Katarina Waters has been in the Professional Wrestling business for 18 years. WWE fans might know her as Katie Lea Burchill, IMPACT fans might remember her as Winter, and currently, she is in WOW as Temptress.
In a recent interview with Uproxx, Katarina discusses her experience in the industry, how she got involved with WOW, and much more. Below are some highlights:
Katarina on how she got into Wrestling:
“Well, I was a fan when I was younger, like a teenager. I used to watch a lot of WWF and then WCW and I thought it was the greatest show in the world, and I just always thought it was something cool, but I didn’t necessarily think about pursuing it. And then I was actually in London – I’d done film and drama at university, so I wanted to do something in entertainment, but I wanted to do acting, and, you know, directing and writing, things like that.
Then I was in London and I found that there was a school an hour and a half from me that I could go to and learn how to wrestle and I thought, “This would be cool, to learn how to do it,” so I started going there every Sunday, and then it was a hobby for a while, and then eventually WWE signed me, and then I came to the States and worked for them full-time, and then I worked for Impact, and now I’m with Impact and WOW, obviously, and work independently as well.”
Katarina on the “Divas” era of Wrestling and Women not being showcased:
“Well, that was really in WWE because on the indie circuit, even though there’s always been less women and less women’s matches on the cards you have always had a few standout wrestlers that have been around, and then you had TNA, or Impact as it’s now called. They always really showcased the women, you know. You have a couple women’s promotions like Shimmer that really started that whole, you know, in that time, they were doing women’s workrate matches and that was really their agenda that they were pushing and that people really responded to. So it’s been around, but it’s not really been as mainstream, so it’s now coming more into the mainstream, which is great.”
Katarina on how she got involved in WOW Superheroes:
“Well, I had heard about WOW, of course, and I saw advertised that they were looking for “Superheroes” or wrestlers or athletes, and I thought, “I can do that.” And I thought it was a really great concept, and once I got involved and I could see how great production values are and, you know, how much David McLane is really pushing for these women to be really badass, strong, empowered women. You know, it’s not like a popcorn match… He wants us to be strong and empowered women, so that was really great.”
To read the full interview which includes Katarina revealing which WWE Superstar she would like to have a dream intergender match with, click here.
