On Wednesday 8th March, people all around the world will celebrate IWD, with this year’s key theme being Embrace Equity.
We spoke to some of our female wrestlers and they talked about why they wanted to get involved in wrestling, the challenges they faced and how they want to inspire the next generation of female wrestlers…
Allie Katch:
“I loved Lita and the Hardy Boys growing up and how she was with the guys, and I was like nobody else does that. Now I wrestle and I hope that girls see me and know that they are strong and tough.
“I’m not athletic and I didn’t do sports growing up, and I want girls to know that if you try hard and work then you can do anything. I never thought I could do this until I tried it.
“It’s awesome to see how far women’s wrestling has come since I started and that was one of my goals to make the locker room safer for women and to make more girls comfortable, it’s awesome.
“We have all women’s shows and we have three matches. We have our own space to chit chat and gossip with each other. The fact there’s Women’s titles that has the gender to it, it’s important.
“Having days like International Women’s Day is always important and it’s about remembering the women before you and what they had to go through, and you realise how lucky you are. It makes you want to do more and do better, so the girls after you have it better.”
Millie McKenzie:
“I’ve always just been sporty really, but I never knew that wrestling was, and then all of a sudden I came across this strange and wonderful thing of wrestling. I used to watch it on TV, and just the whole atmosphere that is created inspired me to get into it.
“You’ve got to give it a go, when I have kids of my own, I’ll be able to tell them all of the stories of my time wrestling, and I think that’s the most important thing.
“I’ve been doing it for nearly ten years now, and the people I’ve met along the way have been great and I’m very grateful for that. I’ve been lucky to travel around, do many different things, meet many different people, and eat a lot of food, so it’s been really enjoyable.
“I am proud of women’s wrestling, and I’d like to think we’ll get to a stage where we’re all just wrestlers and recognised for our ability and nothing else.
Nina Samuels:
“It’s important that there are role models. Everyone identifies with someone different.
“I grew up with two brothers so I was always a fan of Lita as a mirror of me when I was hanging out with my two older brothers so there’s so many different women who identify with a different wrestler and someone who they can just see a little bit of themselves in a way.
“It’s important to remember, we are in the business of professional wrestling so everyone getting along sometimes doesn’t typically make for the most exciting of shows, but it’s important to have a supportive atmosphere where we can make wonderful entertainment for everyone.”
Alexxis Falcon:
“I feel like I was lucky. I started watching wrestling when it was the bra and panties era, so I started taking more of a liking to men’s wrestling. I was really into the Hardy’s as it was more exciting, but around the time of Trish and Lita, I thought they are taking it more seriously.
“By the time I actually started wrestling, I remember watching Total Divas and I came home from Uni at Christmas and my mum was watching it. I remember watching it as I was a few episodes behind, and it showed women’s wrestling but it was taken seriously and to see backstage. It gave an insight behind the scenes. I was quite lucky when I started women’s wrestling a lot more seriously than when I started watching.
“PROGRESS really values their women’s division, they place women’s wrestling high on the card, and therefore the women will always do their best.
“There’s three women’s matches on a card and that’s massive, it’s a good number to have, there’s a lot more male wrestlers and it’s harder for women to get a slot, but PROGRESS wants to put a spotlight on women and it’s really good.”
To find out more about International Women’s Day, please CLICK HERE.
#InternationalWomensDay
#EmbraceEquity
