Photo credit: @cameraguygimmik
2023 was an excellent year for women in independent wrestling. Now we look forward to 2024. I have comprised a list of 24 wrestlers that I think you should keep an eye on while you are watching independent wrestling. These women are very different from each other, and each bring their own flare to independent wrestling.
We have models, ballerinas, flight attendants, pageant queens, lawyers, football players and so much more. 2024 looks to be very interesting and exciting in the world of women’s wrestling.
Tiffany Nieves
La Princesa took a risk and moved to Kentucky in 2022 to train at OVW and that risk has certainly paid off in 2023. This past year Tiffany became the OVW Women’s champion, the Mission Pro Champion and the SHINE tag team champion with Labrava. In OVW Tiffany is the leader of The Bad Girls Club, which also includes Leila Grey and Jada Stone.
They bring attitude and style everywhere they go and have had very entertaining feuds with Hollyhood Hailey J and Freya the Slaya, among others. In Mission Pro, Tiffany defeated one of the most dominant champions in Mission Pro history, Jennacide and had very impressive defenses against Christina Marie and Izzy Moreno. Look for Tiffany to come to more companies in 2024, and go right to the top, as that is what she has done through all of her hard work and confidence.
Kylie Alexa
It is hard to believe that Kylie is only 1 year into her career, as she has accomplished so much already. She has the confidence of someone with much more experience. Kylie is the sister of Kenzie Paige and trained under Tom Prichard and Kane.
Alexa is part of the Pretty Empowered stable with Kenzie and Ella Envy. Herand Ella currently hold the NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship. Kylie may be the smallest member of Pretty Empowered, but that does not prevent her from getting in her opponent’s faces and not backing down. She has spent a lot of time in tag team competition, however she did have a impressive match against Maki Itoh at GCW and she is looking to prove herself even more in 2024.
Mia Friday
Mia Friday is only 18 years old, but has been wrestling for over 3 years now. A young prodigy, Mia has already been in the ring with some of the best women’s wrestlers that Texas has to offer, and Texas does have an incredible amount of great young female wrestlers. Mia always has bright colors and a smile when she comes out to the ring, but once the match starts, she can hang with anyone.
She has competed at Reality of Wrestling, New Texas Pro, and Mission Pro among other promotions in the TX area. She also competed for Ice Ribbon in Japan this past year. Mia has had some big matches in the past, but she is getting ready for her biggest, as she will face NXT star, Roxanne Perez at ROW Slamuary on January 13th.
Zayda Steel
Zayda is one of those wrestlers that catches your attention as soon as she walks through the curtain. Whether you love her or hate her Zayda will make an impression. Zayda is only in her first year but has already had impressive matches at places like H2O, Wrestling Open, Dreamwave and MLW, where she is part of the WTF faction.
Zayda has wrestled both men and women through her career with some of her best matches coming in a match to crown the inaugural Dreamwave Women’s Champion against Brittnie Brooks and a match at H2O Wrestling against Jimmy Lloyd. You may not like the attitude of Zayda, but you have to respect how tough she is and her skills inside the ring.
Izzy Moreno
Izzy may be the most well-known name on this list, but she is also probably the least experienced. However, in each of Izzy’s matches she has been very impressive and earned the respect of both the fans and her opponents. Izzy is best known as the Bailey super fan at NXT and garnered a large following from her enthusiasm for wrestling on the YouTube videos that she made.
In her debut at Mission Pro she took on Jazmin Allure in a very impressive match. She then took on Maya World, KiLynn King, and the Mission Pro Champion, Tiffany Nieves. She was not able to pull out the win in any of these matches, but I have a feeling that once she gets that first win, she is going to be very hard to stop.
Shannon LeVangie
Shannon LeVangie, also known as The Troublemaker, brings a ton of athleticism to the ring, being a former track and soccer player. She has been wrestling for about 2 years now, and has been just about everywhere in the New England area.
LeVangie has competed for the Pan Optic Title at Chaotic Wrestling, and had some incredible matches in Wrestling Open and Beyond Wrestling. At Wrestling Open, Shannon had a great street fight with B3CCA, then teamed up with Paris Van Dale to form a very scary alliance, that has tormented Kennedi Copeland, Gabby Forza and others. Look for Shannon to cause trouble and show off her athleticism in many more matches in the northeast and beyond in 2024.
Rebecca J Scott
RJS is one of the most unique and entertaining women on this list. She grew up in a very small town in Idaho and became a flight attendant after graduating high school. As if traveling the world wasn’t enough, Rebecca decided that she wanted to start wrestling training as a surprise for her boyfriend’s birthday. She had her first match on his birthday and loved it so much she kept training. RJS trained with Damian Adams, who has trained some of the top women in wrestling today, including Elektra Lopez, Ashley D’Ambroise, Megan Bayne and Wendy Choo.
In her 3 years of wrestling RJS has captured multiple championships, including recently winning the Pro Wrestling Magic Women’s Championship. On top of that RJS has also been training in Jiu Jitsu, which has shown up in her wrestling matches, and has even led a women’s only BJJ class. To say that RJS is booked and busy is an understatement, but watch out for even more of the jet setter in 2024.
Devlyn Macabre
Devlyn Macabre busted out of the Florida independent wrestling scene with a bang this past year and does not appear to be looking back at all. She has appeared for ACTION, Beyond, No Peace Underground, New South and more. Devlyn also went to Europe this past year, where she captured the GWF Women’s title in Germany and had matches against RHIO, Session Moth Martina and more. She was then invited back to wXw’s Femmes Fatales 2023 to put her GWF title on the line against wXw Women’s Champion, Ava Everrett in a title versus title match, which was excellent and is currently on the WWE Network/Peacock.
Devlyn has a very dark and mysterious aura that she brings to the ring, sometimes including dark wings and/or horns. She has also formed a tag team with Kelsey Raegan called Venom and Violence. Whether as a tag team or in singles competition, “The American Tragedy” Devlyn Macabre, is a name you should be paying attention to.
Black Swan
The former ballet dancer, Zoe Dubios aka Black Swan, is one of the most unique wrestlers you will ever see. She comes to the ring with the grace and poise that you would expect and uses her flexibility to inflict pain on her opponents with strikes and submissions like you have never seen before. Black Swan has only been wrestling a little over a year, but has already made two appearances on AEW Dark and had some impressive matches at PrideStyle, FSW and Mission Pro.
Her career is definitely on an upward trajectory, with recent wins over JP Harlow in a casket match and Rebecca Scott in Mission Pro, as well as a really fun match and a victory over rising star of the Midwest Rachel Armstrong at Kitsune. Whatever the Black Swan does is going to be memorable, so be sure to keep an eye out for her in 2024.
Maya World
Maya World has quickly become one of the most popular women’s wrestlers in Texas. Maya comes from a very athletic background and has used that to make a big impact in only her first year of wrestling. Maya has already won the DFW All-Pro Women’s Title and competed for the GCWA Women’s title. However, her biggest match so far in her career was a Proving Ground match against ROH Women’s Champion Athena. Maya more than held her own in this match and definitely proved that she deserves to be on a stage like ROH and against the best in the world, like Athena. Look for more championships and big matches from Maya in 2024.
JC Storm
The NYC native, JC Storm, brings a ton of excitement as soon as she comes out to the ring and had a great 2023. JC has only been wrestling about 2½ years, and has already wrestled for companies like Beyond, CZW, GCW, AEW and ROH. She also made two trips to Europe this past year, working for companies like RCW, wXw and EVE.
My favorite match of hers happened in EVE at EVE 111 where she had an excellent triple threat match against Chantal Jordan and Safire Reed. JC has everything that you want in a wrestler; style, personality and athleticism, so I expect her to be traveling the globe and putting on more great matches in 2024.
Gabby Forza
Gabby Forza comes from the Create a Pro wrestling school, which is the same school that trained Kris Statlander, Hook, The Acclaimed and MJF. Gabby, or “Your Homie the Gnomie” as she is also known, comes to the ring with an exuberance of energy and immediately gets the fans behind her.
Gabby is also a football player, a 2-time national champion linebacker, so she brings a lot of strength to the ring. In fact, she recently picked up 3 of her opponents at the same time before slamming them to the mat. Gabby has been a regular on Wrestling Open and CAP TV, and was recently named Rookie of the Year for CAP. Gabby has a huge fan base, as her energy is infectious, so I would expect a lot more of her and lots of debuts in new promotions in 2024 for the gnomie.
Kaitlyn Marie
Kaitlyn may be the most entertaining wrestler on this list. If you have seen any of her promos or matches you know exactly why. Whether she is getting you to hate her or love her, you are surely going to remember her. Kaitlyn had some very entertaining matches against Allie Katch at Effy’s Big Gay Thanksgiving and KiLynn King at Ladies Night Out 13. She is always going to make you smile, in and out of the ring, but she also can hit hard and is not to be taken lightly by her opponents.
Kristara
Kristara is an amazing young wrestler out of Canada that was trained by Speedball Mike Bailey and Shayne Hawke. She has found success in Canada as a singles wrestler and in a tag team, Amazingly Sweet, with Alex Maze. She has wrestled for Evil Uno’s Mystery Wrestling, Femme Fatales, C4 and others. The tag team won the IWS Tag Team Championship and also made their way to the US to compete for Intergender Bonanza. Look for more of Kristara and Amazingly Sweet in Canada and the US in 2024.
Alexis Littlefoot
“Big Flexer” Alexis Littlefoot is a model/entrepreneur/wrestler and she has the best style and most confidence in any room that she is in. Alexis’ break through match this year was at Paradigm Pro’s Heavy Hitters 5, where she defeated Kaia McKenna. Next up at Paradigm Pro was a match against Jordan Blade, who is one of the top fighters in Paradigm. Alexis did not win that match, but was very impressive against one of the best, so I’m sure that we will see her back at Paradigm and many other places in 2024.
Tara Zep
Tara had one of the best moments of 2023. While she was in her first deathmatch, one of the originators of death match in America came to give her a hand. As she was fighting the former ICW American Deathmatch Champion, John Wayne Murdoch, Mick Foley came out dressed as Santa Claus to give Tara a little bit of a hand at ICW NHB 56. After a few punches and a double armed DDT from Mick, Tara was ready to hit JWM from the top platform for the win.
Tara may have started a little later than some of the other women on this list, but her rookie year included matches at GCW’s Backyard Wrestling 5, JCW’s Battlebowl, DEFY, and Kitsune. Tara’s unique style and toughness will keep her on these type of big shows in 2024 and beyond.
Viva Van
Viva Van made history on multiple continents this year. She was the FSW Women’s champion all through 2023, defending it against the likes of Trish Adora, Billie Starkz, Brittnie Brooks, Johnnie Robbie, and more. She also held the PCW ULTRA championship all year.
Viva Van also made appearances for ROH, AEW and AAA in 2023. However, her biggest moment came across the ocean. Viva Van made her debut match in Japan at TJPW, then challenged Yuki Kamifuku for the Queen of Asia title at TJPW’s 10th Anniversary Show at Korakuen Hall. She then went on to be inducted to the Vietnam Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame along with Sumi Sakai after she successfully defended her PCW ULTRA Women’s Championship against Sumie in the first ever women’s main event in Vietnam.
Kenzi James
Whenever I watch a Kenzi James match, I obviously notice that she is great in the ring, but I also notice that her opponents also have great matches. This is something that makes a good wrestler great and makes fans always look forward to a wrestler’s matches.
Kenzi is out of Ohio and has been wrestling since 2021. She has already been in the ring with such stars as Shazza McKenzie, Blair Onyx and Rachel Armstrong. Kenzi had a great feud with Tatiana, which culminated in a strap match, and also had an incredible match at Ryse against Laura Loveless. Look for Kenzi to have many more incredible matches in 2024
Harleen Lopez
Harleen Lopez, also known as the “Spiteful Brute”, had a very interesting and impressive first year of wrestling. Harleen was a member of The Awakening with Brittany Blake and Vita Von Starr. She competed in a CFU Rules match and lasted 3 rounds with Adena Steel. She also wrestled for LVAC, Labor of Love, Titan Championship Wrestling, and many more. It seemed like Harleen kept improving all year long. Towards the end of the year, Harleen was very impressive in a 3-way match against Haley Dylan and Jordan Blade at Blitzkrieg Pro, and also had a match of the night against Darien Hardway at Intergender Bonanza 18. Harleen also looks to be kicking off 2024 hot, as she will be part of Fightertainment Spectacle 3 on January 11 and will compete to qualify for BCW’s “Queen of the North” against Nevaeh Chantelle on January 20.
Amaris Blair
Amaris Blair is someone that sticks out from a crowded group of amazing female wrestlers in TX. Amaris started training once she turned 18 and had her debut delayed due to the pandemic but did debut in 2021. She uses her past experience as a pageant competitor as part of her character, many times to an audience that is not impressed by her glamor or confidence.
Amaris has been making a name for herself recently on the New Texas Pro Contenders Series, defeating Charity Kane and Devlyn Macabre and having incredible matches with Hyan and an amazing triple threat match against Vert Vixen and Raychell Rose. Look for Amaris to rack up more wins in Texas and beyond using her version of Cattle Mutilation, which is absolutely incredible.
Abigail Warren
Abigail Warren had an incredible 2023 and looks to keep that momentum going in 2024. She made her Big Gay Brunch debut at The Collective as part of Team West Coast alongside of Anton Vorhees, Da Shade and Money Power Respect. Abigail then went on to make the finals of DOA’s Queen of Thorns, falling to Amira in a match of the year candidate.
Abigail is a powerhouse and is not going to step down from anyone, she even had an incredible Japanese Death Match with Drexl, who is one of the most feared and dangerous wrestlers in the PNW.
Zamaya
Zamaya may not be large in stature, but she has a large presence whenever she comes to the ring. She can intimidate her opponents with her demeaner and look, which is a bit of a similar look to Bull Nakano.
Zamaya was named the PCW ULTRA Rookie of the year, where she was very dominate, defeating stars like Sandra Moone and Miranda Alize. The “little killer”, as she is also known has put fear into her opponents at DREAMWAVE, FSW and F1RST, among other promotions.
Journey Burke
“The Law of Attraction” Journey Burke just completed her first year of wrestling and has been very impressive in promotions like 3LW, Brii Combination Wrestling (BCW) and Atlantic All-Star Wrestling, where she is currently the women’s champion. One of Journey’s biggest moments would have to be making the finals of the All-Star Jenga Festival Tournament, by defeating Ellis Taylor, Harleen Lopez and her trainer, Speedball Mike Bailey in a 4-way elimination match.
Journey, who is an attorney whenever she is not in the ring, is looking to keep her momentum going with a BCW Queen of the North qualifier match in January and a Queen of the Indies Tournament in February.
Ivy Malibu
Ivy Malibu is another wrestler who could intimidate her opponents just upon sight. Ivy is incredibly muscular and has shown off this strength during her matches. Ivy trained at the Nightmare Factory and impressed at promotions like Dreamwave and Ladies Night Out.
Malibu as also gained championships at Blood Storm and WCPW. With her strength, and skills that she learned at her time training, Ivy is sure to be appearing a lot of places, and picking up more gold in 2024.