Interview: Shanna on Pro Wrestling EVE and being Portugal’s Perfect Athlete!

First of all, it’s great to hear you’re on the mend now. Can you just explain the injury you’ve sustained and how it happened?

Yes, correct. I’m currently recovering from a hyperextended elbow and a dislocated shoulder, sustained during a three-way match for Pro Wrestling EVE’s title at XWA Goldrush 2012 against Jenny Sjodin and April Davids.

Would I be right in saying that you would have been part of EVE’s iPPV tomorrow had you not been injured? 

Yes, I’m very disappointed, and I feel I’m disappointing the fans by not being there. Unfortunately, sometimes people who come from an MMA background forget what wrestling is and get a little bit carried away, like Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn in the past. I think anybody can step onto that ring and hurt another: it does not take talent to do that.

Will you be watching the iPPV? 

I would not miss the iPPV for anything in the world. This is one big step for EVE and I’m really excited to see how it goes. I’m surprised with the pairing on the tournament brackets. There are some interesting matches there. I’ve watched some of the Blossom Twins‘ work and am looking forward to seeing them in action on EVE. I was actually supposed to wrestle Holly Blossom and was really looking forward to it, but because of the arm injury I had to be taken off the show.

My best bet in winning the tournament would be Nikki Storm, she’s an amazing talent, a tough hard working girl, a lady not to mess with, and I think she deserves it. Other bets: April Davids, I think the “Lancashire Terrier” may be advancing far in this tournament, although I would like to see some newest talent shine through, like Kay Lee Ray. I had the pleasure to wrestle her last time at EVE vs Ice Ribbon and think she’s a rising star. She will never be as Perfect as me, though!

An obvious question, but why did you want to become a wrestler in the first place? 

When I was a little girl, I remember watching Hulk Hogan, Rowdy “Roddy” Piper, Ultimate Warrior, Curt Hennig… and being completely overwhelmed by the characters and the stories. They made me fall in love with wrestling.

When I had the opportunity to start my training in Portugal I didn’t think twice, I wanted to be a wrestler. I’ve always been very good at sports, any kind of sports, from combat sports such as Muay-Thai or capoeira to tennis, surfing, even played volleyball in the national teams back in my country.

I truly loved the mix of the athletic side with the entertainment side in wrestling, got fascinated by it and as soon as I had an offer for shows abroad I took it and started my professional wrestling career. My role models? All of the above, and of course “The Baby Jesus of British Wrestling” Rockstar Spud, my trainer.

One of the things I like most about women’s wrestling on the independent circuit is the range of sizes, shapes and styles of the talent – and by that I basically mean that not all the women look basically the same like you see in the big televised promotions! You’re relatively petite – how do you prepare for a match with someone who’s significantly bigger than you, such as the Alpha Female?

True, but my small size means I have to have a different approach if I wrestle someone like the Alpha Female. Being the underdog of this kind of match, I need to struggle and be smarter and agile to counter the Alpha Female’s strong offensive. So I need to be prepared to be hit hard, thrown around, do a lot of running and ducking and diving to avoid her attacks.

I train hard, lift weights to get my muscles strong and resistant, run a lot to improve my cardio, eat healthy to have a sound body and mind and I spend hours in the ring improving myself, I strive to always stay in perfect shape.

Is there anyone you’ve not yet faced who you’d love to have a match against, either on the independent circuit or in the televised promotions?

In EVE, I never faced Nikki Storm and I would love to, I think she’s a brilliant talent and would very much love to see what a match between me and her would be like. Other than that, I would love to wrestle Sarita, Gail Kim or Mickie James, they are amazing wrestlers.

How do you feel at the moment about the status of women’s wrestling? I know Allison Danger of Shimmer talked last year about the need to ensure women’s matches and promotions are credible and treated with respect – do you agree with her that this is still a problem?

Wrestling is still a male-dominated business. A lot of the shallow comments I hear come my way from colleagues who don’t get that we too are an important spot in the show. It’s pathetic how they think women are not meant to wrestle, that we’re just looks and no talent, that no matter how hard we try, how hard we train, we can never be as good as them…

Well, it’s twice as hard for women to break into this business and I do believe women should continue training hard and to improve themselves as there aren’t too many of us in the world who are credible. This is why I’m happy that female promotions like Pro Wrestling EVE exist. They strive to take female wrestling to a higher level, always treating us with the respect we deserve. I consider EVE a place to call home, my wrestling home. I feel safe, I learn, and I can contribute along with Dann Read and all the rest of Team EVE to making female wrestling all the more credible with our hard work and our heart.

Finally, when and where can we expect to see you back in action?

As soon as I recover from this arm injury. I had to cancel some shows, including the EVE: No Man’s Land Show which is the one I regret the most not doing. So far I’ve cancelled a 10-day tour in Africa, EVE, a show in Switzerland and a seminar in France. So at this point I don’t really have an answer as doctors said it would take around four to six weeks to recover.

When I do come back though I will be as PERFECT as ever!

Follow Shanna on Twitter and like her on Facebook.

Pro Wrestling EVE’s iPPV is on Saturday 18th February, live on Diva Dirt.