One of the top indie darlings of the past decade has been “The Crown Jewel” Kimber Lee, a top star in women’s indie wrestling who transcended gender boundaries with her historic win of the CHIKARA Grand Championship in 2015. On Tuesday night, Kimber Lee made her in-ring debut with IMPACT Wrestling, in a match against indie rival Jessicka Havok.
.@Kimber_Lee90 is ready to make her IMPACT in-ring debut! #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/fmABSWVAUP
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 13, 2020
Kimber Lee began her career in 2011 after training at the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) Academy under Drew Gulak. Princess Palmstrike grew up in Seattle as a dancer before transitioning to wanting to become a wrestler after being inspired by the 9th Wonder of the World, Chyna. Some of her early matches were with names like Mia Yim, Veda Scott, and fellow new Knockout, Neveah. The first major promotion she would work with would be CZW where she debuted at a Wired television taping in October 2011 against Austin Uzzie. Her first pay-per-view appearance for the company would be Cage of Death XIII in December. She would team with The Runaways, Joe Gacy and Ryan Slater, against BLK OUT comprised of Alex Colon, Chrissy Rivera, and Ruckus.
In 2012, Lee would add Women Superstars Uncensored (at the time), Dynamite Championship Wrestling, and Absolute Intense Wrestling to her resume. It would see the beginnings of her tag team with Annie Social in WSU. She was also part of the stable Campaign for a Better Combat Zone with her trainer, Drew Gulak. Also in late 2012, she would hold her first championship; defeating Jessie Kaye (WWE referee, Jessika Carr) for the DCW Women’s Championship. Kimber Lee’s star would continue to rise in 2013, adding SHIMMER, Shine Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, and Wrestling Is Fun! to her regular rotation of appearances. In WIF!, she would be known as Princess KimberLee. Lee would also form a tag team with Cherry Bomb (Allie) known as The Kimber Bombs.
Known as the Chicks Using Nasty Tactics, she and Annie Social would win the WSU Tag Team Championships in February 2014. They would hold them until July of that year. Kimber Lee and Gulak would also compete in the annual WSU Queen and King of the Ring tournament, making it to the semi-finals. Also in 2014, Lee would get the opportunity to work in Germany and the United Kingdom as part of CZW co-promoted shows. The Princess KimberLee character would debut at CHIKARA’s 2014 King of Trios. She would be part of a trio with Jolly Roger and Lance Steel. Her partnership with Steel would come back to haunt her many seasons later in CHIKARA.
In 2015, the Kimber Bombs would win both the Shine and SHIMMER Tag Team Championships for the first time. The Shine title reign would be from volume 24 in March until volume 28 in July, a total of 210 days. Their SHIMMER title reign would last from volume 73 in April 2015 until volume 84 in June of 2016; an impressive 442 days. Also in 2015, the Chicks Using Nasty Tactics would regain the WSU Tag Team Championships in February 2015 and hold them for 357 days until February 2016. Princess KimberLee would form a new faction in CHIKARA called Crown and Court, comprised of Jervis Cottonbelly, Hijo del Ice Cream, and Ice Cream Jr. Late 2015 was also filled with golden moments for Kimber Lee as a singles star.
In November, she would dethrone Mickie James for the MCW Pro Women’s Championship. At CHIKARA’s season 15 finale, Top Banana, the Princess would ascend the ultimate throne: CHIKARA Grand Champion. She bested generation one original Hallowicked and would become the first female holder of the title, and the only one to date. Intergender wrestling has been part of Kimber Lee’s career since the very beginning. Previous encounters with male wrestlers such as Chris Dickinson went viral and here she is now the champion of a company, not just a women’s promotion.
Lee held the CHIKARA Grand Championship until May 2016 when she lost it back to the Broadsword of Nazmaldun, Hallowicked. She continued to be a mainstay on the independent scene for major promotions, including AAW Pro, Beyond, Shine, and SHIMMER. In 2016 she undertook another tour of the United Kingdom and Europe, working for Fight Club: PRO, PROGRESS Wrestling, Insane Championship Wrestling, and Over the Top Wrestling. As 2016 came to a close, on December 30 she wrestled her good friend Heidi Lovelace for AAW Pro and bid adieu to the independent scene.
Kimber Lee began 2017 under her real name, Kimberly Frankle, and started working for NXT. She competed mostly on the house show loops, dark matches, and a few scattered NXT television appearances. By late June of that year, she was given the new name of Abbey Laith. Laith competed in the first-ever Mae Young Classic, making it to the quarter-finals having beaten Jazzy Gabert and Rachael Evers before losing to Mercedes Martinez. From there, she returned the NXT house show circuit until March of 2018 when she departed the company.
Her return to the indie circuit was celebrated over WrestleMania week 2018 in appearances for Beyond Wrestling and Women’s Wrestling Revolution, The Wrestling Revolver, and SHIMMER. Princess KimberLee returned to CHIKARA at Season 18’s Infinite Gauntlet in May. Also in May, she won the AAW Pro Women’s Championship from Jessicka Havok. She held this title until late December, losing it to Kylie Rae. While getting reacquainted with her old haunts and stomping grounds, she also began to add new promotions to her resume. These included DEFY Wrestling, Queens of Combat, F1RST Wrestling, RISE Wrestling, and STARDOM. For the later, she competed in the 2018 5Star Grand Prix in the B block. During season 18 of CHIKARA, she was blackmailed by The Whisper, who promised to reveal a dark secret from her past if she did not do as he wished.
At La Loteria Letal in October 2018, the two were put together as a tag team. They won, which granted them a shot at the Los Campeonatos de Parejas. In December, they challenged The Closers and captured the titles together. At the beginning of season 19, Once Upon a Beginning, Princess KimberLee was able to get some revenge on The Whisper. They then lost the Los Campeonatos de Parejas later that season, in April at Fright Knight, to Tony Deppen and Travis Huckabee. The Princess’ closely guarded secret would be the shoddy treatment she had heaped upon Lance Steel. Steel was now with Ophidian’s The Crucible. Later that season, Princess KimberLee would join The Crucible. Aside from her CHIKARA exploits in 2019, she was embroiled in a short feud in Beyond Wrestling with Kris Statlander. They feuded from May to July 2019, culminating in a cage match at Americanrana ’19.
As part of a trio with Steel and Ophidian, they would win the 2019 King of Trios tournament. This would make her the only female to have held all of the titles in CHIKARA as well as the coveted KOT medal. In November 2019, Kimber Lee won the SHIMMER Championship in a four-way battle with Nicole Savoy, Priscilla Kelly and Shotzi Blackheart. In late February 2020, she debuted for Bar Wrestling at their event Bar Wrestling 54: Mach 1. Now that she is with IMPACT Wrestling, Lee will get the opportunity to tangle with many women she has shared rings with over the years. IMPACT also is not afraid of intergender wrestling, so many dream matches may be awaiting the Crown Jewel, Princess Palmstrike, Kimber Lee. Below are some free full-length matches to enjoy!
https://twitter.com/Kimber_Lee90/status/1181012466505060353?s=20
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