ONLINE INTERVIEWS
Here is Dakota's Interview with the IKON Brian Thompson, author of the 'Rampage'
Recently I had a chance to interview independent female grappler Dakota. She provided me with a great interview via email, so here it is.
IKON: If you could work with anyone wrestler in the world, who would it be?
DAKOTA: With the choice of all the people in the business today, I would love to work with Chyna. She has taken women's wrestling to a whole new level and she has set new standards for every female in the sport. Chyna has shown that women still have a place in this business and it is not just standing at ringside and "looking pretty". I have a lot of respect for her, she has stepped into the ring against many men and she has held her own.
IKON: What areas have you enjoyed working in the most?
DAKOTA: I have done a few shows in Arkansas, a few in Mississippi, for the most part I work in Tennessee. I work for the NWA-Midsouth based in Dyersburg, TN, Midsouth Wrestling Association based in Gibson, Tn and Tennessee Championship Wrestling based in Brighten, TN. I enjoy working for these organizations. I get great responses from the fans. I am definitely not a fan favorite, I guess you can say they love to hate me. Oh well, I guess someone has to be the bad girl, might as well be me, LOL
IKON: Who have you enjoyed working with thus far in your career?
DAKOTA: Pretty much everyone so far, there are a few egos in this business that I can do without, but oh well that is just part of it. Because of my size, I get in the ring with both the men and women. There is definitely a difference in the competition levels between the two. There are not a lot of women in the business in this area, so I have mainly worked against Brianna Starr. She is a helluva worker. She has a never say die attitude. I have also worked against Auburn Thunder, now there is a mis-match. Auburn stands about 5' and I am 6'2", needless to say what the outcomes of those matches have been. Auburn is a good worker, she tries really hard and she definitely stands up to me (well as much as she can LOL) As far as the men are concerned, I have really enjoyed working against Naughty By Nature (Rude, Tully, & Pokerface), they are a few of the men that will get in the ring and go against a woman. I also did a little with Tracy Smothers and he is a trip, I had a lot of fun working with him.
IKON: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
DAKOTA: In five years I would love to be in either the WWF or WCW. I really want to work for an organization that let's the women actually wrestle. There is so much more to this sport for women than just doing a T&A show. There are a lot of talented females in the business, but they are held back because wrestling is mostly a male dominant sport. I just want to prove that a woman, this woman, can make it in the business.
IKON: How long have you been wrestling?
DAKOTA: I have been in the business for about 1 1/2 years. I have not been in the ring the entire time though, I missed several months do to knee surgery. I know that I am still very "new" at in this business, and I have a lot to learn, and I want to learn. I am consistently watching the guys and seeing what they did and then getting them to do it with me. Each time I step through those ropes, I learn something new.
IKON: Who were your favorites while you were simply a fan?
DAKOTA: Gosh....growing up, my brother and I would stay up late on saturday nights and watch the Von Erichs and the Rock & Roll Express wrestle. I just thought they were the greatest.
After I went to college, I played college basketball and just did not have time to watch wrestling any more. It wasn't until about 4 years ago that I began watching again and it did not take me long to get "hooked'" again.
Since I have been In the business, I have met Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson. It was cool that not only did I meet them but I got to work with them as well. I would love to be able to meet Kevin Von Erich, then I could say that I have met my favorite childhood wrestlers.
I would like to thank Dakota for taking the time to do the interview. Be sure to stop by her very own website at https://dakotanuffsaid.tripod.com/home.html
with any questions or comments
