Shimmer and Independent
Wrestler Danyah (Danyah
Rivietz) AKA Danyah Rays joined me for
an exclusive lethalwow.com interview.
In the much anticipated Shimmer
DVDs...Volume 17 & 18, Danyah teams up
with Jennifer Blake to
take on the The Experience (Lexie
Fyfe & Malia Hosaka) as well
as The Minnesota Home Wrecking
Crew (Lacey & Rain).
Danyah is among the elite women's wrestlers
that have come from Squared Circle Training...
which includes Gail Kim, Angelina
Love and Traci Brooks, Shantelle
Taylor and Tiana Ringer. She
quickly rose from a May 2005 debut to becoming a recognizable
name in the Independent scene, taking on the best of the
best in Natalya Neidhart, April
Hunter, Sirelda (Jaime Dauncey)
and many more.
Arron
Carlton: Hello Danyah,
Thank you for taking the time to do this
interview...how are you? I hope all is
well?
Danyah:
I’m doing great! Thanks for interviewing
me.
Arron
Carlton: Numerous
women in wrestling's past made transitions
from fitness to wrestling, you share a
similar story...how was the transition
for you? In general, would you say that
it is an easy transition for let us say,
a fitness model?
Danyah:
It was an easy transition for me since
I came from an athletic background, and
grew up watching wrestling. Coming in,
I knew what to expect. I grew up playing
many different sports, and used cardiovascular
activity and weight training to build
the strength and stamina necessary for
these sports. I also came from a Martial
Arts background, and was a competitive
kickboxer for four years
before I started wrestling.
It was my athletic and fitness base that
allowed me to transition into wrestling
so easily. I came in fit, strong, and
fully aware of how hard the wrestling
training was going to be.
In terms of transitioning from fitness
modeling to wrestling, that’s
a completely different story. Just because
you’re good with weights, cardio and nutrition
does not mean you possess the athletic
skills necessary to be a pro-wrestler.
It’s one thing to sculpt your body, and
it’s another to learn to fall, roll, jump,
flip, and learn the psychology of a good
wrestling match.
Arron
Carlton: Approximately
how long did it take training before you
actively became a competitor?
Danyah:
It took about 10 months of consistent
training before I had my first match.
One of my trainers, Rob Fuego
from Squared Circle Training,
fully believes you have to be competent
and confident in your skills before you
step into the ring and perform. He wanted
to be sure I was ready before allowing
me to wrestle, and I thank him for that.
Arron
Carlton: You made
your wrestling debut in May of 2005? Tell
me about that experience.
Danyah:
My first match was a tag-team match at Warrior 1
Wrestling in Oshawa, Ontario.
I teamed with Tiana Ringer against Shantelle
Taylor and Cherry Bomb. The
match itself went really well, and after experiencing the
rush of being in front of a crowd, I knew that this was
something I wanted to pursue for years to come.
What made it special was that I was wrestling
with the girls I trained with, and we
were very familiar with each other’s repertoire,
and we knew what we had to do to pull
off a solid match.
Arron
Carlton: And what
was the outcome of the match? Do you recall
the specific date?
Danyah:
It was May 15, 2005. Tiana
and I won with a double spine-buster to
Cherry after some shady,
under-handed tactics.
Arron
Carlton: You've held
numerous titles since your debut, which
was the first and who did you defeat?
Danyah:
My first title win was for the Pro
Wrestling Xtreme Women’s Title.
I wrestled Cherry Bomb for the title.
Arron
Carlton: Do you recall
any of the dates or timeframe of winning
and losing the title?
Danyah:
June 10, 2006...I won the title from Cherry
via schoolboy with my feet on the ropes.
Arron
Carlton: You've locked
up with "Cherry Bomb"
on numerous occasions since your debut...tell
us about her.
Danyah:Cherry is like a sister
to me, and she's one of my best friends
in and out of the ring. We started training
together and have been close ever since.
She is a very talented worker with tons
of charisma. Wherever she goes, she is
over.
Arron
Carlton: Who are some
other notable ladies that you have had
the privilege to work with?
Danyah:
LuFisto, April Hunter,
Sara Del Rey,Gail
Kim, Tiana Ringer,
Traci Brooks, Angel
Williams, Rain,
Lexie Fyfe and Malia
Hosaka.
In terms of Ontario ladies, I love working
Misty Haven, Cherry
Bomb, 21st Century
Fox and Haley Rogers.
Arron
Carlton: Who is on
your current list of women you would like
to get in the ring with that you haven't
had the opportunity to wrestle?
Danyah:Allison Danger, Cheerleader
Melissa, Nikki Roxx,
Jackie Moore,and Awesome
Kong.
Arron
Carlton: Speaking
of Ontario, what's your thoughts on Trish
Stratus?
Danyah:Trish is amazing. I hold
nothing but respect and admiration for
her. She came in to the WWE
as a fitness model, and worked her butt
off to learn how to work. She had the
look, and the talent. What I really admire
about Trish, is that
she continues to strive for things outside
of wrestling. A lot of workers fade out
and vanish. She continues to evolve and
progress and always has something on the
go. She recently opened up her own Yoga
studio just North of Toronto, and had
a great vision for it.
Arron
Carlton:Gail
Kim, Traci Brooks,
Angel Williams, Rain,
Cheerleader Melissa,
Nikki Roxx, Jackie
Moore and Awesome Kong...we
practically have the TNA knockouts
roster listed...have you had a chance
to catch TNA?
Danyah:
I watch TNA almost every
week, mainly for the women's division.
I know a lot of the girls, and many of
them have helped me out by critiquing
my matches and giving me advice. Gail,
Angelina and Traci
were all trained at the same school I
went to (Squared Circle Training)
so we share that in common.
Danyah:
The women's division has definitely stood
out. All the girls are different and bring
variety to the show. I also love the fact
that they hired girls who can wrestle
and are not just models who were trained
to do a few moves.
Arron
Carlton: How would
you compare the TNA knockouts
against the WWE Divas?
Danyah:
I love the TNA knockout
division because all the girls can work.
They're wrestlers first. I also love the
fact that they chose women based on their
talent, not just their looks. I'm a little
soured by the WWE Divas
as they consist of a mix of wrestlers
and models, and the viewers are constantly
forced to watch the wrestlers carry the
models to a good match. At the same time,
I know the WWE is catering
to a demographic, and they're doing what
they believe is best for business by hiring
the girls they do.
Arron
Carlton: Are you still
doing "Tha O Show"?
Danyah:
Yes, I'm still with Tha O Show.
I contribute every once in a while, as
my schedule is extremely busy. My main
goal as a writer is to promote Ontario
Indy talent and promotions.
Arron
Carlton: Ideally,
what would you like to get accomplished
within the next 2 years?
Danyah:
I would be honored to work for TNA.
That's my main goal. At the same time,
I simply love wrestling, so any opportunity
to work and learn keeps me satisfied.
I would love to travel, see the world,
and work as many people as possible.
Arron
Carlton: Do you have
any upcoming shows we should know about?
Danyah:
June is going to be an extremely busy
month for me. I will be traveling a lot.
Check out my myspace for dates www.myspace.com/danyahArron Carlton:
Where can anyone get videos or DVDs of
any of your matches?
Danyah:
People can contact the individual promotions
that I work for to buy DVDs of my matches,
as well as view a lot of talented Ontario
workers.
Arron Carlton is the Owner, Webmaster and Contributing Writer
at Lethalwow.com. He can be reached by e-mail at webmaster@lethalwow.com,
or through Myspace.com (http://www.myspace.com/arroncarlton).
When using any of this information, give proper writing or Web
site credit to Lethalwow.com or Arron Carlton.
