I know her as Nikkii Duke, but the WOW Superheroes’ world introduced our newest superhero to the world as Ariel Skye. Ariel is a former all-star gymnast who showcased her athletic ability in WOW when she made her debut against BK Rhythm. A debut that she won. I asked Ariel what the deciding factor in joining WOW Women of Wrestling, and here is what she had to say.
So, what initially drove me to join the WOW Superheroes, Women of Wrestling, is the roster. I mean, what other company or promotion can you say it’s just based around strong women? Like everyone is just so unique. And it’s just so phenomenal. Just getting to be able to work with all of these women or eventually hoping to work with all of these women. Each superhero brings a different kind of background, whether it is an athletic background, martial arts, or just being a freaking superhero are really cool. You know, the whole roster is women. And I really love that WOW Women of Wrestling gives each superhero that platform to be able to showcase who they are, and they don’t make us fit inside of a box of what they want us to be, you know. It’s whoever you are, and I believe that’s truly beautiful. And I couldn’t be more grateful and more proud to be a WOW Superhero. So it was a no-brainer. You know, that was the team that I wanted to be on, you know, and the company I wanted to represent.
Ariel also talks about her gymnastics background being an asset and how she incorporates it into WOW.
I just feel like there’s certain things in a wrestling match. I incorporate my gymnastics moves to get from, say, one corner to the next. And for some people, that won’t be but again, I did gymnastics since I was four. So the quickest way for me to get from one corner to the next would be doing some flips of some sort. So I use it as a great transition to get from point A to point B, just in a unique manner, if you will. I’ve always felt more comfortable upside down and on my hands, so I just feel like, I try to incorporate that in wrestling today, just because why not? You know, if you have it, why not use it, but also, I found at WOW Women of Wrestling, there’s a lot of girls. I wish when I was younger, that, you know, there was someone I could look up to, and kind of realize, hey, you know, you don’t have to be the social norms of “Oh, you just have to be skinny petite..” like, no, like I’m pretty strong. And I feel like I want to display that in my wrestling matches. Strong. Athletic, you know. So, I feel like I’m trying to find unique ways to bring that to the WOW Women of Wrestling ring for these young girls or anyone to kind of just look at and, you know, relate to. I’ve had some fans after shows, mostly little girls just kind of come up to me, and they’re like, “Wow, like, that’s really cool. Like, I do gymnastics, like, I didn’t know, wrestling could be intertwined with this”. And, you know, it’s, it’s funny, because I didn’t either, like, you know, but it’s just so beautiful, watching both my worlds kind of mesh together and then just having these little girls, you know, kind of thinking like if gymnastics or this doesn’t pan out, there’s always other avenues. And I think it’s so beautiful when both of my worlds come together.
Over the last few weeks, Ariel has teamed up with Randi Rah Rah with the help of Coach Campanelli. Here is what she had to say about that.
Absolutely. Um, you know, Coach is phenomenal. I actually have a notebook of Coach tips in my gym bag, In case you know that I need them. I read them this morning….. Coach Campanelli, she’s phenomenal. And I can only speak for myself here. Being an athlete growing up with gymnastics, I need someone kind of literally coaching me saying, Okay, you need to do this, this, and this. And we’ll do whatever it takes to win and because we want to be at the top. So I really think that her firmness and, you know, her drive and dedication really, really brings out a special side of myself. Also, my new tag partner, Randi Rah Rah, because I think the two of us separately have the athletic ability, the drive, the dedication, and all of this. But sometimes, as an athlete, you know, you forget to… I don’t want to say things straight. But sometimes when the competition’s at hand, you need another set of eyes telling you what you can do to improve, to be the best, to win. And I really think Coach brings that out of both myself and Randi Rah Rah here at WOW Women of Wrestling.
Ariel has impressed me and many of the fans of WOW, and I can’t wait to see what she does in WOW going forward, whether that be more tag teamwork with Randi or solo action.
Check out the full interview below.
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