Straight To The Top

Straight to the Top

Michael Di Iorio talks with Nikki Van Blair, Jason Dewhurst and Silvio Milano, the faces behind Australia’s uprising of LGBT wrestlers

Usually when people hear the word wrestling, their minds go straight to the obvious choices that have been iconic in mainstream culture. Your John Cena’s, your Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s, your “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s, hell, even throw in The Undertaker for good measure.

However, beneath the revered performative iconism of WWE’s most obvious American legends, professional wrestlers are climbing the ranks right here in Australia. Living in the shadows of WWE’s over-encompassing reaches are independent wrestlers with unique characters and stories, fighting their way to the top.

While female wrestling duo Billie and Peyton (The Iconic Duo), Australia’s latest exports, are making waves for aussie female wrestling overseas, back at home, three wrestlers have been making moves, and in just a short amount of time, have been climbing the ranks with their character,charm, personality and most of all, badassery.

I spoke with wrestling duo “The Plastics”, consisting of Nikki Van Blair, the vain and spoilt provocateur also known as “Daddy’s Little Angel” and Jason Dewhurst The Samoan Wrestling Diva, who performs in fierce drag inspired by the likes of powerful women such as Cardi B and the City Girls. I also spoke with Silvio Milano, a fashion icon with a penchant for flying face kicks who makes the word grandiose seem small.

All three of these aussie wrestlers share very similar traits. They’re unabashedly themselves, they’re flamboyant, they’re undeniably the best dressed in the room, and on top of all that, they are all openly gay. Currently in WWE and other leading wrestling groups there are no openly gay singles champion wrestlers, a fact that comes down to the people who decide makes it forward in a career as ‘masculine’ as wrestling.

However this fact, while a hindrance at times to these three wrestlers, has not stopped them in their tracks at all. In fact, it has pushed them to keep on going even harder, as they all vie for the spot as Australia’s first openly gay export to the big leagues overseas.

It’s hard to ignore someone in bright pink tights”

How much of your real self would you say is imbedded in your character?

Jason: I’d say I’m myself, just elevated to 100.

Nikki: I would say about 120% of me is in my wrestling character. It came so naturally to me that when I started to get in the ring to develop my gimmick, there was literally no question about it. I have a very close relationship with my father, and the fact that some people are astounded by how much he does for me even though I’m a grown adult really solidified the “Daddy’s Little Angel” persona.

As an LGBT wrestler, why do you feel that there are very few openly gay wrestling’s at higher levels of wrestling?

Silvio: People are always scared of being scrutinised and put under direct spotlight to try and be used as that token of a minority group. Especially now with social media, anything used to put you even more under the microscope is avoided. Additionally, wrestling seemed to always be a masculine environment and especially where money and lifestyle is concerned, you don’t want to give people a reason to reject you or be scared to give you a push because of the fear that fans won’t respond to it. Especially with wrestling, once you say something you have to be fully committed, so if you come out, you have to be fully prepared to push and carry that title with you and work twice as hard to prove that you deserve to be there.

Jason: We’re starting to see big representation of LGBT wrestling now with the likes of Sonya Deville, Sonny Kiss and Nyla Rose. It has taken a while, but times are changing throughout wrestling for the greater good.

Nikki Van Blair, Wrestling Go! Ironman

Photo by New Photography Studios

Have you faced sexuality-based discrimination as a wrestler?

Nikki: Yes, I have, but that’s not to take away how inclusive a majority of Australian pro wrestling is. I have heard that a certain promotion won’t book me or any other LGBT wrestlers, which is entirely up to them. But you have this one promotion compared to all the other promotions that gladly opens their doors for me and want to push me regardless of my sexual orientation.

Silvio: You prepare yourself for it when you become open. It’s usually, “we want the flamboyant you, but not the gay you” obviously not told so upfront but that’s the general gist of it. Promoters also get scared of pushing or using you seriously (for titles and feuds) because they believe the crowd won’t get behind or take you seriously as a threat to someone’s reign as champ.

Most people underestimate me because I’m a drag queen, but once I’m in the ring they see I hit hard like an NRL player”

The Plastics, Wrestling Go! Golympic Games III

Photo by New Photography Studios

How do you feel about representing LGBT people so wonderfully, and being one of very few to do so?

Nikki: I love when anyone chooses to look up to me, but I didn’t realise the impact my wrestling career could have until I received a tweet from a fan in the USA saying that me and a couple of other LGBT wrestlers across the world have inspired him to become a wrestler. That was one of the most moving moments of my career so far. If I can touch someone’s life like that, or inspire them to be their best selves, then that’s way more than I thought this dream could ever be.

What do you hope to achieve with your wrestling career either for yourself or for the LGBT community at large?

Silvio: I just want to inspire people to be confident in themselves and not be scared about how audiences, wrestlers or anyone else will view them. I want someone to be able to look to me and see me on a show or on TV somewhere and think “if he can do that and get to where he is, then I can go to a show, or sign up to a school” or literally anything under that idea. I want to get to the point where I’ll be a major LGBT wrestler on a big promotion and make a success out of that because I’m willing to carry the stress and burden that it requires to become a representation of the LGBT community. I just want to do well, and inspire other people to do the same.

Nikki: Selfishly speaking, I want to be featured on the bigger platforms of wrestling. I love what I do, and if I could do it full-time and still maintain my luxury lifestyle, then I’ll be happy. For the LGBT community, I want to show that all walks of life can be who they are and kick ass at what they do.

Who are your wrestling icons/inspirations that drove you to wrestle?

Silvio: I was drawn into wrestling by the Undertaker. He was my absolute favourite as a child. His presence, aura, storytelling and iconography just inspired me and made me think, “Wow, if he can make people believe and want to believe in HIM (a dead man essentially), I want to be a part of that”. As I started training though, I turned to more female icons that could represent my style of wrestling better and my now favourite would have to be Awesome Kong. Women like her, Manami Toyota, Akira Hokuto, Bull Nakano, Aja Kong, Melina, Trish Stratus, Beth Phoenix, were all great, amazing, athletic, feminine and capable women who kicked ass and that was just awe inspiring to me.

Silvio Milano

Photo by Lauren Moulton

Nikki: My number one inspiration in wrestling is Sable. To me personally, someone’s wrestling ability isn’t going to keep you hooked to the program; it’s someone’s presence. And when I started watching wrestling in 1998, every time Sable would walk into a room, or smile, or wave, I was just completely enamoured. Along with people like Kurt Angle and Stacy Keibler, I strive to have that same presence that when I walk into a room, all eyes are on me, so that I can entertain you to the best of my ability.

Jason: I’d say Melina. We’ve become such good friends she’s a true LGBT ally. New Japan’s Toks Fale who I trained with over in New Zealand with Fale Dojo too, he was the one who actually helped me and gave me the drag queen gimmick.

For “The Plastics”, not only do you represent yourselves, but you perform as an LGBT duo. How did this come about and what inspires you the most about being a tag team?

Nikki: “The Plastics” came together originally because Jason and I had a very similar style, and when APWG had a tag team tournament, it was only fi tting that we were paired together. And we’ve been nearly unstoppable ever since. The funny thing about the Plastics, is that while there is an obvious Mean Girls reference, being called a “plastic” in Polynesian culture is kind of an insult, which Jason and I were aware of when we named ourselves and thought we’d poke fun at ourselves. It’s important to not take things so seriously. There’s nothing that will stop us from spreading awareness through our wrestling and our character work.

Jason: Nikki and I always knew one day we would tag eventually, and eventually we did. Didn’t know we would blow up this fast though.

How important is character and looks to you in wrestling and do you feel that your character has received scrutiny from more close-minded individuals?

Silvio: I feel like people have tried to reject or not be involved in my character, but it’s hard to ignore someone in bright pink tights. When I first started lots of the audience and wrestlers would look at me and watch me like “who is he” and “why is he here” but once other people caught on and started booing or cheering, people couldn’t help but join in.

Nikki: Character and looks is very important, and to some extent, it’s more important than wrestling technique. If you’re an outstanding wrestling technician, but you’re as bland as white bread, then no one will go home remembering who you are; if you’re an over-the-top character who people can easily identify with, but you may not possess the same wrestling ability as the aforementioned person, then I know who I’d pick. As far as receiving scrutiny, again, I have received some from a small percentage of close-minded individuals, but I don’t want that to take away from the vast majority that praise my character work and push to see Nikki Van Blair exposed to new audiences across the country and internationally.

Jason: Character and looks is very important. You need to engage with the crowd and have that connection where at least someone can resonate with you. Most people underestimate me because I’m a drag queen, but once I’m in the ring they see I hit hard like an NRL player. I mean I’m Samoan, wrestling is in my blood. ■

“When I walk into a room, all eyes are on me, so that I can entertain you to the best of my ability”