Welcome back wrestling fans to yet another fantastic interview here on *Kayfabe Kickout, and another in our continuing series of interviews with the superstars of legendary UK Wrestler Saraya Knight's new women's promotion Bellatrix. In this interview I had the immense pleasure to speak with Chanel. Chanel has been involved in professional wrestling since March of 2012, and her first match was with Bellatrix. Since then she has been rigorously training with the Knight Dynasty to hone her skills in the ring. Some wrestling fans may overlook Chanel because of her inexperience, but what she lacks in experience, she definitely makes up for in heart and determination. I spoke with Chanel on her long term goals in pro wrestling, what it's like working with iconic UK wrestler Saraya Knight, her upcoming match with Phobia at Bellatrix 5 and more. Richard: For wrestling fans who might not know what you are involved with in the world of professional wrestling, can you just give us an update on what's going on in the busy schedule of Chanel? Chanel: Hey everyone! Well what's going on right now is the world seems to have gone Bellatrix mad! There is lots of great things happening for us girls, including our next show on March 24th at Epic Studios Norwich going iPPV! This is record breaking for us and we're all very excited! I'm set to face Phobia on that day, so I'm training and preparing for that. Richard: At Bellatrix 5 on March 24th on iPPV you are set to face Phobia, do you think you have what it takes to defeat her and to have the upper echelon of Bellatrix take notice of you? Chanel: Yes I think I have what it takes. I do think its important you believe in yourself if you want the fans to believe in you, and to be honest Phobia is a pretty tough opponent from what I've seen, but I know I'm gonna go out there on the night and give it my all.
Richard: Over the last 25 years or so Women's Professional Wrestling has changed dramatically in terms of how it's presented, in your opinion do you think it's better today, or has the change hurt the product overall? Chanel: Mmm, that's tough! I think that it's better today in terms of there being a lot more female wrestlers around. 25 years ago wrestling was deemed a mans world, but now I would say it has evened out! The style since then has changed a lot, the women used to really have to prove they weren't just pretty faces, that they could stand their ground, and I think that's one of the slight problems these days, especially within the big leagues, it's a lot to do with looks than wrestling ability. But don't get me wrong there are a lot of really talented girls out there that do know their job. Richard: How did you get your start in professional wrestling? Chanel: My start into professional wrestling came when I saw WWE on the television one day at around the age of 16. I'd never even seen wrestling before, but I got so into this episode that I never missed another! I was in love with it and wanted it to be my career, so I started to look up training schools all over the place to go to. I found a local one in my area which I went to for about a month before they invited Sweet Saraya up to do a seminar. I was amazed by the stuff she taught us!! We got chatting afterwards and she said I should come down to Norwich to train with WAW, so in the following March I did and that's where I made my debut for Bellatrix! Fast forward a couple of months to July, I moved to Norwich and here I am now, a year on, continuing to train with the Knight Dynasty! Richard: Bellatrix is headed by iconic British Women's Wrestler Saraya Knight, can you share your thoughts on what it's like working under a legend such as Saraya? Chanel: It is an absolute honor and privilege to work with Saraya! She is a huge inspiration to every one of us and an amazing teacher. Her unique character and style is something I admire and always look up to her for. Even without the SHIMMER title, she has always been on top in my opinion. I hope we make her proud!! Richard: What are your long term goals in professional wrestling? Chanel: I want to be successful and earn a credible name for myself. I want wrestling to be my full time job, where I can travel the world and work for every different promotion there is. Obviously SHIMMER, I would love one day to be good enough to go there. I know I have a long way to go, but that is one of my ultimate goals, and of course if given the opportunity then WWE. Richard: Do you think Women's Professional Wrestlers in North America can benefit to be schooled in the aspects of British Pro Wrestling? Chanel: Definitely! The British style is a great background to have, we actually get people from America and other countries come over to learn our way. If anything it adds to their knowledge and its something different to have when you go to other promotions. Richard: Who was the number one women's pro wrestler who inspired you to get into the business, if you had one that is? Chanel: At the time when I got into wrestling, it was around 2010 and I only watched WWE, so I would have to say the girls that sort of inspired me then were Michelle McCool, Mickie James and Gail Kim. Having looked into the history I would definitely say women like Lita, Trish Stratus and Victoria. I loved the sort of matches they would have when it was back in the attitude era, everything was a lot more hard hitting and aggressive - the way a fight should be! That's what I loved the most about them and it inspired me to go after my dream. Richard: In your opinion what do you think of promotions like the WWE and TNA making women's wrestling more sex appeal rather than actual pro wrestling? Chanel: Although I would absolutely love to work for WWE, that does frustrate me. It's sad because there are some talented girls in WWE/TNA, yet people will use their match time as their time for a toilet break. I think it puts women's wrestling in a bad light, say for people who don't really know women's wrestling, you can guarantee they will have heard of 'divas' or 'knockouts', and think that we are all the same. As I mentioned before, the girls like Lita and Trish, they were sexy but they could also put on a good match! That's what it lacks these days. But you know, Saraya's daughter (Paige) is there now and hopefully she can change that!
Richard: Who was your toughest opponent thus far in your career? Chanel: My toughest opponent I would say is Destiny! I never have quite managed to beat her...yet :) You can wish Chanel luck on her big match at Bellatrix 5 on iPPV on March 24th. I want to personally thank Bellatrix Superstar Chanel for taking the time to speak with me here on *Kayfabe Kickout.
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