Erica Leigh is a name that has quickly become synonymous with the Super 8 tournament. Erica is the only person to compete in the Super 8, the Women’s Super 8 and very shortly she will complete the trifecta. She will be in the tag team Super 8 with her partner The Boar.
Erica gained the attention of the wrestling world in the heights of the pandemic in 2020, when she was wrestling for Chikara as the mild-mannered Donna Rama. She made her mark in a show stealing match against Billy Dixon at the first MV Young PolyAm Cult Party. She continued to ride this wave of success and notoriety in the independent wrestling scene to promotions like GCW, Beyond Wrestling, Enjoy Wrestling, and even had some appearances on AEW.
While many wrestlers pick a gimmick or character and stick with it throughout their career, that is not Erica. Just when you think you have Erica figured out, she makes a hard right turn and goes in a completely different direction. However, the one thing that you are always guaranteed whenever you see her wrestle, whether it is as Donna Rama, Officer Erica Leigh Miller, as part of Gummi Boar, or as her latest incarnation, Erica Leigh the Diva, she will always keep fighting and she will always keep you entertained.
I had the chance to ask Erica a few questions about her many gimmicks, her relationship with The Goons, her YouTube show “Birds on Film” and more.
My first question has to be about the many gimmicks that you have had, so I will just go through some of them. Donna Rama. She had a short life in Chikara, but was impressive in her matches. She seemed very quiet and kind until the match started, then got an incredible amount of energy and strength. Was this something that was given to you by Chikara or did you have any input into the character?
This character was not my creation, I had hoped to add to her and make it my own as time went on, but time was the one thing Donna Rama didn’t have. A few short matches and then she was dissolved along with Chikara due to allegations made against Mike Quackenbush and his subsequent cancellation during the summer of 2020.
The 90’s kid. Being that you are 24 you were barely alive during the 90’s. What is your favorite thing about the 90s other than the bright colors and snap bracelets?
The TV show Frasier is my favorite sitcom. My least favorite thing from the 90s was the purple ketchup.
The Gummi Bear girl. I understand that you are a big fan of all candy and most of all gummy bears, but what is your second favorite candy?
I’m a chocolate person, so peanut butter cups, chocolate bar, chocolate covered almonds, anything chocolate.
Officer Erica Leah Miller. She is so mean and does not like fun at all. What is wrong with Officer Erica that she gets so upset when she see’s people having fun?
Officer Miller is a product of the system. There are no good cops. Whether she intended to be a force of good when she started or was always a power hungry abuser is irrelevant. The fact is humans will always abuse power.
Erica the Diva. I hear that you are now entering your Diva Era. What is this new era going to entail?
The Diva Era is a monument to the sheer will to succeed of the Divas. Put in impossible situations they learned quickly, rose to the occasion, and entertained the masses. Erica’s Diva Era might have some new gear, but mostly it will be my own commitment to having fun and taking care of myself. I see taking care of myself as an homage to the women who categorically weren’t taken care of. Because if they ate all that shit and nothing got better in the business, what’s it all for?
I feel like you have a love/hate relationship with The Goons. Do you have a Goon that is your favorite and one that you despise more than the others?
My favorite Goon is Dustin. We are birds. We talk movies on our YouTube show Birds on Film.
The one I despise most is Killian McMurphy. In a lot of ways we are just opposite sides of the same coin. The way the cat needs the mouse, the way the sun needs the moon, we are bound together by an eternal force.
The first time that myself, along with many others, saw you wrestle and really became of fan of yours was at the first PolyAm Cult Party. Can you tell us about that unique experience and about the match?
The ring was shit, the gathering itself was irresponsible because it was at the height of the pandemic in NYC. But as Billy Dixon, my opponent in this matchup, said: wrestlers are addicts. We had to perform. Billy beat the snot (and blood) out of me but I kept fighting. I think wearing my own blood like war paint probably gave people the impression that I’m some sort of badass- and that’s true. I may be a poo poo pee pee idiot, but I’m also not easy to put down. I may not be a super serious grappler type, but I am a “pain don’t hurt” type, so good luck grappling that.
I feel like you, along with people like Killian McMurphy and Darius Carter, have brought back some excitement and new eyes to the Super 8 tournament. You were in the finals of the Super 8, won the Women’s Super 8 and are now in the tag team Super 8. Do you feel a special connection to this tournament?
Mens, Womens, Tag… Not only do I feel a connection, I AM that tournament. It feels incredible to be associated with the longest running American tournament in our industry. Extremely special to me.
Your tag team partner is literally a boar. How do you communicate with him in the ring, and does he make a mess in the locker room?
I saved Boar from an experimental lab. In that lab he learned to speak several languages one of which is English. Additionally, he has certain qualities you might not expect: bipedal, great hygiene, and super strength. We have ultimate trust because I maimed several scientists when I broke him out. He knows what I’m willing to do for him
You have a YouTube show, “Birds on Film” where you rate movies, either Honk or Does not Honk. What makes a movie Honk?
Entertainment! Much like wrestling movies can be technically good without being entertaining and vice versa. If I walk away feeling my time was well spent or my brain was tickled, it honks.
Is there anything that you would like to say to your opponents in the Tag Team Super 8?
Good luck. GummiBoar is Big, Strong, and Delightfully Destructive.
Erica will be teaming with The Boar as part of the ECWA Super 8 Tournament in Morganville, NJ on September 17 at 4pm. She will then be defending her Legacy Championship that evening at ECWA PretzelMania at 7pm. You can find ticket information for these events at ecwawrestling.com.
Keep up with Erica on Twitter at @EricaWrestles and make sure to check out her YouTube show, Birds on Film, where her and Big Dust review movies at Birds On Film – YouTube.