From the fighting women of Greek Sparta to the more repressed women of the mediaeval times, the journey of women’s participation in wrestling has been an interesting one to say the least! Women’s freestyle wrestling in the Olympics only began in 2004, after a long process of redefining activities and sports that are culturally considered to be “appropriate for women”. Despite the challenges, women have paved the way within the sport of boxing! Profiling these queens of the ring on their epic climb to the top, their fearless drive is similar to those hits we’ve seen with big online UK slot sites popping up. Let’s take a look back at the UK trailblazers who defied norms and left a legacy for future female wrestlers.
The Pioneers – Early Female Wrestlers in the UK
Photo by carlos aranda on Unsplash
Mitzi Mueller
Famously putting women’s wrestling firmly on the map, Mitzi Mueller had been a professional wrestler since she was 14, and made her wrestling debut in 1963. Born in Hamburg to a wrestling father (and with a bare-knuckle boxer grandfather), she grew up in the UK since she was 3 years old. Mitzi won the British Ladies Championship in 1972, and also won the European Ladies Championship in 1975, impressively holding on to this title right up until 1990. During her career, women’s boxing was actually banned in London due to some obscure laws at the time. She made history as the first woman to appear at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1987, paired with Rusty Blair and battling Klondyke Kate and Nicky Monroe, just after the ban on women’s wrestling was lifted.
Klondyke Kate
A famous rival of Mitzi Mueller, Klondyke Kate debuted in 1977 and also began wrestling at 14 years of age. She is said to have earned every bit of her reputation as the toughest woman in the United Kingdom. Jayne Porter is her actual name, and she famously wrestled both men and women at the start of her career. She wrestled for All Star Wrestling, winning the British Women’s Championship in 1989 and becoming the dominant champion by holding onto her title for 5 long reigns. Her roaring popularity helped create a demand that saw many of the women’s wrestling bans get lifted in the UK.
Modern Icons – Today’s Female Wrestling Stars
Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis)
Becoming famous as the WWE wrestler ‘Paige’, Saraya Jade Bevis was born into a professional wrestling family in 1992. She made her boxing debut at age 13 under the name Britani Knight. Impressively, Saraya is the only woman to have won women’s world championships in both WWE and AEW! As ‘Paige’. She secured the WWE Divas Championship twice and was the first-ever NXT Women’s Champion. A testament to how popular and influential she is, the movie ‘Fighting With My Family’ was released in 2019 and stars Florence Pugh as Paige. It’s a feel-good comedy telling the tale of her family of wrestlers from Norfolk.
Nikki Cross
Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Nikki Cross’s fight persona was that of an unhinged woman with mood swings. Famous for her frenzied approach, she began her wrestling career under the name Nikki Storm. She is an impressive 11-time and final WWE 24/7 Champion, one-time WWE Raw Women’s Champion and three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion! Moving from a more frenzied approach, she transitioned to a faux-inspired superhero persona known as Nikki A. S. H. (standing for Almost a Super-Hero). As a plot twist from wrestling, in 2023 she graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a master’s degree in history.
Courtney Stewart
Fighting under her ring name Isla Dawn, Courtney Stewart is a Scottish professional wrestler with an interesting career path. Formerly a dance instructor with a passion for acting, she launched her new career as a pro wrestler at age 20. She is renowned for her contributions to Scottish and British wrestling promotions, including the Scottish Wrestling Alliance, Fierce Females, and Insane Championship Wrestling. Courtney started to appear internationally in promotions in Spain, France and Japan around 2015. She was also the final holder of the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with Alba Fyre. Today’s female wrestling stars are modern icons, popularising women’s wrestling on an international stage and taking the sport to whole new heights!
