Exclusive Interview: One On One With PROGRESS Wrestling’s Women’s World Champion Lana Austin
In this exclusive interview, me and Lana discuss the impact of AEW’s All In on the wrestling scene here in the UK and her time with one of the UK’s top promotions – PROGRESS Wrestling. From how the Women’s Revolution in 2015 to her being the top star in the company’s women’s division, we cover it all ahead of PROGRESS Wrestling’s PPV ‘It’s Clobberin’ Time’ next Saturday, in a joint event with top USA independent promotion, DEFY.
Q: You made your pro debut in 2013, what made you get into wrestling and how did you get started?
Lana: “My mum and dad would watch wrestling when I was young so I grew up around it and became a fan myself but was in and out of it as a child. My brothers would be playing with all the wrestling figures, had the WWF Wallpaper and bed sheets so it was always around me but I was busy playing with my barbies, but I still knew who all the wrestlers were!”
“I grew up watching the likes of the Hardy Boyz, Steve Austin and Undertaker, my favorite was Lita for the women’s and the Hardy Boyz, no actually it was Chris Jericho first, he was my crush and was such an amazing wrestler to watch! But then I saw the Hardy Boyz and that’s when I admired watching Lita.“
“I first got in a ‘ring’ when me, my brother and our friends used to build our own wrestling rings, using carpets and anything we could find to pack it up and make it look realistic. We even used to get cages, like the ones you find on building sites or warehouses, so that we could have our own cage matches haha!”
“After this, my parents let us build our own wrestling ring in the back garden, so that they could keep an eye on us and make sure we weren’t going to do anything stupid haha. I would be in the ring dressed similar to Lita, let’s say, and my dad wasn’t overly amused as I was still quite young haha!”
“I didn’t really get into an actual wrestling ring until I’d had my third child, as my brother found this wrestling gym and wanted to come, however, I was still heavily pregnant. So, after my third child and my second emergency C-Section the nurse said I wasn’t to do any cleaning, heavy lifting, etc. but after 6 weeks I was in the ring, training.”
“I began training with my brother at Grand Pro Wrestling, in Manchester, and that was super fun! 5 years later I deputed at GPW I would be wrestling other men, as well as the women, and this is something I feel should be more frequent. Throughout my career, I have wrestled a lot of the same women over and over again so I would defo love to wrestle more men, I can beat up the men too!? I’m tough, my parents raised me to be!”
(Image credited to PROGRESS Wrestling)
Q: Since the introduction of the Women’s Revolution in the WWE, back in 2015, have you seen a change in the business towards women’s matches and the recognition of the quality there is?
Lana: “Yeah, definitely! However, if it wasn’t for the Diva era, there would not be the current crop of wrestlers like Bianca Belair or Charlotte. So, I am very grateful for what they did to pave the way, but the wrestling in the women’s division is incredible today….with me being at the top!”
“There is so much more appreciation for women’s wrestling as most promotions, not all, are putting more women’s matches on the cards and higher on the bill, as opposed to the days when there was the odd march or even none!”
(After I mentioned past legends like Alundra Blayze/ Madusa and Sable) “I never really saw a lot of her (Madusa) growing up, but she is someone who I have watched tapes on as I have gotten into wrestling because she was so ahead of her time. Her matches were amazing and athletic! I like to imagine what she would be like today with the likes of Bianca and Charlotte, they’d be 5 star easily!”
“What is important to know is that there is nothing wrong with being a brilliant in-ring wrestler and having amazing matches, but also being sexy and showing it…..I mean, just look at me, as it doesn’t get any better..”
Q: With AEW’s upcoming record breaking PPV, All In, coming to town, have you seen an influx of American talent coming over to work within the PROGRESS promotion or collaborate with it? If so, how has the impact been?
Lana: “Apart from the joint PPV with DEFY, there hasn’t been any talk yet. However, the DEFY roster have been amazing and they are great performers! I have seen a few of their women’s division that I hope to work with in the future, but there hasn’t been any talk of collaborations in terms of in the ring…..but who knows.!”
“I hope there will be and the more top talent you are around or work with, the better your roster and superstars become and, personally, I need more butt to whoop!”
(Image credited to PROGRESS Wrestling)
Q: Going into your next PPV, ‘It’s Clobberin’ Time!’, how is the excitement around the promotion at the idea of partnering with one of the USA’s leading independent promotions, DEFY, the night before AEW’s All In PPV?
Lana: “I’m super excited and that because I get to see L.A (L.A Tyler) and Sky (Sky Smitson) again! We haven’t seen each other in a while but we’ve been messaging and chatting about how great it will be to be reunited again to talk down to the losers in the crowd and kick some butt….I have missed my girls!”
“As I said before, the DEFY roster have been amazing and the environment is electric heading into the joint PPV. I will see what is planned for me, or what I feel like doing as I make the rules, but I know it will be incredible and one that is not to be missed!”
Q: How do you feel PROGRESS Wrestling’s future looks with the introduction of DEMAND PROGRESS PLUS and the outreach it will have to a wider audience that, perhaps, is not aware of it’s existence?
Lana: “I think it’s amazing and more so because you can come and watch…ME! Fans will get to see me in all my beauty and watch all my matches, especially my all-time favorite against Kanji as this is when I became the Women’s PROGRESS Wrestling Champion….but all my matches are classics!”
“Overall though, it can only lead to bigger and better things for PROGRESS and they deserve it for not only making me their number one star, but also for the high quality product they produce every time.”
Q: Who inspired you in becoming your gimmick, or is there a lot of yourself put into the character for authenticity i.e. the singing and charismatic persona?
Lana: “I am a very charismatic person anyway, so that part comes easy. In terms of the singing, I am a very good singer and especially when I am at the local pub on a night out, as the old men and women in there say I should go on X Factor….and who can blame them!”
“I’m holding back a lot of my best singing as the losers don’t deserve it! They’ll hear it when I’m ready, but in terms of me being the Queen of Mean, this came from the watching the Descendants movie with my children. In the movie, there is a character that calls herself ‘The Queen of Mean’ and when I first heard it I knew that was who I was!“
“Outside of that, there is a lot of me in the character, but deep down I am a nice person and the fans love to hate me and give me a hard time cause they know I am not such a bad person….despite them being losers. I could smack someone or even kick a Granny and they’d love me and who can blame them.”
Q: Where did the idea come from for the Lana Austin Experience? Do you feel there needs to be more stables in the Women’s division, or in wrestling generally like it was a few decades ago?
Lana: “The idea came as PROGRESS wanted me to team with two other women, but I got to pick who, so I picked two women who I wanted to help reach the next level and who I had good chemistry with so I chose L.A and Sky. Since then, there has been no looking back as we have had each other’s backs and even in the times when I have valeted for them, I’d be yelling instructions like “hit them harder”. This wasn’t only because I got enjoyment out of it, but also to give advice to make them better as they do the same for me.”
“So, it is only a positive thing to be in a stable as it makes you better and those around you better, which brings more and more success!“
“When it comes to the notion of whether there should be more stables, I think there are quite a lot in the women’s divisions today compared to in the past. However, there is always room for more and I think the idea of the stables is slowly coming back into wrestling in general.”
(Image credited to PROGRESS Wrestling)
Q: How does it feel to be the top female star in the company and what does holding the Women’s PROGRESS Wrestling Championship mean to you?
Lana: “I deserve it. I deserve it a lot as I have worked hard to get to where I am, starting from the days of wrestling in my parents back garden, to tag-team wrestling alongside my brother, to today where I am the top star in PROGRESS. Simple. No one comes close.”
“I have beaten all there is to beat from Kenji to my matches with Candyfloss, which are some of my favorites as well, and she is someone who I would happily get back in the ring with if she ever decides to come back into wrestling….just so I can kick her butt some more!”
“When it comes to what the future holds, I will still be the Women’s PROGRESS Women’s champion in 5 years time but more importantly I have fun and, as long as I continue to do this, the future is very, very bright.”
I would like to thank the Women’s PROGRESS Wrestling champion, Lana Austin, for taking the time out to do this exclusive interview ahead of next Saturday’s historic PPV ‘It’s Clobberin’ Time’. If you wish to know more about this charismatic and impressive superstar, then please follow the link provided for her PROGRESS bio.
https://progresswrestling.com/fighter/lana-austin/
Tickets to this joint PPV, alongside DEFY’s ‘The Splendid and the Vile’, are available NOW, so use the link to get them quick!
https://dice.fm/promoters/progress-wrestling-6m78?lng=en
As well as next Saturday’s PPV, tickets are also available for three other huge PPV’s: FEEL THE NOIZE (9th September), STEAL YOURSELF (10th September) and HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF (24th September).
Whether you’re a a longtime fan or new to the promotion, don’t forget to check out PROGRESS’S DEMAND PROGRESS PLUS, This channel allows fans to access the impressive array of matches from the PROGRESS’s current star roster and classic matches from the past. Please follow the link below to access this amazing content!
https://demandprogressplus.progresswrestling.com/
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