SUMMER ALL YEAR ‘ROUND
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By Shiai Mata The summer season may have come and gone, but Sensational Summer Rain is still glistening brightly! The Native American, who originally hailed from New Orleans, continues to be a prominent player both between the ropes and at ringside in the South, working as both a wrestler and as a manager. Although in great demand, Summer prefers to spend most of her time in her home area these days, for several reasons. 'Earlier this year, I went through a breast cancer scare. That put a lot of things in perspective for me. I would rather be spending time with my four year old than spending time on the road. There are always shows nearby on which I can work. Occasionally, I will travel, but only three or four times a year, not every week like I once did.' One of those rare sojourns away from home was to the PGWA's 'Music City Mayhem' live card, and Summer plans to attend the GLORY Wrestling Convention this October as well. More and more of the brunette's efforts of late seem to be in the managerial realm, rather than as a wrestler. Partly, she explains, that's because 'there aren't a lot of girls near me now, so I don't wrestle on a regular basis anymore.' But she's got more than enough responsibilities at ringside to keep her busy. 'I am still involved in my long-time alliance with the Lewis Brothers, Norton and Cruizer. We work throughout upstate South Carolina, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northeast Georgia. The Lewis's are currently feuding with Team Ego over the Southern Wrestling Alliance's tag team titles.' But just because she's devoting so much of her efforts to managing doesn't mean that Summer isn't interested in stepping back into the ring herself soon. 'I would really like to have another go against Persephone. She got the best of me once, but it will not happen again!' And another woman whom the petite yet powerful brunette would love to get her hands on again is San Antonio Rose. Their feud goes back a number of years, and it shows no signs of cooling off anytime soon. 'I had beaten her so many times, she finally got a clue and retired. But she apparently didn't learn her lesson, because she came back to challenge me to a match recently in Charlotte, North Carolina. She's simply jealous of my success and my talent, and it's eating her up. She just can't stand that I'm so much better than her.' What makes this rivalry different from most is that Summer Rain used to be the pupil of San Antonio Rose, and she first learned the secrets of the sport from the Texas cowgirl. 'Our roles in the feud have changed over the years,' Summer says. 'Initially, I was out to prove that I had become better than my trainer, and I would use any means necessary to beat her. And having done that, I was content with letting her crawl out of the sport and fade from memory. But now she's the one driving the feud, because she's obsessed with proving that she's as good as me…which of course she isn't, and never will be.' Ironically, the intensity of this ongoing grudge has led to a role reversal of sorts, with the usually rule-abiding Rose having no hesitation about breaking all of the rules to beat her rival, and Summer now being seen in the eyes of many fans as the ‘good girl' in their matches, even though the Native American herself isn't shy about fighting rough. One thing is for sure…playing Cowgirls and Indians was never like this before! 'Of course,' the brunette adds, 'I could teach her a thing or two about brawling and beat her that way, but it's so much more satisfying besting her by using solid technical skills. Again, it's my way of proving who the better wrestler is: Me!' Summer is definitely looking forward to the GLORY Convention in New Jersey on October 2nd and 3rd, and she's hoping that some of her fans can help send her there. For more information, visit Summer Rain's official website at http://geocities.com/summerdazeno1. more pictures online for members |
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