Candy Lee, hailing from Candyland, is the current Impact Pro Wrestling New Zealand’s Women’s Champion. Holding the title for a year, she has turn away some of New Zealand’s best and shows no signs of letting up. This Saturday, she is a featured performer in Maniacs United’s all women’s wrestling event, the first of its kind in New Zealand. Most of the card will be a tournament to crown the Maniacs United Women’s Champion, which will see the first ever women’s ladder match in the country for the finals. Lee was able to do an interview with Last Word on Pro Wrestling recently.
Who trained you, how did you get started, when did you debut?
Candy Lee: So I trained at my home promotion IPW (Impact Pro Wrestling) NZ’s training school. Some of my trainers include: Alfred Valentine, Kingi, Charlie Roberts, Liam Fury and Britenay to name a few. I started training in 2015 I think, I can’t remember and I debuted officially at Nightmare before Christmas 2016.
How did you come up with your ring name?
I love word play and puns so I thought Candy would be an easy, fun, cute name but I kinda joked about it when I suggested it but yeah I told one of the management people it and they came back with Lee as a last name and I went with it. Also my favourite wrestler is Candice Michelle so it’s like homage as well in a way.
You’ve been the Women’s Champion in IPW NZ for close to a year now, what has your time as champion been like?
It’s been awesome, I have defended the championship against some good competitors and yeah it’s cool, I feel like it’s made me grow as a performer and I’ve had great matches defending it.
What is the women’s wrestling scene in New Zealand like? Where would you like to see it in five years?
New Zealand’s scene in general is small but women’s wrestling is smaller than that. In five years I hope the women’s wrestling scene continues to grow and it thrives.
How does it feel to participate in New Zealand’s first ever all women’s event? How soon do you think we’ll see more events like this?
I’m so excited, it’s an awesome event because the way wrestling is progressing around the world and it’s something cool to finally happen in New Zealand. We get to showcase that we are just as good as the guys. Hopefully it won’t be the last for something like it and we see more all women’s shows in the future.
What’s been your favorite match you’ve ever been in?
My match against Britenay at Nightmare before Christmas 2017 for the IPW NZ women’s championship would be my favourite, it’s when I won the championship too which is cool.
Who is someone you’d like to work with that you haven’t had a chance to work with yet?
There’s so many I’d love to work with but I guess Kelly Kelly would be an awesome choice. I’d love to work a lot of the girls in the indies too.
Could we see you working internationally someday?
Yes hopefully, going internationally is definitely something I’d love to do.
As a trans woman who’s a champion, do you feel you like you are making a positive impact for LGBTQ+ people in the wrestling community?
I hope that I am, representation is something I find important so I try to represent them best I can and I hope that I am a positive impact.
What would you like to say to aspiring wrestlers in the LBGTQ+ community?
To not give up and work hard. Focus on your goals and work towards them. Ignore the ignorance and politics. Be proud of who you are and be your authentic self. It’s always good to be true to yourself and don’t let anyone stop you or put you down because you’re different. Wrestling is for everyone.
Tell us about your podcast, Beauty and the Brainbuster!
It was something, me and two of my best friends; Amber & Ashlee decided to do where we spoke about wrestling and like other stuff sometimes. We haven’t actually recorded one in a while so I don’t know what’s happening with it.
Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?
Just be kind & take care of yourself. Follow your dreams, and yeah!
