Indie Watch: Trish Adora (VIDEOS)

Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at amazing talents working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers. Some are indie prospects hitting their peaks. Others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at Trish Adora, a rising star on the US independent scene.

Women’s wrestling has never been more appreciated on a global scale – from indies to majors – as it is right now. Previously relegated to gimmick matches or treated as novelties, the rise of women’s wrestling in Japan and the indies has permeated the majors to finally truly showcase women as credible performers without the use of gimmicks. Washington DC’s Trish Adora is a newer face on the scene compared to many, but that hasn’t stopped the former US military servicewoman from making a name for herself, and quick.

Growing up in a house with five brothers, she was drawn to professional wrestling at a young age. While she enjoyed seeing the likes of Chyna in the WWF, it wasn’t until she saw Jacqueline that she truly felt it was something she could do. “Representation absolutely matters,” she told Post Wrestling‘s Andrew Thompson in an interview last November. “As a kid, I watched wrestling with my father and brothers and I thought it was so cool. They were such larger than life characters; I thought they were superheroes! And it wasn’t until I saw Jacqueline for the first time that I thought, ‘Oh, I can do that too?!’ And then I had it stuck in my head from then on that I was going to be a wrestler.”

In 2015, she relocated to Florida, where she found herself finally entering the wrestling business, after a co-worker told her of the Team 3-D Academy nearby, run by WWE Hall of Famers The Dudley Boyz – Bubba Ray and Devon. “Before I joined in May 2015, I didn’t put much stock into which school I was going to,” she told Post Wrestling in the same interview. “I mean, I was actually going to go to another school. Then, after I moved to Florida, I got a job, and on the first day of my new job, one of my co-workers told me she was a wrestler and trained with the Dudleyz. I couldn’t believe the universe put that in place for me. I went to visit the school a few times and the rest is history.”

By the following year, she was becoming a new face in the Florida independent scene, working with Winter Park’s Pro Wrestling 2.0 and others like American Combat Wrestling (ACW) and IGNITE, wrestling the likes of Santana Garrett, Lacey Lane (now Kayden Carter in NXT), and Brandi Lauren.

By 2018, she had added FEST Wrestling and Generation Championship Wrestling to her local itinerary. That August, she made her WWE debut in a match against Kairi Sane on NXT television, albeit in an enhancement role. She continued to work the Florida indies, working on her work and building her resume.

Last year, Trish Adora finally exploded beyond the Florida border, becoming a regular on the West Coast with Hoodslam. But she didn’t just expand her reach in the US – where she also competed for MCW Pro (formerly Maryland Championship Wrestling), Ring of Honor (two showcase matches at last year’s Future of Honor shows), faced Priscilla Kelly at EVOLVE Wrestling‘s EVOLVE 119, and got her debuts with Shine Wrestling and Queens of Combat – but internationally. She wrestled for Wrestle-1 in Japan at Korakuen Hall and made her UK debut with Pro Wrestling EVE and Tidal Championship Wrestling in England.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydiAQfj2yss

Now back home in DC, Trish Adora is training at the ROH Dojo in Maryland and continues to push herself further into the US indie scene as well, including working with her local indie promotion, Prime Time Pro Wrestling. PTPW started in 2019 but has already created buzz in DC, with Adora a hometown favorite. She was also crowned the first Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Champion by another DC promotion, F1ght Club Pro Wrestling.

Trish Adora is a name to keep track of – with her dedication and commitment to improving herself, pushing herself to international markets so early in her career, she’s only going to get bigger and bigger as the year progresses.

Check out our full list of previous Indie Watches, showcasing emerging talent from around the world!