyville Newark, New Jersey Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Trained by	Raven Tommy Dreamer Sabu
Debut	April 13, 1997
Musical career
Genres	Nu metal • rap metal • industrial metal • alternative metal • grunge • skate punk • metalcore • pop punk • melodic death metal • black metal • pop rock
Instruments	Vocals • guitar
Labels	Earache • UNFD • Nuclear Blast • Prosthetic • Epic • Columbia • Overcore
Associated acts	X-Hail-76

Lori Elena Ayane Tanaka (born January 5, 1976) is an Australian-born Japanese-American professional wrestler, model, singer, rapper, songwriter, musician, record producer, former pornographic actress and former stripper. She is currently signed to WWE performing on the SmackDown brand under her real name, where she is the current SmackDown Women's Champion in her first reign. A second-generation professional wrestler, she is the daughter of professional wrestler Hiro Tanaka, the half-sister of professional wrestler and former musician Teresa, the mother of musician and professional wrestler Casey Tanaka, and the aunt of professional wrestler Kari Jayden.

Hailed as one of the best wrestlers in the world, Tanaka was named Sports Illustrated's Women's Wrestler of the Year in 2021, and was ranked No. 1 of the top 150 female wrestlers by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) that same year. Tanaka was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018, and was inducted a second time in 2019 as a member of D-Generation X.

Outside of wrestling, Tanaka is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, lead songwriter and founder of the Grammy-nominated nu metal band X-Hail-76, and is also known for her reputation as a sex symbol, mainly due to her modeling career which includes her work with Hot Topic in the late 1990s and early 2000s along with her nude pictorials for Playboy, Penthouse, and more recently, SuicideGirls.

Early life

Lori Elena Ayane Tanaka was born on January 5, 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the only daughter of Hiro Tanaka (Yoshihiro Tanaka; 1940–2019) and his second wife Sophia Julia Okabe (1951–1989). She has two older half-sisters, Deborah and Teresa, and one younger half-sister, Jade. Her father was Japanese and her mother was American and of Japanese-Brazilian and Puerto Rican descent. At the time of her birth, Tanaka's family was living in Australia due to her father's work as a professional wrestler, working for World Championship Wrestling. Her father's work in the wrestling business lead to her becoming an avid wrestling fan at a young age.

In 1978, not long after the closure of WCW, Tanaka and her family moved back to the United States when she was two, eventually settling in Newark, New Jersey, where she attended several public schools before attending Barringer High School. Tanaka at the time was known for being a talented singer, and learnt to play guitar during fifth grade.

On February 10, 1989, Tanaka's mother died after she lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a truck, killing her instantly. Tanaka struggled with depression as a result of her mother's death, which she would later attribute to her rebellious behavior during her early teenage years, often engaging in drug use, promiscuous sex, and shopping mall vandalism. She dropped out of high school after she got pregnant at the age of 15, and later gave birth to a son named Casey. Not long after her son's birth, Tanaka was legally emancipated from her father (with his approval) and left home soon after, leaving Casey in the care of her father. Tanaka then lived with her childhood friends, Kelli DiMarco, Shiori Heiwajima, Joey Holmes, and several of their other friends in East Orange, New Jersey, and they all (with the exception of Heiwajima) later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1994, settling in the South Philadelphia area, where Tanaka worked various jobs as a waitress, bartender, nude model, stripper, and more infamously; as a pornographic actress under the pseudonym Lori Akira, from 1994 to 1997.

Professional wrestling career

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997)

While working as a stripper at the Show & Tel strip club, Tanaka met professional wrestler Raven, who later suggested that she get into professional wrestling. She made her debut in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on April 13, 1997 as Cutie Pie Dudley, the sexy, nerdy, and deranged half-sister of The Dudley Brothers.

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World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (1997–2007)

Early storylines (1997–1999)

In October 1997, Tanaka signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), she made her debut on the November 29 episode of Raw, where she was introduced as Lori, the on-screen girlfriend of Shawn Michaels, becoming an associate of D-Generation X as a result. Lori remained with DX (as a fully fledged member) after Triple H kicked Michaels out of the group following WrestleMania XIV.

Lori made her televised WWF in-ring debut on the May 4 episode of Raw, where she wrestled Luna in a controversial evening gown match which saw one of her breasts exposed. However, the match ended in a no-contest after Lori was attacked by the debuting Teresa, leading to a match against the two at Over the Edge: In Your House on May 31, 1998, which Teresa won via disqualification after Lori hit her with a steel chair to the head. Lori continued to feud with Teresa, who soon joined the Nation faction, who had already began feuding with DX at this point.

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Feuds with Teresa and Ivory (2000–2001)

In September 2000, Lori reignited her feud with Teresa (both now acknowledged on-air as real-life half-sisters), after Lori refused to join the latter's ultra-conservative stable Right to Censor. Leading to a match at Unforgiven, which Teresa won by disqualification after Lori hit her with a steel chair. Lori would later lose again in a rematch at No Mercy, due to interference on Teresa's behalf by Val Venis. Lori's rivalry with Teresa continued at Survivor Series, which she won by disquallification after Ivory interfered on Teresa's behalf. Their feud ended at Armageddon, when Lori defeated Teresa via pinfall. After the match, Teresa raised Lori's hand as a sign of respect. On the December 14 episode of SmackDown!, Lori and the Dudley Boyz rescued Teresa from an attack by Right to Censor, after they banished Teresa from the group. On the December 28 episode of SmackDown!, Lori faced Ivory in an "Loser Leaves Town" match, which she lost after being distracted due to interference by Steven Richards. After the match, Lori was fired by WWF Commissoner William Regal, which Lori responded by hitting Regal with the Famouser. In reality, Tanaka was written off television to allow her to take a couple of months off to tour with her band, X-Hail-76, to promote their recently released album, Control Desolution.

Tanaka in March 2001

Lori returned on the April 2, 2001 episode of Raw, where she was seen sitting at ringside observing the Chicago Street Fight between Teresa and Ivory, with the stipulation that Lori would be reinstated if Teresa won. During the match, Val Venis attempted to interfere, at which point Lori jumped the barricade and hit Venis with a steel chair, allowing Ivory to be distracted long enough for Teresa to roll her up for the pin to win the match, effectively reinstating Lori to the roster. After the match, Lori entered the ring and hit Ivory with the Famouser, before embracing Teresa with a hug in the middle of the ring.

In mid-2001, Lori seemingly turned heel by joining The Alliance, a large stable of former ECW and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestlers led by Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley who attempted to take over the WWF as part of The Invasion storyline. At the Invasion pay-per-view on July 22, Lori defeated the returning Rachel via pinfall. On the August 9 episode of SmackDown!, Lori quit The Alliance after being insulted by fellow Alliance member Ivory, turning face once again. Throughout The Invasion onwards, Lori, Trish Stratus, Lita, Teresa, and Jacqueline feuded with Alliance members Ivory, Stacy Keibler, Mighty Molly, Torrie Wilson (until she joined Team WWF in October), and Rachel Rose (who joined The Alliance in September). The Invasion storyline ended on November 18 at Survivor Series, where Lori took part in a eight-pack challenge for the WWF Women's Championship, which had been vacated by Chyna earlier that month; Stratus won the match and the title.

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Heel turn, feuds with Rachel and Maria (2005-2006)

On the August 8 episode of Raw, Tanaka faced off against Rachel in a number one contender's match for the WWE Women's Championship, which Tanaka won by pinfall in controversial fashion, as Tanaka had one of her feet on the ropes, showing signs of a heel turn. The following week, Tanaka apologized to Rachel and both agreed to a rematch at SummerSlam for the number one contendership, which Tanaka lost despite having her leg touch the bottom rope. After the match, an irate Tanaka berated the referee before blindsiding Rachel with a stiff clothesline, cementing her heel turn. She then continued to beat down Rachel before hitting her with a con-chair-to. When asked by Todd Grisham while backstage shortly after the match why she attacked Rachel, Tanaka stated that she was done giving chances to others without getting anything back. The following night on Raw, Tanaka appeared with a new rocker chick look and entrance theme, and began berating the crowd for turning their backs on her in support of Rachel, referring to her as "that Taffy slut", she then stated that from now on, it's about "numero uno", before proceeding to leave the ring while flipping off the crowd with the middle finger. Later that night, Tanaka interfered in Rachel's match against Victoria by hitting the former with brass knuckles, giving Victoria the win. As a result, Tanaka became loosely alligned with Victoria, Torrie Wilson, and Candice Michelle (aka The Ladies in Pink), while not officially joining their faction. At Unforgiven, Tanaka and Rachel faced off in a match, with Tanaka lost by disqualification after the referee caught her hitting Rachel again with the brass knuckles. The next night on Raw, Lori was confronted by her father, Hiro Tanaka, who expressed his displeasure over Lori's recent actions and begged her to "grow up", causing Lori to seemingly express remorse and embracing her father with a hug, before kicking him in the groin, and proceeding to attack him before finally hitting him with a con-chair-to.

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Face turn, feud with The New Breed, and departure (2006-2007)

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Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2011)

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Return to WWE (2012–2014)

Divas Champion (2012–2013)

On July 23, 2012, during Raw 1000, Tanaka made a surprise return to WWE appearing alongside Lita and the other WWE legends in confronting Heath Slater. The following day, it was announced on WWE.com that Tanaka had re-signed with the company. On the July 27 episode of SmackDown, Tanaka competed in her first match with the company since July 2007 as a face, defeating Alicia Fox. Tanaka would then embark on a winning streak during the next couple of months, defeating the likes of Natalya, Beth Phoenix and Aksana.

On the October 8 episode of SmackDown, Tanaka and Layla rescued Kaitlyn from an attack by Divas Champion Eve Torres, Tanaka then forced Torres to reveal that she ordered the attack on Kaitlyn at Night of Champions and that Aksana was the culprit. At Hell in a Cell, Tanaka defeated Aksana to become the number one contender for the Divas Championship. Later that night, Tanaka attacked Eve following her victory in a triple threat match against Layla and Kaitlyn. The following night on Raw, Tanaka defeated Eve to become the new Divas Champion. At Survivor Series Tanaka would once again defeat Torres in a fatal-4-way match; also including Kaitlyn and a returning Rachel, to retain the belt. In the weeks following Survivor Series, Tanaka began to show signs of a heel turn when she started to use underhanded tactics during her matches in order to win. At TLC: Tables Ladders & Chairs, Tanaka defeated Naomi to retain the Divas Championship. On the December 21 episode of SmackDown, Tanaka lost the championship to Eve. After the match, Tanaka attacked Layla who was at ringside, turning heel in the process. The following week, on the Christmas Eve episode of Raw, Tanaka cemented her heel turn, berating and insulting the crowd for their lack of support towards her after losing the Divas Championship.

Tanaka in February 2014

Soon afterwards, Tanaka developed a new gimmick of an arrogant, self-righteous narcissist, purposely sheding away nearly every characteristic of her previous urban mall goth gimmick from her mannerisms to her ring attire, and began to refer to herself as "The Asian Nightmare". An alliance between Tanaka and Eve was teased on the December 28 episode of SmackDown, when Tanaka and helped Eve retain the Divas Championship against Kaitlyn by slapping the referee, causing a disqualification victory for Kaitlyn while keeping the belt on Eve. However, the alliance wouldn't last as Eve would leave the company after dropping the Divas Championship to Kaitlyn on the 20th anniversary episode of Raw and leave the company afterwards. However, the feud between Tanaka and Kaitlyn continued as Tanaka would complain about not getting her rematch clause.

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Action Zone Championship Wrestling (2015–2018)

Debut and feud with Amy Sutton (2015)

Tanaka's retirement lasted only less than ten months, as Tanaka announced on Twitter that she was coming back to the ring and announced that she signed with Australian wrestling promotion Action Zone Championship Wrestling. Tanaka would make her AZCW debut on the March 14, 2015 episode of AZCW TV, attacking Amy Sutton with a kendo stick and establishing herself as a heel. Tanaka then grabbed a microphone and stated that she was back. Despite being a heel, the crowd cheered loudly for Tanaka after the repeated kendo stick attacks towards Sutton. For the next couple of weeks, Tanaka would repeatedly attack Sutton without explanation. Tanaka would later have her AZCW in-ring debut against Sutton on the April 20 episode of AZCW TV where she would emerge victorious after repeatedly caning Sutton with a kendo stick. Following the match, Tanaka cut a promo on Sutton, calling her a "pathetic slut" and stated that she isn't tough enough to be a wrestler, before brutally assaulting her again afterwards.

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Face turn, feud with Roxanne Fox, and first-ever Action Zone Women's Champion (2015–2016)

After disappearing off TV for several weeks, Tanaka returned on the October 10 episode of AZCW TV, saving Amy Sutton from an attack by Roxanne Fox, turning face in the process and igniting a feud between herself and Fox.

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Various feuds (2016–2017)

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On February 4, 2017, during the main event of the very first broadcast of AZCW Inferno, Tanaka returned as the mystery opponent to face Tia Wallace for the to become the #1 contender for Rachel Webbe's Action Zone Women's Championship in a Street Fight, which Tanaka would emerge victorious after a hard fought yet highly controversal match, as Wallace ripped Tanaka's top off just before the start of the match, exposing her bare breasts, as a result, Tanaka remained topless during the entire match. This incident would become the most-watched and most-downloaded moment in AZCW history. In a 2019 interview, Tanaka claimed that it was her idea to wrestle the entire match topless, stating;

Tanaka's tweet about her topless incident during the February 4, 2017 episode of AZCW Inferno.

"It was a bit of a self-confidence and self-esteem move on my part, as I had just turned 41 at the time and wanted to see if the fans thought if I was still hot enough, which I was more than satisfied with their reaction, that's probably why it was my favorite match in AZCW. But we were also testing the waters with 7mate to see how far we could push the limit in regards to the edgy adult content on Inferno, turned out we weren't anywhere near the limit and could push further, which we did do a few times while I was still there and its something I've noticed them doing now more frequently on the Inferno program with both Jenny (Patrick) and the other girls."

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Feud with Helen Reyes and Departure (2017–2018)

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On the December 23 episode of Inferno, Tanaka lost a Career vs. Title match against Reyes. As a result, Tanaka was forced to leave AZCW. After the match, Tanaka thanked the fans for their support and promised that they haven't seen the last of "One Bad Mama". Tanaka would make one last appearance on the January 13, 2018 episode of Inferno, when she helped Jen X-Treme win the Action Zone Women's Championship from Reyes.

Second Return to WWE (2018–present)

Sporadic appearances and Hall of Fame induction (2018)

On January 22, 2018, Tanaka made her first appearance in WWE since 2014 at the Raw 25 Years special, being honored as one of the historic women of WWE. A few days later, on January 28 at the Royal Rumble event, Tanaka competed in the first women's royal rumble match, where she entered at number 2, lasting the entirety of the match; at 58:57, before being the last woman eliminated by the eventual winner Asuka. The following night on Raw, it was announced that Tanaka would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. At the ceremony on April 6, she was inducted by her son Casey, her half-sister Teresa, and her father Hiro.

On the October 17 episode of NXT, Tanaka made a surprise appearance interrupting Denise King and confronting her for persistantly calling her out over the previous few weeks, establishing herself as a face, the two exchanged insults, culminating in King and Lacey Evans attacking Tanaka, before being rescued by her daughter-in-law Amiee Sutton. The following week, Tanaka challenged King and Evans in a tag team match at the Evolution event, while also revealing her tag team partner to be Teresa. On October 28, at the Evolution event, Tanaka (reverting back to her "Pretty & Deadly" persona and displaying mannerisms she had developed while working for AZCW) and Teresa defeated King and Evans in a tag team match. She appeared again later that night, alongside her son Casey and Teresa, aiding Amiee Sutton after she was viciously assaulted by the new NXT Women's Champion Emily Travis, who had just defeated Sutton for the belt.

NXT debut, feud with Emily Travis and winning the NXT Women's Championship (2018–2020)

Tanaka in June 2019

On the October 31 episode of NXT, in a interview with Mauro Ranallo, Tanaka promised payback against Travis for what she did to her daughter-in-law, igniting an intensely heated rivalry between the two. The next day, it was announced that Tanaka had signed a contract with WWE and would perform full-time on the NXT brand. On the November 7 episode of NXT, Tanaka confonted Travis following her match against Io Shirai, before attacking her with a kendo stick and chasing her out of the arena, establishing herself as a face. The following week, Tanaka would make her NXT debut, where she defeated Lacey Evans, despite outside interference on Evans' behalf by Travis and Denise King. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Tanaka defeated Travis in an unsanctioned match, after the referee stopped the match due to Travis being too incapacitated to continue.

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Return to SmackDown and winning the SmackDown Women's Championship (2020–present)

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Professional wrestling style and persona

Takaka's wrestling style has been described as a mix of the brawler, technical and high-flyer wrestling styles. Her signature finishing move is a variation of the Stone Cold Stunner, which she has dubbed "Da Lori Stunner". Tanaka also uses the 450 splash, she has dubbed the "Pretty & Deadly" while in WWE and also dubbing it the "Deadly 450" while in TNA (and later in AZCW). Tanaka also used to use the Famouser as her finishing move during her first run in WWE.

Her in-ring persona during her first stint in WWF was initially influenced by the grunge subculture of the 1990's. However, by 2000, her persona had changed to become more influenced on the mall goth and skate punk subcultures, but with a oversexualized tone. Tanaka discussed the character stating in 2019; "my gimmick is pretty much just how I am in real-life... But way more over the top and provocative."

Shortly after turning heel in August 2005, Tanaka dropped her mall goth gimmick & adopted a new persona of a bullying, self-absorbed metalhead with some psychopathic traits, often resorting to dirty tactics; such as the occasional use of brass knuckles, to win matches. She would later revert back to her mall goth gimmick following her face turn in December 2006.

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Music career

Tanaka performing in 2022

Tanaka is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of nu metal band X-Hail-76, which she formed in 1990 (as Exhale) with her childhood friends, Kelli DiMarco, Shiori Heiwajima and Joey Holmes. X-Hail-76 have released eight studio albums between 1992 to 2021, four of which topped the Billboard 200 charts and three of which were certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Their most successful album Control Desolution (which was released on December 19, 2000) has sold around 30 million albums in the United States to date (and over 43 million albums sold worldwide), was certified Diamond (30x Platinum) by the RIAA, and recieved a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Album.

Tanaka has also released six solo albums, her debut self-titled solo album (released on July 3, 2007) features a skate punk and metalcore sound. Her second album Evil Beauty (released on December 21, 2009) showcases an aggressive melodic death metal sound, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 charts. Her third album Hope Ain't A Sure Thing (released on November 4, 2011) features a more radio-friendly pop rock sound; which although commercially successful, led to accusations of selling out by longtime fans. Tanaka would return to a melodic death metal sound with the following three albums, The Necromancer (released on April 29, 2014), The Warrior (released on October 7, 2014), and The Succubus (released on April 14, 2015). Her sixth album; the critically acclaimed Tempest (released on January 4, 2019), features a groove-oriented nu metal sound identical to X-Hail-76, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts (her first number one album as a solo artist in the United States).

Tanaka's musical influences include Korn, Alice In Chains, Nothingface, Gruntruck, Coal Chamber, Fear Factory, Tad, Deftones, Machine Head, Faith No More, Pantera, Soundgarden, Kilgore, Dimestore Hoods, Nine Inch Nails, Suicidal Tendencies, Pearl Jam, Dream Theater, Helmet, Sepultura, Phantom Blue, Rage Against The Machine, Rollins Band, Anthrax, Stuck Mojo, Manhole, Tool, Morbid Angel, Primus, Nirvana, Guano Apes, Slayer, Paw, Ministry, In Flames, Prong, Dog Eat Dog, Black Flag, Soulfly, Queensrÿche, Vixen, Metallica, Dark Tranquillity, Screaming Trees, Dissection, Bon Jovi, Hole, and Carcass.

Discography

Solo Career

Studio Albums

• Lori Tanaka (2007)
• Evil Beauty (2009)
• Hope Ain't A Sure Thing (2011)
• The Necromancer (2014)
• The Warrior (2014)
• The Succubus (2015)
• Tempest (2019)

EPs

• Covered Up (2011)
• Benevolence (2012)

With X-Hail-76

Studio Albums

• Exhale (as Exhale) (1992)
• Labyrinth (as Exhale) (1994)
• Down (as Exhale) (1996)
• X-Hail-76 (1999)
• Control Desolution (2000)
• Perfect 10 (2003)
• American Vixen (2005)
• No Peace (2021)

Other media

Video Games

Tanaka made her WWE video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K19, she is also a playable character in WWE 2K20, WWE 2K22 and WWE 2K23.

Tanaka on the cover of the September/October 2017 edition of Playboy, which would mark the fifth time in twenty-one years that she posed nude for the magazine.

Modeling career

In 1994, Tanaka began modeling at the age of 18, after she was approached by a local agency when she was working as a stripper at the Show & Tel strip club in South Philadelphia. Her extensive list of credits include dozens of magazine features and covers, ad campaigns, billboards, and spans all genres from fashion to fetish and art nudes; especially during her early modeling career. Tanaka posed nude for Playboy on five seperate occasions (December 1995, November 1997, June 2002, October 2011 and September/October 2017) and also posed nude for Penthouse magazine on four separate occasions (August 1994, October 1995, June 1997 and in the Australian edition of the magazine in September 2016). Aside from Playboy and Penthouse, Tanaka is also best remembered as a model for Hot Topic during the late-1990's and early 2000's, modeling the nu metal-influenced apparel that was marketed by the retail chain at the time. And since 2015, she has regularly posed nude for the erotic pin-up site SuicideGirls, shortly after re-signing with WWE in 2018, it was revealed that Tanaka was still allowed to appear in nude photoshoots for SuicideGirls due to a clause Tanaka had written to her WWE contract allowing her to do so.

Pornographic career

Not long after starting her modeling career, Tanaka began appearing in pornographic films after a friend introduced her to a producer. She adopted the stage name Lori Akira, the name "Akira" being inspired by the 1988 anime film of the same name. She appeared in over 45 pornographic films before retiring in mid 1997 to persue a full-time career in professional wrestling. When asked about her porn career in 2007, Tanaka stated that she enjoyed performing in porn, but also stated "nude photoshoots are as far as I go now".

Personal life

Tanaka is openly bisexual, stating in a 2008 interview that she discovered she was attracted to both men and women early into her teenage years, and that she has had casual sexual encounters with several women before she got married. She also stated in the same inverview that she has obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). In June 2022, Tanaka stated that she was recently diagnosed with autism.

In 2002, Tanaka revealed in an interview that she became a mother at the age of 16, giving birth to a son named Casey on March 16, 1992. During the same interview, she revealed that her best friend, then-boyfriend (now-husband) and fellow X-Hail-76 bandmate, Joey Holmes, was Casey's father, as they were originally in a relationship at the time that she discovered she was pregnant. The couple split up in 1993, but remained close friends. She also revealed that she experienced postpartum depression following Casey's birth.

In 1998, Tanaka married fellow musician and then-X-Hail-76 bandmate DeSean Desmond after dating for over a year. The marriage was annulled a year later. Desmond died on January 18, 2009, after suffering a brain aneurysm at his parent's home in Flint, Michigan.

In 2002, Tanaka and Holmes began dating again, and the couple married on June 16, 2003 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Their second child, a daughter named Sophie Renée Tanaka-Holmes, was born on July 30, 2004. In January 2021, Tanaka revealed that she and Holmes have been in a polyamorous relationship with their X-Hail-76 bandmate Kelli DiMarco since December 2019. They currently reside in Miami, Florida.

Tanaka has multiple tattoos, including two japanese kanji symbols on her abdomen, a tribal wing tattoo with a red cross on her upper back, a tribal tattoo on her lower back, a yin and yang on her left wrist, and a tribal symbol on her left shoulder, which is a homage to Jin Kazama from the fighting game series Tekken.

Tanaka regards herself as a tomboy, and has an interest in anime, manga, hentai, and video games. She has cited Ichiban Kasuga, Kazuma Kiryu and Saeko Mukoda from Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza), and Kunoichi from Samurai Warriors as her favorite video game characters, and Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex as her favorite anime character. She also enjoys extreme sports such as skateboarding, inline skating, freestyle BMX, and parkour.

In wrestling

Tanaka performing her finishing move, Da Lori Stunner (a variation of the Stone Cold Stunner) on Shayna Baszler

• Finishing moves
  • As Lori Tanaka
    • Deadly 450 / Pretty & Deadly (450 Splash)
    • Da Lori Stunner (Facelock jawbreaker)
  • As Lori
    • Pretty & Deadly (450 Splash)
    • Famouser (Leg-drop bulldog)
• Signature moves
  • Gamengiri & Cartwheel moonsault combo
  • Knee balancing enzugiri
  • Spaceman plancha
  • Avalanche spanish fly
  • Wrecking ball hurricanrana
  • Bronco buster
  • Springboard dropkick
  • Arabian press
  • Handspring headscissor takedown
  • Glitter blizzard
  • Tope atomica
  • Suicide dive
  • Springboard moonsault
  • Stinkface
  • Corner foot choke
  • Springboard dive
  • Slingshot gullotine leg drop
• Nicknames
  • "Luscious" (WWE)
  • "Pretty & Deadly" (WWE)
  • "The Deadly Babe" (TNA)
  • "The Asian Nightmare" (WWE)
  • "One Bad Mama" (AZCW)
• Managers
  • Teresa
  • Torrie Wilson
  • Lita
  • Trish Stratus
  • Hiro Tanaka
  • Paul Heyman
• Wrestlers managed
  • The Dudley Boyz
  • D-Generation X
  • Road Dogg
  • Teresa
  • Jeff Hardy
  • Gail Kim
  • AJ Styles
  • Velvet Sky
  • Casey Tanaka
  • Kareem Myers
  • Jen X-Treme
  • Tegan Nox
• Entrance themes
  • World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
    • "Break It Down" by The DX Band (November 27, 1997 – December 28, 1998; Used while a part of D-Generation X)
    • "Slamhead" by Shopan Entesari and Mike Slamer (May 4, 1998 – September 26, 1999)
    • "Shakie Fakie" by Kent Buchanon (2000 – December 28, 2000)
    • "Waste" by Skrape (April 5, 2001 – August 21, 2005, December 11, 2006 – June 25, 2007, July 23, 2012 – January 22, 2013, January 28, 2018 – present)
    • "Convalescence" by Darkest Hour (August 22, 2005 – December 4, 2006)
    • "Bellydance A" by Peter Jordan & Marc Steinmeier (January 29, 2013 – May 29, 2014)
  • Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
    • "F.U. System (Intro cut)" by Dale Oliver (2011)
  • Action Zone Championship Wrestling
    • "Waste" by Skrape (March 14, 2015 – January 13, 2018)

Championships and accomplishments

• Action Zone Championship Wrestling
  • Action Zone Women's Championship (3 times)
• CBS Sports
  • Wrestler of the Year (2021)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Woman of the Year (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2020, 2021)
  • Ranked No. 1 of the Top 150 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 150 in 2021
• Sports Illustrated
  • Women's Wrestler of the Year (2021)
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • TNA Knockouts Championship (1 time)
• Extreme Hardcore Wrestling.
  • EHW Women's Champion (1 Time, current)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Women's Wrestling MVP (2020, 2021)
• World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE
  • WWE Hardcore Championship (5 times)
  • WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (1 time, current)
  • NXT Women's Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Women's Championship (5 times)
  • WWE Divas Championship (2 times)
  • WWE Hall of Fame
    • Class of 2018 – Individually
    • Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X