Take Lexie Fyfe seriously
- By JAMIE KREISER
2005, SLAM! Wrestling
Lexie Fyfe is not a sports entertainer,
she is a wrestler.
It is a statement found on current NWA
Women's World champion Fyfe's web site
and a mantra that symbolizes the journey
that has been her 10-year professional
wrestling career.
In other words, Fyfe is a woman who wants
to be taken seriously and has taken a
lot of bumps to prove it.
"It is my way of saying I'm not in it
for the T and A," said Fyfe in a phone
call from her home in Tampa, Florida.
"I'm in it for the wrestling. I would
have to say that I'm an entertainer in
the aspect that I do play a role, but
I don't cater to the stuff that the WWE
puts out right now. I'm more, let's get
out there and do what we know how to do
best and do it as good or better than
the guys."
It's an open door to ask how the indy
star feels about how her female colleagues
are currently portrayed in the bigger
promotions.
"I never begrudge," she states firmly.
"I always thought Sunny was excellent,
I loved watching her manage. And as for
Woman and Elizabeth, I think there is
room for the girly aspect. I think Torrie
Wilson makes a good manager, but I don't
particularly like to see her in the wrestling
role because I think she takes away from
people like me who have worked for years
and actually like to wrestle and don't
mind taking the bumps and maybe coming
away with a black eye."
Fyfe does have positive comments for the
athletic abilities of Trish Stratus and
long-time friend, Lita. She hopes that
when Lita comes back from the injured
list the focus will shift from the unnecessary
diva searches to current female talent
developing in OVW.
Although a lifelong wrestling fan, Fyfe,
who does not favor having her real name
or age publicized, only began her wrestling
career after graduating from Elon College
in North Carolina with a Communications
degree. It was 1995 and Fyfe was working
at what she describes as a "real" job
when she met Brandi Wine, who was a valet
with a couple of the local promotions.
"I saw her reading a wrestling magazine,"
she laughed. "I thought, 'Whoa, another
girl that likes wrestling?' It was so
few and far between especially back then.
Brandi really wanted to train to be a
wrestler, but she didn't feel comfortable
training with the big guys, so she was
looking for a partner."
Fyfe was easily convinced and began her
initial training at a wrestling school
run by Ken Spence. Fyfe stayed for about
a year and a half and then considered
quitting because she didn't feel she was
progressing.
Malia Hosaka, whose own wrestling career
has spanned 18 years and today is often
an opponent of Fyfe's, can attest to her
initial concerns.
In fact Hosaka describes, the first time
the two faced each other in the ring as
"horrible."
"She had little knowledge of how the moves
were supposed to be done," confessed Hosaka.
"After the match, I thought she was poorly
trained. But I thought she had raw talent
that could be worked with to become one
of wrestling's future legends."
Another person who saw this potential
was Matt Hardy. Fyfe and Hardy met at
an indy show and he convinced her to come
train out in his "ring in the woods,"
making her the first female to do so.
"It was fun," recalled Fyfe, even though
Matt ended up chipping her tooth while
she was there. "I actually credit Matt
with the fact that I am still wrestling.
I was ready to quit when I met him. I
had reached a plateau at my first school
and wasn't getting any better. I needed
the challenge."
She stopped training there after Matt
and Jeff Hardy got their WWE deals because
with their new traveling schedules, she
says the brothers stopped having practices.
In 1999, Fyfe pursued her own WWE aspirations.
She had a televised match against Tori
and did some house shows. In 2001, along
with house shows, she did a two-month
stint in OVW. After leaving for personal
reasons, Fyfe looks back on her WWE achievements
with pride, not regret.
Lexie Fyfe pulls back on Fantasia
Her current focus is the independent scene.
She's applied her finishing move, the
attitude adjuster (a modified diamond
cutter), in 28 states in the U.S. so far.
She has also traveled to seven different
countries, although she is yet to execute
her submission move, the Figure Fyfe (an
inverted Indian Death Lock), in Canada.
A travesty even to Fyfe who names Chris
Benoit, Lance Storm and Chris Jericho
as some of her favorite wrestlers. Along
with females like Leilani Kai and Wendi
Richter of course.
"You guys have some awesome wrestlers,"
she revealed to this Canadian journalist.
"Canadian wrestlers they're all top. I
watched the ECW pay per view just because
I wanted to see Lance Storm vs. Chris
Jericho that last time."
For those who haven't gotten to witness
all that is Lexie Fyfe, there is one word
that describes her character: loud. Fyfe
has a fondness for being outspoken, flip-flopping
from baby face to heel, talking off the
cuff, playing to the crowd and being a
chameleon when it comes to her hair. She
can be found constantly switching from
brown, blonde, red, purple, black or fuchsia
hair dyes. Sometimes it's a combination
of a few.
But when she's not wrestling, Fyfe prefers
to be a homebody. Having no interest in
partying or the bar scene, she would much
rather watch a movie, preferably a musical
such as The Sound of Music or The Wizard
of Oz or visit a theatre, which she tries
to frequent once a week. She also owns
Slammin promotions, a company that runs
wrestling web sites, with her fiancée.
It is through her involvement with the
web sites that Fyfe promises to always
be around the wrestling business even
if she can no longer wrestle. As it is,
she has an impressive array of injuries
that she jokes are "normal stuff." Among
the more serious are two herniated disks
in her neck that will require surgery.
But until retirement is eminent, wrestling
will remain her sole addiction.
"I have to have some vice," she giggled.
"I love the crowds. I love interacting
with the fans. I love to travel. I've
met such wonderful people over the last
10 years. Some of them have become like
family to me. And the kids are wonderful.
I love performing in front of them and
talking to them afterwards. Just seeing
their eyes light up and hearing them say,
'Wow that was really cool!'"
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