With the emergence of NXT UK on the WWE Network, members of the WWE Universe have been exposed to a whole new scene of professional wrestling, as members of the best UK indies now showcase their wares to the world. One of the new faces is NXT UK’s “White Witch” Isla Dawn, who had her first proper introduction to the WWE Universe this past June for the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Special. But the Scottish wrestler has bee working her way through the ranks of the international indies for years now, honing her craft with some of the best.
Isla Dawn was an actress in her hometown of Glasgow, Scotland when she was approached in 2013 by NXT Superstar Killian Dain, who was at the time wrestling as Big Damo for Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW). He was impressed with her kickboxer and dancing background and thought he could parlay the two with her acting to be a success in pro wrestling. “We bonded straight away and as soon as I fell into wrestling, I realized it was the perfect job for me,” she told the Scottish Sun earlier this year. “It had everything — showmanship, physicality, competition. It combined everything I’d done previously. It’s been a funny ride, but an amazing one.” She debuted in December of 2013 (as Courtney) for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance, in a match against Nikki Storm (now NXT’s Nikki Cross).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA_iAwCKJyI
In 2014, she made a quick impact on the Scottish indie scene, working with SWA and ICW, and entered the English circuit, with IPW:UK and Tidal Championship Wrestling (TCW). In 2015, she headed to mainland Europe, working with Spain’s Revolution Championship Wrestling (RCW), Pro Wrestling Holland (PWF), and Association Biterroise de Catch (ABC) in France.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrgX_9ctxyA&index=3&list=PLpUOOGY_FEpvb5I0w9BnQMek_H58T8Tvg
She continued her expansion of global territories in 2016, with her first tour of Stardom in Japan, and debuts with Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in Germany and England’s Pro Wrestling EVE. That November, she made her US debut with American Combat Wrestling (ACW) in Florida, where she faced Aspyn Rose.
She would spend a great deal of 2017 remaining in the US indies, working with Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (AWE), ACW, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU). When she did return home to Britain, she worked for PROGRESS and FutureShock. She would also make her official WWE debut, appearing as an enhancement wrestler, Stacey Coates, on an episode of Monday Night Raw as one of Asuka‘s early victims.
She has continued to work with PROGRESS throughout this past year, as well as ICW, EVE and Fight Club: PRO, and continued her involvement in the US scene with Shine and NOVA Pro. She had her WWE debut as Isla Dawn this past June at the Download Festival NXT showcase, in a tag match with Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross & Tegan Nox, and then headed to the UK Championship Tournament.
She was featured as a competitor in this year’s Mae Young Classic but bowed out in the first round in a loss to Canadian indie star Nicole Matthews. But when NXT UK was announced, Isla Dawn became a huge component of the new brand’s women’s division. Although she lost out to Toni Storm in the first round of the NXT UK Women’s Championship Tournament, she’s had back to back wins against Nina Samuels (the current Pro Wrestling EVE Champion) and Killer Kelly. She’s next in line to challenge NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley for the title on an upcoming episode. The former Glasgow actress is on a roll in NXT UK and 2019 just might be the Season of the Witch.
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