by Daniel Johnson
Photo Courtesy of Just Julie. Just Wrestling
Interviewer’s Note: Kellie Skater is a performer who has wrestled across the globe and in Pacific Pro Wrestling (PPW) currently holds the PPW Women’s Championship. Skater is a native of Australia, having also trained and started her wrestling career there. In 2009 she debuted for Shimmer and just this year won the Shimmer Tag Team Championship with partner Tomoka Nakagawa as Global Green Gangsters. In PPW she won the PPW Women’s Championship in only her second match in the company by defeating Madison Eagles at PPW IGNITION. This match and loads more women’s action from PPW can be found on The Women of Pacific Pro Wrestling Volume 1. Skater can be followed on Twitter @ratetank. This interview was completed on December 14, 2013. In this interview Skater and I talk about the PPW Women’s division. This is part three of the four part PPW Interview Series.
Daniel Johnson: To start off in a few words how would you describe yourself as a performer?
Kellie Skater: I am a wrestler with a big personality, which sometimes gets me into trouble. I am a fairly all round wrestler, flying or using technical wrestling when I need to. However I often am seen brawling or using power moves.
Daniel Johnson: How did you first get involved in wrestling in Australia and were there any female wrestlers that inspired you early on?
Kellie Skater: I had been interested in wrestling since I was a kid. But I didn’t know anything about the local training scene. I met another wrestler when I was a teenager and was sent to George “The Hitman” Julio’s training school. I’m inspired by Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano. On the local scene Madison Eagles is the one I was most inspired by.
Daniel Johnson: Getting into your work for PPW how did you first become involved in the promotion?
Kellie Skater: Chris Dalgleish contacted me about coming to work for PPW earlier this year. So I came up to Queensland and wrestled Storm in my PPW debut match.
Daniel Johnson: What were your first impressions of the promotion?
Kellie Skater: That it was a positive place to work, especially for women wrestlers. It’s run by nice blokes who have good heads on their shoulders. There’s a lot of young talent there with potential.
Daniel Johnson: For readers who are new to PPW or unfamiliar with the company how would you describe the PPW Women’s division in a broad sense?
Kellie Skater: A mix of some of Australia’s top women and promising up and comers. You have Toni Storm whom is one of Australia’s young talents whom has been mixing it up with girls like Madison, Shazza McKenzie and myself. It is interesting to see how the younger talent can learn and improve by wrestling experienced girls, and the future is bright for the division.
Daniel Johnson: As you mentioned your first match for PPW was against Storm, who you have also since had the chance to defend the PPW Women’s Championship against. What are your thoughts on this first match and of working with Storm in general?
Kellie Skater: She is a good young talent. She shows a lot of potential. If she works hard, trains and wrestles quality opponents she will end up going from good prospect to one of the top girls. I enjoyed wrestling her and have set her the challenge to improve herself and become a worthy number one contender (instead of being handed it early by PPW because I was leaving the country). If she does this, she has another shot at me once I am back in the country.
Daniel Johnson: In your second match with the company you won the PPW Women’s Championship in a match with Madison Eagles. What was it like to win this title in only your second match and what are your thoughts on the match itself?
Kellie Skater: I was stoked to win the title so early, and show why I am such a dangerous competitor. I always enjoy wrestling Madison Eagles. I really enjoyed the fight. We didn’t hold back and I couldn’t ask for a better way to become the new PPW Women’s Champ.
Daniel Johnson: Since winning the PPW Women’s Championship you have not yet had the chance to face Madison Eagles in a rematch. Do you think a rematch will happen sometime in the future and if so when do you think it will happen?
Kellie Skater: I hope it will. I am happy for round two any time. It’s not up to me to decide though, that’s up to PPW!
Daniel Johnson: Cool, in a similar vein who else would you like to defend you title against in PPW?
Kellie Skater: Of Australian talent? Girls like Jessie McKay, Shazza, Nikita Naridian, Siren Monroe, Harley Wonderland, Evie (technically New Zealand) to name a few. I wouldn’t say no to Bombshell Bo either if she wanted to return to wrestling.
Daniel Johnson: How does the PPW Women’s Championship compare to some of the other titles you have held? Also, do you feel an extra sense of responsibility in being a champion for such a young promotion?
Kellie Skater: There’s always a sense of pressure as a champion of a promotion. To make sure that as a figurehead of a division you are helping it to succeed. All the Australian titles I have held have been in the early days of the championship. I was first PWWA Champion [Professional Women’s Wrestling Australia], and second Australian Indygurlz Champion. In every case it is an honor to become champ, and I do my best to shoulder the responsibility and fight well.
Daniel Johnson: What would you most like to accomplish in your reign as PPW Women’s Champion?
Kellie Skater: Have some great matches. Have fans leave happy, and thinking that the women’s match was one of their favorite matches of the night there.
Daniel Johnson: Speaking more broadly of PPW how do you expect the company to grow in the near future if at all? Also, how do you think you can help in this growth as PPW Women’s Champion?
Kellie Skater: As their guys get more experience and they build a fan base there is definite potential for growth. The key is getting consistent crowds, who enjoy the product and want to come back. And advertising so that not only they, but casual viewers want to attend. One of the ways I can help as champ is to have good matches. If the quality of your show is high, people are more likely to return. It also doesn’t hurt for the wrestlers to promote things on their social media, etc.
Daniel Johnson: This goes a little beyond PPW, but I was curious Australia has for years now seemed like a hot bed for producing great female wrestlers. In addition to yourself there are wrestlers from Australia like Jessie McKay, Shazza McKenzie and Madison Eagles just to name a few. Why do you think Australia in particular has produced so many notable female wrestlers and some other strong areas for wrestling don’t seem to produce any?
Kellie Skater: There is definitely some great talent in Australia. Whom are doing quite well for themselves. I guess we are lucky in that Australia as a country has a good sporting background. So there’s some good natural athleticism, and sports backgrounds from most of the girls, which makes the transition into wrestling easier. There is notable girls from all the strongholds really though. Canada, USA, Mexico, Japan and Europe all have some amazing talents there.
Daniel Johnson: I also wanted to ask some questions about your career outside of PPW. I first became aware of you through your work for Shimmer. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you have been appearing for that promotion since 2009. How do you think you have grown as a performer since that time and how has Shimmer contributed to your growth?
Kellie Skater: Yup! I did debut for Shimmer at the early tapings in 2009. I think I am a completely different performer since then. I have grown a lot with experience. A lot of that is to do with being able to travel, train and wrestle people from all around the world. Shimmer gave me that chance to wrestle international girls, and from there it branched out to getting opportunities in Canada and Japan. It has been one of the most positive things for my career. I am proud to be a member of the Shimmer roster and to represent them as one half of the tag champions (with my 3G partner, Tomoka Nakagawa).
Daniel Johnson: As you mentioned recently you have been teaming a lot with Tomoka Nakagawa as Global Green Gangsters. How did this team first come about?
Kellie Skater: We were party partners haha. We are good friends, and both represent S Ovation and Joshi4Hope. We started to team together after awhile, because of our friendship. It’s worked out well for us! We have a lot of fun together, and gel as a team.
Daniel Johnson: As you mentioned in addition to your aforementioned PPW Women’s Championship, in Shimmer, you currently hold the Shimmer Tag Team Championship with Nakagawa. What was the experience like of winning that championship?
Kellie Skater: It is currently the highlight of my career. It was an amazing moment I was glad to share with my mate. The fan reaction was awesome. I have been in Shimmer for a long time now, and worked hard to elevate myself from comedy opener to someone who can viably be a main event player. To win a title in a promotion I love dearly was an incredible feeling.
Daniel Johnson: Are there any teams you have yet to wrestle that you would like to in the near future? If so then who?
Kellie Skater: Definitely. For people that have been in a Shimmer ring before: Ray/Leon, Ayako Hamada/Yuu Yamagata and 3S spring to mind. Maybe a Pink Ladies return. I would have loved to face The International Home Wrecking Crew, but they are all retired or retiring haha! For girls whom haven’t been in Shimmer yet, Natsuki Taiyo/Yoshiko or Amber O’Neal/Santana Garrett.
Daniel Johnson: I was also curious given the success of this team have you thought at all about becoming more of a straight up tag wrestler rather than a singles performer?
Kellie Skater: I am happy competing in both divisions. In Shimmer lately I am basically a tag performer. However in Australia and Canada I am a singles performer. In Japan it varies. Unfortunately I can’t have Tomoka with me every match, so being a straight up tag wrestler isn’t viable.
Daniel Johnson: On a different topic this is a question I always like to ask. People love to hear about ribs and road stories in wrestling. Do you have any that you would be able to share?
Kellie Skater: The majority I shouldn’t share haha. To protect the innocent. The Shimmer after parties tend to get pretty wild though. Some fond memories include; hustling one of the girls out of the bar because someone didn’t realize her and Dave Prazak were just joking when talking about beating each other up, waking people up while wearing lucha masks and doing their own poses, introducing Hamada to Jagerbombs (which she called “KellieBombs”), someone throwing up in the hotel elevator, having “f*ck your face” written on me in Japanese (in permanent marker) while crossing the border later that day, and too many things I cannot name. Generally what happens on the road stays on it haha. Getting thrown out of a bus window backwards (while parked) on tour and made to run was fairly funny though for me.
Daniel Johnson: Cool, before we finish to make interviews a little more fun for readers I also like to throw in a few non-wrestling related questions. First, outside of wrestling, what television shows do you enjoy watching these days?
Kellie Skater: I watch Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, Dexter, Family Guy.
Daniel Johnson: What was your favorite movie that came out this year?
Kellie Skater: Despicable Me 2 or The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Daniel Johnson: What is your favorite food that you tried for the first time this year?
Kellie Skater: There was a really nice fish we tried in Matsuyama. I don’t know the name of it.
Daniel Johnson: No problem, what is your favorite song to come out this year?
Kellie Skater: “Something I Need,” OneRepublic (if that came out this year).
Daniel Johnson: What is the last book you read and would you recommend it?
Kellie Skater: “Firestarter” by Stephen King. Yes it was really good, all his work that I have read is.
Daniel Johnson: To end I had just a few more brief wrestling question. First, what is the weirdest part of being a wrestler?
Kellie Skater: Some of the strange requests fans send. Some can be really out there.
Daniel Johnson: Who is your dream opponent?
Kellie Skater: Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano for retired people. For the current day Ayako Hamada or Nanae Takahashi.
Daniel Johnson: Aside from yourself, who is one wrestler under 25, anywhere in the world that you think readers should know about?
Kellie Skater: Britani Knight/Paige from WWE NXT. She is an absolute world beater. Amazing talent from a great wrestling family. Takumi Iroha and Yuhi are great young talents from Japan who are stars of the future. Mia Yim is quite promising too, her star rises every year.
Daniel Johnson: My last question is just, is there anything you would like to add?
Kellie Skater: Just to support the local scene! There’s some good stuff locally! And if you would like to keep up with what I am up to, my twitter is @ratetank. Cheers.
Check out Kellie Skater in action! An excerpt from a match she had at PPW with Madison Eagles can be found here. Below is a full match Skater wrestled with Sway for New Horizons Pro Wrestling (NHPW):
Categories: Wrestling Interviews
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