2015 – The rollercoaster year

Well, what a topsy-turvey year 2015 proved to be. Every time something good and positive happened, it would be followed by something pretty crappy – as if balance needed to be restored to my life!

In my “normal” life, the beautiful better half became a beautiful ex-better half. And while this meant I was free to come back into this fantastic scene, I no longer have the money to session at the level I did normally. Leaving a highly stressful job for a much more enjoyable job also meant leaving a very well paid job for a massive pay cut!

But, even with my reduced involvement, the scene managed to delight and infuriate throughout the year. So, here are my highlights and lowlights from the past year.

Biggest inspiration – Inferno battling back from injury

  Inferno battled back from injury

Everyone knows that Inferno is my favourite wrestler and best friend in the scene. And, despite my semi-retirement, I was gutted to hear that she had suffered a serious knee injury in February whilst playing American Football. It was to put her out of action for months and a long hard road to recovery lay ahead for her.
But recover she did and she battled back in style. It wasn’t easy for her but sessions were once again back on the agenda come the summer months. Not only that, she appeared in a couple of wrestling shows too. Not to mention the American football field! And while all that was going on, she sailed through her course to become a personal trainer too! She will keep getting stronger too. She’s always been more than a pretty face. She’s a credit to all sports she takes part in. As the campaign slogan goes, “this girl can”.

Fond farewell – Shay Hendrix

 Shay Hendrix will be sorely missed

Shay is a legend of the UK wrestling scene and an all round fabulous woman. So to see her having to retire from session wrestling for health reasons was a bitter blow – for the whole scene as well as from my personal perspective. I’m lucky because I got to have three sessions with her. It’s those who never had the pleasure that I feel truly sorry for. But, nevertheless, I would have loved to have the chance of more sessions with her. Those sessions surpassed my expectations, which is great as I expected her to be brilliant!
A clever, beautiful, witty and kind-hearted (she recently shaved her hair off to be donated to a child who lost theirs through cancer) girl who is the sort of person who doesn’t take shit off anyone – especially idiots on social media. Good luck in the future Shay, you’ll be sorely missed!

Fond farewell II – London Wrestling Studio

 Laken was my first ever opponent at London Wrestling Studio

At the start of the year, we had the shock and extremely sad news that Honey had decided to disband LWS to pursue other interests. Her Hackney Wick studio was the first place I’d ever ventured out of my Midlands comfort zone for a session and I loved it (helped, of course, by my session with the gorgeous Laken!). I returned a number of times and it was a real pleasure dealing with Honey and her array of talented wrestlers.
I met Honey once and we had a lovely chat over a beer in a canal side bar near the studio. I even featured in one of her mixed wrestling videos (Laken again) and it was an honour to be asked. It’s great that most of the wrestlers are still very much in the scene elsewhere or as independents. But I will always have fond memories of London Wrestling Studio.

Exciting new development – Alpha Femmes UK

But while one studio closed it’s doors, another opened almost immediately after. Alpha Femmes UK was born in January last year! There are a number of great studios in London (I’ve been to Submission Rooms, MWM and Monica’s and enjoyed my sessions there) but I’m of the school of thought that says you can never have too many! Alpha Femmes has a great roster of girls and excellent facilities and an array of clips to purchase.
I’ve been there twice for my only two sessions this year so I can speak from experience!

My favourite wrestling moment – Inferno’s perfect 10

  I wrestled Inferno for the 10th time in August

No surprise this one but finally getting my 10th session with the incomparable Inferno the day before my birthday! It was a match scheduled to have taken place two months before and I’d had to wait a while as she recovered from her serious knee injury – so it was great to finally get it on again.
I honestly thought I’d have an easier ride than previous matches because her knee was still not back to full fitness. But it was a silly assumption as she’s never actually been fully fit when we’ve sessioned! I came into the fight never having made her tap out. Not even once. And I left this session still never having made her tap out. But the session was great and Inferno didn’t let her knee injury hamper it. A superb reminder of why I adore her and her sessions so much!

Biggest disappointment – Idiots in the scene

One problem the UK session wrestling scene is probably always going to be stuck with are the idiots who think they run the show. I think we all know the main pains in the backside now. The ones who bitch, hurl accusations and, from time to time, drive good people away from social media and the like. They remain a cancer on the scene. And the worst thing is they actually don’t see that they are doing anything wrong. That’s a worry. Because you can’t reason with stupid.

Happy news of the year – Jade and Dark Angel become mums

 Jade

 Dark Angel

Yes, these two fabulous wrestlers gave birth to gorgeous girls earlier this year. When the negative aspects of the scene threaten to take over, it’s nice to have something to smile about. Mothers and babies are doing very well. And even further good news is both are well on their way back to getting back into sessions. I’ve wrestled Jade three times and Dark Angel twice so I can recommend them highly. You can never have enough beautiful, wonderful wrestlers around!

Wrestler of the Year – Amethyst Hammerfist

 Punk as fuck Amethyst Hammerfist!

It might seem strange that my wrestler of 2015 being someone I’ve yet to meet in person, but such is the impact this feisty punk princess made on the scene that she is the obvious choice for me! This spunky spitfire who is signed to Submission Rooms exploded on to my Twitter feed out of nowhere earlier this year and I was immediately hooked. She seemed capable of the most fun violence you could possibly have.
Her interview for my blog is stunning and gave an insight into what she is all about. And then I found out we have a shared love of punk/grunge music. If session wrestlers were bands, Amethyst would be L7 featuring Courtney Love on guest vocals! I’ve watched her in a couple of videos and I just know we’re going to have an exciting, fabulous session. Those lucky enough to have wrestled her have all been glowing in their reviews. She has been a breath of fresh air on the scene and she tops my wishlist of opponents for 2016. I can’t wait to fight her!

So, what now for me? Saving money and organising more sessions of course. Need to replace last year’s broken heart with potential broken bones! I have got an ever growing wishlist of wrestlers I want to face. A few new girls and many I’ve wrestled before. The new (or ones I haven’t faced before) include Amethyst, Jazzmania (Juicy), Zoe Page and Louise Kay. There are many more. And I very much want to renew acquaintances with Inferno (yes, again!), Axa, Jade, Poison, Lisa…oh, all of them! It could be a painfully enjoyable year…