Spotlight on Karen BamBam w/ Don Halliwell

Out of the bright lights of New York City comes one of the most unique and captivating stars to come into independent wrestling in Karen BamBam. They have the charisma and style that makes sure that all eyes are on them as soon as their music hits. Karen has the absolute power to take down anyone that they step into the ring with and still manage to look phenomenal while doing it. Karen was trained by the WWE HOFer Johnny Rodz and has only been wrestling for 3 years but has made a name for themselves in promotions like CZW, NEW, Pizza Party, Invictus and others. They won the VPW Women’s title from Ariela Nyx in January of 2020 and held onto it until December of 2021. Karen is a hard person to defeat in the ring as they are extremely powerful but also very athletic and agile.

Karen is not afraid to step in the ring with anyone regardless of size, gender or experience. They have been in the ring with some top stars like Kennedi Copeland, Brooke Valentine and Little Mean Kathleen. They also had one of my favorite matches at the incredible Black Girl Magik show defeating Joseline Navarro and Luscious Latasha. Karen has been constantly improving and knows exactly how to get the fans to hate them or dance along with them depending on what mood they are in.

I had the chance to ask this future star of professional wrestling a few questions about their career so far and what makes Karen BamBam so unique.

You have an amazing style and energy about you, that attracts attention as soon as you come out to the ring. What are some of your influences for your style?

When I started, everyone wanted me to be in all black and be the monster heel gimmick. After a while, I just put on some neon yellow and James Brown and said fuck it.

I’m a wild ass woman with eclectic tastes. I draw influence from burlesque and sci-fi and female rappers and blaxploitation. I love art forms that color outside the lines and unapologetic badass women.

You were involved in one of my favorite matches at Black Girl Magik against Joseline Navarro and Luscious Latasha. That show seemed to have amazing energy. Can you tell us about the atmosphere at that show and your match there?

Black Girl Magic was one of my favorite appearances in 2021. The energy in the building was all the way up for the culture. It wasn’t just another wrestling show; it was an experience. Shoutout to Taye for being bold enough to bring her vision to life. People are out here being the change they wanna see and I live for it.

It baffles me that we still have people who feel there are almost no black women wrestlers on the indies when BGM exists. Each match brought something unique to the event. Every woman from top to bottom is so special in their own way. And there are so many more amazing black women who couldn’t be there with us then. So that means there is enough talent for many more BGMs to come! 😉

You have trained at the T2T Wrestling Academy. Which seems to be putting out some very talented and entertaining wrestlers. Can you tell us about your time there and what makes it special?

I’ve only trained there a handful of times out of support for my good friend Brother Greatness, a former trainer there. I believe good coaches who genuinely care about the future of wrestling create great workers. They have a good support system with their training staff.

But I was trained by WWE HOF Johnny Rodz in Brooklyn and I now train at FallOut Shelter in Queens. The coaches there are Jorge Santi, Masha Slamovich, Mike Law and Steve Pena. It’s been less than a year and there is so much promise here as well.

The future of wrestling in NY is bright.

You are incredibly athletic in the ring. Were you involved in any sports when you were younger that got you ready for your training to be a wrestler?

I wanted to join the wrestling team, but 15-year-old Bam wasn’t confident enough at the time. I was on the step team a bit before I started cutting class. And did a lot of running the streets at night. But I’ve always been an active person. I love to lift weights. I’m in my room dancing daily. I also love training. I used to do 10-hour sessions at Johnny’s when I started and I still go hard now.

You were one of the few people to have a match at PolyAm Woodstock. What was that crazy day like for you?

Honestly, in the days leading up, I was so excited. However, I am a very sensitive person so things just felt off from the start of the day. But by the time things ended the way it did, I wasn’t really concerned about me.

I felt for all the talents involved who traveled halfway across the country for things to turn out the way it did. And especially I felt for MV, because he did not deserve what happened that day. At all.

You have wrestled a few intergender matches, is that something that you would like to pursue more of?

About half of my matches have been intergender and I love that. I can show more of myself when I’m not limited to being the one women’s match on the card.

I haven’t even shown half of what I can do yet. But by the end of 2022 ya’ll gon get past the ruffles and glitter and fringe and understand: I can go with anybody.

Is there something about yourself that people would be really surprised to find out?

I’m a lil bird brain so I’m not sure what y’all know bout me. But I have a variety pack of interests. Outside of wrestling, I’ve been picking up belly dancing and butterfly knife flipping. If I’m not doing that, I’m probably practicing yoga or reading someone’s cards. If I’m not doing that, I’m probably crocheting a new fit or looking for some old ass vinyls to collect. I don’t know if that’s really surprising, but it’s me!