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Last week I brought you some exciting coverage of beautiful naked ladies wrestling in Carmen Electra’s Naked Women Wrestling League, sponsored by GrandNevada.com. [Check it out in the magazine "Rough, Tough, and in the Buff"!] That event at the Docks in Toronto was all the things I expected --"beauty, nudity, glamour, strength and wacky wildness all rolled into one eye-popping ring."
So needless to say, it was very exciting a couple of days later when I got the chance to speak to a few of the girls and see what this wrestling stuff was all about. This time, though, they had clothes on -- sorry guys.
Josianne, Sephera, Mandy, Annie |
So what kind of people would go into naked wrestling? You figure maybe strippers or wrestlers. But judging from the few girls I spoke with, you just never know who is going to sign up. Each girl has her own reason.
Mandy Weaver was as fun and bubbly as her character in the ring, and nice as pie as any southern belle would be. Weaver attracted the public eye when she played MaryAnn in the Real Gilligan’s Island show. She said that being a naked wrestler was about the last thing she'd thought of doing -- until she was approached to participate. She had to think long and hard about it. After all, it would be an awesome opportunity, but she wasn’t sure if she could muster up the courage to get in front of people naked. But after talking to Mandy for a bit, it became pretty apparent that this girl is an adventurous sort. She was always a tomboy, enjoyed sports, did some rock climbing and had always been a wrestling fan.
Mandy is a big believer in taking full advantage of life’s opportunities. “Judgments come through other people’s insecurities," she says. "Find your fears and learn to be OK with them as you confront them.” So guess what? Mandy decided to confront her fears and give the NWWL a shot.
Josianne |
Cleopatra has been with NWWL since the beginning, three years ago. She was originally a swimsuit model and had held other jobs such as working with children. You'll be able to see Cleopatra in action on the first NWWL DVD.
Then I got to Annie Social. This little hell cat seemed to be the most “wrestler” like of all the girls. But she's not totally Out of the closet. She surprised me by telling me that she dreads the day her father is flicking the channels and sees her wrestling naked on TV. Yes, I imagine that will be some shock for Dad.
What was truly amazing to me was that these girls trained in only three weeks in a Toronto gym under the guidance of Ron Hutchinson and Todd Battle. They said they had an incredible boot camp experience. Three weeks isn’t much time to turn a regular girl into a toned trimmed agile athlete.
In the beginning they did cardio for one hour, weight lifting then worked in the studio ring. They spent an hour kickboxing, two hours learning new moves and then two hours working with a partner. This changed as their needs change, but they said it was invigorating and exhausting. They endured many bumps and bruises and Josianne remarked on how much her body had changed in only three weeks. After the show, Josianne was surprised by how many girls came to see her. “They wanted to take pictures," she reports. "It’s more special when a girl asks for an autograph.”
The women all agreed that their mandate in naked wrestling is to show how sexy and powerful a woman can be. The traditional feminine ideals are put aside as a new brand of woman emerges. Women can be sexy and strong in 2006, there is no need to be weak and fragile.
Miss Bunny |
When I saw the women in action the week before, I'd gotten a pretty good earful of the wrestling fans' boisterous antics and wild comments. I asked the girls if they can even hear some of the crazy things the men yell at them. Mandy said that she listens for her name, for if she hears it, she can feed off it, drawing positive energy from the chanting.
Annie said the one she hears the most is “don’t fight, just make out.” Annie also reports being a bit bummed out that no one booed her. “I want them to hate me,” she lamented. I'm afraid I had to point out that it’s not likely men are going to boo a naked woman!
Miss Bunny said her biggest challenge was trying to look serious while she was naked. She also said that once she actually took off her clothes, she got used to being naked. I’d say she made a damn fine referee and was able to dodge the chair flinging and other craziness that happened that night, naked or not.
Well, in my eyes, all the girls looked incredibly focused on their wrestling moves. When the show is aired on pay TV and web, the audience will be delighted and amazed at how athletic these well-toned women are, how strong they are, how sexy they can be in doing what is mostly considered a man’s sport, but most of all, what a great sense of theatre and fun they have.
I’ll be following the NWWL from now on as they add more girls and tape more shows. For more information about Carmen Electra’s Naked Women Wrestling League: http://www.nwwl.com