LadySports - PGWA - Miss Deville


EAT. SLEEP. WRESTLE. REPEAT!!

Miss DeVille's Strategy for Success

by Shiai Mata

"I like the idea of Women's Professional Wrestling. I love seeing the women do just as good as the men. Only thing is, I don't like all the sex that is involved in women's wrestling today. There are places for that; I don't believe it's in the ring."

So says Miss DeVille, who at the tender age of 18 is already a two year veteran of the sport, and who clearly knows the wisdom of stressing athleticism over T&A. Active in such an array of sports as softball, basketball, volleyball and even speed skating, it's not surprising that her competitive nature was attracted to wrestling.

"Every aspect of the sport attracted me," she says. "I loved the characters, the high flying, the storylines...even the hardcore attracted me to it. It was something different. I think that's what I loved most about it."

Her interest piqued, she wasn't about to sit idly by for a couple of years before pursuing her newfound interest. She happened to see a sign at a WWE RAW show for a training school called World of Hurt Wrestling, and she decided to take the plunge. "I first started wrestling a day after my 16th birthday. It was sort of a birthday present to me. I've been faithful to wrestling ever since, and the rest is history!"

WOHW is no fly-by-night operation. Well-established in New York State, WOHW not only teaches students the ropes, but they let them put their training to work by regularly promoting live cards featuring their graduates. It was with WOHW that Miss DeVille first made her mark on the sport...but not without being put through some strenuous paces by her instructors first. "I started out training with people like Danger and Thornn. They are great teachers and have taught me so much. Training consists of drills after drills after drills, a ton of cardio, and learning new moves."

Given her athletic nature, the 5'7" green-eyed brunette wasn't about to take the easy route in terms of ring style. Instead, she continually pushes herself to take risks. "My style is mostly technical, with a little bit of high flying depending on who I wrestle. I love highflying. Whenever I wrestle the bigger guys, I make sure to throw some aerial moves in. When I wrestle girls, I mostly keep it technical."

Such efforts don't come without a price, however. "I dislocated my right arm out of the socket once when I was trying to learn to fall through the ropes...my arm got tangled in one of the ropes. It sucked 'cause I couldn't wrestle for two months. It was the real first setback in my wrestling career."

Yet in spite of the injuries, she never let doubt or regret set in. "I never wanted to quit. Because in the back of my mind, I know this is the main thing that keeps me going in the first place. But we all have our downfalls, I know there have been times where I've questioned myself, and asked if it was worth it. But as soon as I step into the ring, my mind completely changes. I love the business and I can see myself being in it until I'm 80 years old!"

And when she steps between the ropes, she is dedicated to giving the fans her best effort. Such devotion has made her extremely popular with the fans, even if Miss DeVille herself oftentimes plays the villain they love to hate. A big part of her success is because she's so willing to push herself physically in her matches. "Yeah, I'm known for hitting Sentons and Swantons an awful lot. The crowd really gets into them, and whenever I go to the top rope, they always know it's coming!" Such maneuvers can take a ghastly toll on the body, but the young wrestler has the physical conditioning to handle the stresses she puts on herself. "Luckily, I am extremely flexible...I can do splits, bend limbs all the way back, and so on." As a part of her conditioning, as well as an exercise in willpower, she proudly announces that she shed 40 pounds in recent months. "It was a big achievement in my life, and I even surprised my own self with that."

Of course, she is continually seeking to expand her repertoire by mastering new and more complex maneuvers. "I'd like to learn how to do a Corkscrew Senton. That's down the road, though. Right now, I'm focusing on learning some of the bigger power moves out there."

Her climb up the ladder of success has been one rung at a time, but her persistence has paid off with a few golden dividends. "I was the first ever WOHW Women's Champion! I also held half of the Genesis Tag Team Championship belt. This one is special because I won it a day after my role model, Miss Elizabeth, died."

Despite the countless matches she's been in over the last two years, she still vividly remembers that very first night she stepped into the ring in front of a crowd. "My first match was against a girl that I started training with. Her ring name was Angelina. We were both VERY nervous before the match and kept going over things again and again. We did everything to make sure we didn't forget anything. For being our first match, I am proud to say it didn't go bad! That was the first time I got to try my Senton on someone. She was supposed to move out of the way...but she didn't, and she got squashed!" she says with a laugh.

She's come a long way from that night of nervousness and missed moves, but it's still very clear that she continues to hold the same arcane mixture of awe and enthusiasm for the sport. For one thing, she's amazed that she has been able to meet so many of the legends who inspired her. "Probably my most exciting moment so far was the 'Heroes & Legends' show. I got to meet some guys I'd been dying to meet, like George the Animal Steele, Mae Young, Fabulous Moolah, Terry Funk, and Harley Race. And the most exciting part about it all was, they were in the crowd watching as we performed!"

And in a young career filled with highlights, one night in particular stands out in memory. "My best match had to be against Demonica, at Slam All-star Pro Wrestling. She is a role model of mine, and it was great to work her finally. We put on a good match, and I am very proud of it."

Miss DeVille is very much in demand in the Northeast, having put in time with nearly a dozen organizations. But she never strays far from WOHW, where she remains one of the promotion's top females. It's also where she's engaged in a feud that's earning a lot of widespread attention. "I just turned my back on my best friend, Kayla. Kayla plays a major face so of course the fans immediately hate me." While some wrestlers may dislike being booed, the brunette takes the jeering...the louder and more fervent the better...as a sign that she's doing her job right. "I can't get enough of doing what I love in the ring, in front of a crowd of people cheering...or booing...me. It's a natural high!"

Certainly, Miss DeVille could not have come so far in the sport without having the complete support of her family. "My family loves wrestling, so they're very proud of me. In fact, my Aunt and Uncle own their own business where they sell wrestling memorabilia. Wrestling is a family event for us! They love coming to shows and watching me wrestle. My family is extremely supportive." Clearly they must be to have let their 16 year old daughter enter the demanding world of Professional Wrestling.

Although she's part of the 21st Century wave of women in wrestling, a part of the New York City native longs for the seemingly simpler times of the not-so-distant past. "If I could change one thing about the sport, I'd bring it back to the mid-80's era with Macho Man, Hulk Hogan, Miss Elizabeth, Bret Hart, etc. There were no 'Diva Searches' back then, thank God!"

Yet, despite her disdain for many of the antics which take place in women's wrestling today, Miss DeVille still sees working in the WWE as the mark of having truly made it in American wrestling. Still, she's also set her sights beyond Titan Tower. "Looking at myself five years in the future, hopefully I'll be on to bigger and better things. I really want to work in Japan or Mexico one of these days. But the main thing is to stay healthy." A more immediate goal is to step into the ring with someone who represents the best qualities of Japanese wrestling: "I really would like to work Sumie Sakai. I've seen her wrestle a few times and she is amazing."

Away from the ring, she busies herself at college, and relaxes by playing guitar, drawing, and listening to her favorite band, Nirvana.

But all of that is taking a back seat at the moment as she plunges into preparations for a truly huge event. "Kayla and I will be facing each other at World Of Hurt Wrestling's biggest card of the year, SUMMERFEST on September 3rd. We'll be fighting for the WOHW Women's Title, which she's holding right now. You can be sure I am going to take my gold back where it belongs!"

Come what may, there can be little doubt that wrestling's "Brat in Black" will let nothing stop her in her drive to make it to the top.

Miss DeVille's official website can be found at missdeville.cjb.net

Shiai Mata


Copyright © 2004 SpecialEvents-LadySports