Welcome to the latest exclusive interview here at sltdwrestling.co.uk, where I was lucky enough to sit down with one of my friends and chat about her wrestling career so far. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll probably have seen me tweeting and retweeting about merchandise for one of the world’s best female wrestlers, the talented and amazing Bacardi.
She’s wrestled all over the UK, Europe and even had some wrestling shows in America against some of the best female talent there is, and how she’s not been picked up by one of the “big companies” yet is beyond me. To give you guys a little bit of background, Bacardi’s been wrestling since she was 15 and she’s been doing it for almost 10 years. She’s been trained by some of the biggest names in wrestling, like Saraya Knight and WWE legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
I’d been bugging her to sit down with me for an interview for ages, so she finally gave in last week and spent some of her time answering questions for you here at sltdwrestling.co.uk! Without any further ado, let’s get down to it and hear some of Bacardi’s stories including a couple of crackers from Germany and the US!
When did you decide that you wanted to be a wrestler and who inspired you when you were growing up?
I decided that it was what I wanted to do when I was 12 years old and the main people who inspired me were The Hardy Boyz and Lita.
Tell us how you came up with the name “Bacardi”?
I was part of a tag-team that was alcohol related, so I needed a name to go with the team and I picked “Bacardi”. Even though the team has long split up, the name has stuck with me all these years.
How would you describe your wrestling style?
It’s a mix of British and American styles with a hint of total bitch thrown in for good measure!
Where are we most likely to see you wrestling?
Currently, I’m doing a lot of appearances for TAW, Total Action Wrestling. Check out their website at http://www.totalactionwrestling.com for more info and details.
There are lots of good, strong wrestling companies in the UK at the moment. What do you put that success down to?
It’s down to the great workers in the ring as well as the fans. Their support is what makes us do what we do.
What’s the one thing that frustrates you about wrestling right now?
The lack of respect for female workers in many of the promotions out there across the world.
A few weeks ago, there was a documentary on Channel 4 about the Knight family and British wrestling. How much did you relate to their story and have you worked a match against Britani (Paige in WWE) before?
I could relate to their story a lot and I’ve trained, many years ago, with Britani but I’ve never had the chance to work a full match with her. I’d love to have a match with her mother, Sweet Saraya.
Is there any female wrestler in Britain that you haven’t faced yet that you’d love to work a match with?
I mentioned earlier that I’ve not worked with Sweet Saraya, so she’s someone I’d definitely want to work a match with. The woman is a legend in British wrestling and it would be an honour to work a match with her.
You were trained by Jake “The Snake” Roberts. How much did he help you to prepare for life in wrestling?
He actually prepared me quite well. He warned me about a lot of things that would happen and so far, everything he said to me has been right. He’s a very clever man!
You’ve had lots of matches all over the world. Which one means the most to you and why?
I couldn’t pick just one. Every match means something to me and for many different reasons.
You’ve wrestled all kinds of female wrestlers across the world. Who’s been your favourite to work with?
Sara del Rey, Lufisto and Pippa L’Vinn. I can’t pick just one, but they’re definitely some of my favourite wrestlers to work with.
I know that you were in Florida for a couple of shows in June. What was it like to work across there and how did the fans react to you?
It was amazing. I totally loved it and can’t wait to go back there. The fans seemed to hate me and they should! I’m better than them!
What’s the strangest reaction you’ve ever heard from a live crowd in one of your matches?
It’s not quite strange, but in Florida recently, some kid told me that I smelt like hot dog. He was holding a hot-dog so after telling him it was more than likely him that smelled like hot dogs, he looked like the most confused kid in the world!!
Have you got any funny stories that you can tell us from when you’ve wrestled in the UK/Europe/America?
When I wrestled in Germany a few years back, I ended up in a hostel where nobody else spoke English and my German was just awful. The Burger King that I was taken to was next door to a GIANT sex shop!! Haha..
(Note from me: Knowing some of the funny things I’ve seen Bacardi tweet, I can believe that! Haha)
You suffered quite a serious ACL injury to your right knee a couple of years ago. How difficult was it to recover from that and has it affected your training or in-ring style?
It was quite a hard process, mostly because I had to have a total of 4 operations over 2 years. It means there are certain moves I can no longer do, as my knee just won’t take it. It’s made me more aware of twinges and pains, and it means I know when to listen to my body, instead of just writing everything off as a wrestling ache.
Have you heard of any interest in you from some of the “bigger” wrestling companies in the States?
That’s something I can’t comment on.
Let’s say that Vince McMahon called you up and said “Bacardi, I’ll give you a match against any female wrestler from the recent past or present at Wrestlemania”. Who would you choose and why?
Lita, because she was my female wrestling idol when I was younger.
If we were to do another interview in the future, what do you want to have achieved?
I’d love to be able to say that I’ve worked a match with every female wrestler in the world that I want to work with. I want to wrestle a lot more in America and hopefully make it to FCW/NXT/WWE.
How important have Twitter, YouTube and Facebook been to you in terms of growing/responding to your fanbase?
They’ve been essential for people discovering me, getting to know where I’m going to be and seeing what I can do.
And finally, have you got a message for all your fans?
Thanks for the support. Thank you to those who have bought my merchandise and promo pics. For those of you who haven’t bought one, what the heck are you waiting for?!
If you want to keep up with Bacardi’s latest appearances, check out http://www.totalactionwrestling.com. You can also find Bacardi all over social media. Her official YouTube channel is http://www.youtube.com/bacardiwrestler, follow her on Twitter @bacardiwrestler and like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bacardiwrestler. She’s actually got a lot of new merchandise available including keyrings, magnets, calenders, promo pics and t-shirts, so get in touch with her for more info on how you can buy those from her!
Trust me when I tell you this, Bacardi is going places and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world finds out just how good this girl is! I keep trying to get her to talk to us on SLTD Radio, but she’s resisted so far. Let her know that you want her on the show. I know we’d love to have the chance to talk to her live on the air!
Well guys, that’s going to wrap things up for the latest “In Profile” interview here at SLTD Wrestling. I hope you guys enjoyed what Bacardi had to say and remember to follow her on Twitter, @bacardiwrestler. Thanks for reading and I’ll bring another exclusive “In Profile” interview to you soon.
George
Single Leg TakeDown 