Interview : Leah Von Dutch

Photo Credit : Darren Potts (this was from her PCW appearance at Festive Fury 2013)

Leah Von Dutch is a professional wrestler from Ontario, Canada. Originally a ring announcer and a valet for former TNA talent Cody Deaner, Von Dutch was handpicked to win an essay contest by WWE Hall of Famer Edge winning free wrestling training from Squared CIrcle Training in Toronto. In 2012, Von Dutch made her Chikara debut vs. Sara Del Rey (current WWE developmental trainer) and has had a WWE tryout, wrestled for such promotions as Shine, Shimmer, ROH and WSU as well as having 2 successful tours of the UK. This is the first interview i have conducted with a women wrestler and i am happy Leah is my first women interviewee!

1. For those who don’t know you, how would you describe yourself?

I would describe myself as a passionate pro wrestler and very friendly. I try to treat everyone with respect and definitely have a positive outlook on life!

2. When did you first think I want to be a wrestler?

I always wanted to be a wrestler since I was 12 years old. I was about 19 years old when I thought this could actually be a reality and when I was 24 I decided to pursue my dream.

3. You were trained by Shawn Spears also known as Tye Dillinger in WWE, how was that experience of being trained by Shawn and how do you feel about the fact he is in WWE now?

Spears was a great trainer. He was very patient with me and always willing to give me feedback about my matches. He definitely deserves to be in WWE because every show he did he would put in 100% effort. I learned a lot from him.

4. You have recently wrestled for my home promotion once again EAW, How was your match and what did you think of your opponent Kay Lee Ray and will you be going back to EAW in 2014?

I was very nervous about my match with Kay Lee Ray because I have never done a street fight before. I think the match went great and a lot of fans got to see a side of me that I don’t show too often. I definitely think that I will be back at EAW in 2014! The promotion is fantastic and the crowd is amazing!!

5. You wrestled for Tidal Wrestling, how did the crowd react to the match and what did you think of Tidal considering it was a new company?

It is always difficult to have a babyface three way match but somehow we made it work and the match turn out really really well!! Each girl in the ring showed what she could do and the crowd really got into the match. I think Tidal was fantastic as well as British Bombshells (that’s the promotion that got the women’s match on the show!!) and people should keep an eye on both of these companies.

6. Recently you wrestled for PCW one of the best promotions in the UK, Your opponent was Addy Starr what did you think of your match with Addy for PCW and how did people react to the match?

I personally was not very happy with the way it went but I also am my biggest critic. The crowd had a mixed reaction to our match. But this is just the way wrestling works…sometimes you have great matches and things click and sometimes you don’t. We are human…and we make mistakes…sometimes fans can be very harsh in their criticisms but in reality everyone makes mistakes and that’s just part of this industry! Don’t get me wrong though…I love Addy and I can’t wait to have a rematch and show everyone what we can do!! 7. Who is your favourite wrestler (can be a women or man) in the UK?

Hmm…that is a hard one….I love watching Johnny Saint, Catweazle, William Regal and Robby Brookside!

8. What company have you still not wrestled in that you want to wrestle in?

WWE and TNA!

9. What is your dream match in wrestling and if you did have this match what would this mean to you?

If she still wrestled I would LOVE to have a match with Trish Stratus or Lita. That would be so amazing because those two are the WHOLE reason why I even started watching wrestling and who are my huge inspirations!!

10. You recently wrestled for ROH, how was it to wrestle for one of the top companies in the world and do you think you will be back anytime soon?

It was great to wrestle for ROH and see how a big company works behind the scenes. I would love to go back and hopefully it is sooner rather than later.

11. You have wrestled for WSU in 2013, WSU is in partnership with CZW do you think we will be seeing you in CZW anytime soon? Never say never #teamLVD haha

12. Who would you say is your favourite opponent to wrestle?

Off the top of my head I would say wrestling Nikki Roxx was amazing because she taught me to just go with the flow in the ring. I love wrestling Courtney Rush because we always try a new move whenever we wrestle each other. I’m also excited to get a chance to wrestle Jenn Blake again! But then me and Selezyia Sparx have fantastic chemistry in the ring…..this list could go on forever…I can’t pick just one!!

13. What are your top three matches of all time and why?

1. Vs Nikki Roxx- Shine wrestling….everything was spot on and I really got to display my heel tactics and wrestling ability 2. Vs Selezyia Sparx- CCW wrestling…again everything ran smoothly and the kids at this show were just SO into the match (and I won a belt…so that doesn’t hurt either) 2.Vs Santana Garrett- Shine Wrestling….this was my first Ippv and it was fun to play off the fact that Santana and I have very similar styles.

14. What do you think of the current state of wrestling as a whole?

I really wish more people were not “in closet” wrestling fans….be loud and be proud of the fact that you are a fan!! The state of wrestling (especially in Ontario) is pretty good but I think we need more places to work where wrestlers can actually make a living off of just wrestling and not have to have another side job. I always wished I was around when there were different wrestling territories.

15. Any dates you want to plug and where can the readers find you?

Jan 11,2014 – Conflict Wrestling vs Jenn Blake

Jan 12, 2014 – Alpha 1 Wrestling- Chaos Cup – Vs Psycho Mike

Feb. 09, 2014 – XBW-Championship match-Cage Match- Vs Jillian Hall

Add me on facebook/leahvondutch or twitter @LeahVonDutch and buy my shirts at prowrestlingtess.com and you can download my theme songs from bandcamp.com/leahvondutch (I also have an amazon wishlist )

Please follow Leah at those links above and if you are in the area of any of those shows or if you see a poster with Leah on in 2014 Please get yourself there you will not regret it!

Follow me on Twitter : @samgthe1st to find out when my new interviews are out and announcements of new interviewees!

I think this is my last interview of 2013 but it just depends on if i’m busy or not over the next two weeks but anyway have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and please get your nominations in for the #BWR Awards 2013 i have had no nominations yet 😦 please check out my last post for categories and where to send your nominations and please check out my affiliates using the dropdown menus as a lot of them are active in the first part of the year in 2014!