In PWPonderings’ latest exclusive interview, PWPonderings’ own Scott Mitchell (@scott44mitchell) sits down with the Women’s C4 Champion, Alexia Nicole (@ItsAlexiaNicole), to discuss her upcoming defense against Zoey Serrano, fka WWE’s Zoey Stark, at C4 Wrestling’s big event, “Fighting Back.” She also discusses the event, the Canadian independent wrestling scene, winning the Women’s C4 Championship, her reign so far, New Wave Wrestling in Toronto, becoming a coach at New Wave, Maple Leaf Pro, and much more. Watch it in its entirety down below.

Let’s jump right into it. On Friday night, August 14th, C4 Wrestling will return to Ottawa for one of its biggest and most important events of the year, “Fighting Back.” This event is absolutely stacked, with Stu Grayson vs. Joseph Sawyer, Vaughn Vertigo vs. Dalton Castle, and, of course, you defending the Women’s C4 Championship against Zoey Serrano. What is your mindset entering this event?

“Honestly, I’m trying not to think too hard about it. I’m trying not to sike myself out. As soon as it got announced that she was there, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool, who’s she facing?’ Didn’t think it was me. Don’t know why I didn’t think it was me. I have serious imposter syndrome. But when the match got announced, I was like, ‘Oh my God, am I excited, am I nervous?’ I was like, I’m not going to think too hard about it until we get closer to the date, or I’m going to sike myself out. So, I’m starting to think about it, and I’m excited. But I’m trying not to stress.”

C4 Wrestling has this event yearly, which has a much deeper meaning than just being a wrestling show. What does this event as a whole mean to you?

“I do find this event to be very important. I lost my grandmother to cancer many years ago. She was a huge wrestling fan. She was the source of wrestling fans in my family. She got my uncle into it; she got my brother into it; she got me into it. She loved wrestling. I watched it with her all the time. I lost her to bone cancer at least six or seven years ago now. So, I really do find these shows super important for being able to give back and raise money for cancer research. C4 has raised, I think it’s like over $100,000 at this point, and I think it’s so great to be able to do that through wrestling and give back to people.”

We will see Zoey Serrano, fka WWE’s Zoey Stark, make her debut in C4 Wrestling for this match. What does it mean for you to see Zoey reintroduce herself to the indies and make her way to Canada?

“I get really excited when I see former WWE stars, or AEW stars, people who haven’t really spent time, especially on the Canadian indies, make their way here. It’s exciting for me as a wrestler, and it’s exciting for me as a fan to kind of see them in person and see them really stretch their wings. I feel like there are a lot of people who, when they’re no longer with a major company, not necessarily like coast, but sometimes they just leave the business, or they’ll do signings, and cons and stuff like that. Which is fine. But to take the steps to stay in the ring and work with independent wrestlers and performers, I  really enjoy that. I think it’s really cool.”

Looking ahead at this match, what does it mean to you to put that Women’s C4 Championship on the line against Serrano?

“I had said earlier, I get imposter syndrome. I still find it hard to believe that I’m like top dog for the girls at C4. When I started wrestling, C4 was the place to wrestle. If you could get on C4, you’re a great wrestler. So, when I got on, I was like, cool. I got on; I hope I get to stay here. I guess I’m good, and I hope this means I’m doing something right. So, it means a lot to be given these opportunities. I’m really thankful to Mark and Steven that they trust me with opportunities like this to put on a good match with someone like Zoey. But yeah, I still have a hard time believing that I can handle this, but we’re here, and we’re going to do it.”

Just seeing the landscape of women’s wrestling up in Canada with names like Dreya Mitchell, Kristara, Leah Sparks, Layla Wilde, Katrina Creed. What does it mean for you to be the top dog there, but also see the impact that all of these women are making?

“It feels really good. I started wrestling in 2013. So, like, just around when the women’s revolution was starting. When I started wrestling, there were not a lot of girls. I wrestled the same two girls every weekend, all the time. There weren’t a lot of options. Fast forward 13 years, and not only are there more girls, but they’re so good. Dreya, Kristara, Layla, Leah, Katrina- they all have so much potential, and they’re so good. They’ve been doing it maybe half the time that I have, so it took me too get to their level. It makes me happy. I’m so happy to represent a division that they’re in, and I’m happy going that going forward one day if and when I lose that title, it’s going to be to someone who works as hard as them and goes through all the work they do. They’re a good group. They’re a really good group of girls, and I’m really happy to just be a part of that with them.”

This is a title that you won at C4 Bring It On back in February, becoming the first-ever C4 Women’s Champion. What did this moment mean to you?

“It was emotional. When I first started wrestling, C4 was the place to wrestle. There was no women’s division. If you were good, you got on. There were so few girls to wrestle, and there were even fewer girls on C4. I’m so thankful that Mark and Steven are so willing to give me an opportunity to show what I can do. It means a lot. They’ve given me so many opportunities. I was the first woman to hold the C4 Underground Championship. They’ve always given me high-profile matches. I think I wrestled Marcus Mathers at last year’s “Fighting Back.” I think it was “Fighting Back,” or around that time. Right when he got ID’d, or around that time. I’m really thankful that people think I’m good enough to provide me opportunities to show that. I know I’m good enough in some capacities, but it’s a good reminder that all this work I’ve put in over the years, it means something.”

You were the first woman to hold that C4 Underground Championship. What did that mean to you, as well?

“Oh God. That was surprising. Honestly. Unexpected. I really wasn’t expecting it. I was so over the moon happy about it. It felt really cool. Again, it feels so cool to be acknowledged. Like, I’m doing something right. I have to be doing something right. When I won that, I was really shocked and thankful.”

When C4 Wrestling first announced a Women’s C4 Championship, what went through your head?

“I was excited that it was finally happening. There were talks about it for a while. It kind of always comes back to: are there enough girls to build a division? There are so many more girls than when I first started wrestling, but there were so many more men. There’s always going to be more men. That’s kind of just how this business is. So, when it finally happened, I was very excited that all the talks had gone the right way. We always get our own special venue. I love wrestling at that Algonquin Theater; it’s so nice. I love the stage. I love the set up. When we finally announced that the title was coming, it was going to be there, and it was going to be an all-women’s show; it was very, very exciting.”

Not only are you an incredible wrestler and an incredible champion up at C4 Wrestling in Canada. You are also helping to mold the next generation of talent at New Wave Wrestling in Toronto. What does being a coach there mean to you?

“It’s very fulfilling. I really enjoy coaching. I like getting to see them grow. It feels really nice. To see someone start with no experience or limited experience, become a great wrestler- I think we have a really good crop of students right now. I think of our top students, and we’ve got like Rajan Husher, KPK, Ahmed & Abu, Brian Sinclair, Teo Dakila, Kuya Cole; it’s such a good group, and they’re so young. Husher’s, I think, 21, and he’s so good. He has unlimited potential. They’re all so young, have potential, and it feels good to play a part in their development. I think regardless of who trained them, those guys will be great, but to know I helped with that feels really nice. It feels good to give back. You hear a lot of times in wrestling, leave it better than you found it. I think this is the best way I can leave it better than I found it, and it’s to help teach the next generation.”

You have had three defenses with the Women’s C4 Championship so far, against Amira, Dreya Mitchell, and most recently, Jody Threat in June. What has this reign meant to you so far?

“It feels good. It feels really good. When I wrestled Dreya, I think she said it was her first main event match or one of her firsts. It feels good to help her do that and, like, go through that experience with her. I’ve wrestled Jody dozens of times, but to be able to do it for the Women’s C4 Championship, especially since we teach the women’s class together at New Wave, was really special. Amira is someone who I really wanted to wrestle, and to be able to do it for a championship in a division that I guess I’m the head of, I kind of feel weird saying it still, feels really cool. It’s cool to have opportunities to wrestle people I want to wrestle, people I can help elevate, and people I’ve wrestled for a long time, but I still want to do over and over again because it’s so fun. It’s a really good feeling.”

I also have to ask specifically about your recent defense with Emersyn Jayne at NWW Toronto. What was it like to work with her?

“That was exciting. We got so lucky because she was starting her American tour that weekend. She just reached out, and she was like, ‘Hey, is there anything running this week? I’m coming over from this date to this date.’ And we were like, ‘Actually, yes. We’re having a show.’ It kind of just fell into our laps that she would be here, and I’m so happy it did. I was really excited. She’s so nice. We had such a good time working together. We trained together the day before as well. She’s just so lovely, so good. We had a really good match. I wish I had the footage. I’m waiting for it to be edited, but it was such a good match. So many cool things. Mustafa Ali was on the show as well, and afterwards we came back, and he was like, ‘That was great.’ We were like, ‘Oh my God, thank you, sir. That means a lot.’ But yeah. Really, really good match. I cannot wait for the footage to be available to show everybody.”

Switching gears, we’ve also seen you making a name for yourself at Maple Leaf Pro. What has it meant to you to be a part of this promotion?

“It’s really cool. It’s really special to be a part of a televised Canadian wrestling show. I wasn’t expecting it at all. When I got the call to be there, I was like, ‘Really? Me? Cool. Awesome.’ It’s been really nice. Especially once I get into this locker room, I’m like, I know this person, I know this person, we get along really well, I can ask this person for advice. Having D-Lo there, Zach Gowen, it feels really good. I met them super early in my career, so to see them again at this point and be able to go to them, ask for advice, ask for feedback, it’s so special. I’m really happy that Scott D’Amore not only put this whole show together, but also reached out and was like, ‘Hey, we want you there.’ It’s so special to be a part of something like this, especially as a Canadian. There’s international talent on these shows, but to be part of it as a Canadian is a very good feeling.”

Also, you got to take part in the big TJPW Vancouver show, the first of its kind, when you went up against Suzume. What did this experience mean to you?

“It was so special. I love Joshi wrestling. Going to Japan is probably one of my major goals for wrestling in general. Big fan of Joshi wrestling. Manami Toyota is one of my favorite wrestlers ever. Big inspiration for me. Getting to wrestle for a Joshi promotion was so cool. Suzume was a really cool opponent. The whole locker room was so nice. It was the cutest locker room I’ve ever been a part of. But everyone is kind of deadly, and it’s kind of insane, but I love it. They’re all adorable, but they can all kill you. It’s nuts. Perfect. Exactly what I love about Joshi wrestling. But it felt really nice. It was a really big goal of mine to wrestle a Joshi match in a Joshi style. Our match was a little bit more of a mix of wrestling and American/Joshi style, but I still loved it. I was so happy to do it. I’m really thankful. Uno actually helped me get on that show. I’m very thankful that he did. It was so special to me.”

Looking ahead for you, what are your future goals?

“Wrestle in Japan is one of them. I think honestly just to wrestle or be wrestling adjacent for a living would be nice. I can’t do that right now, unfortunately. Would love to. But if the opportunity ever came where it was like either a full-time wrestler, or coaching in wrestling was sustainable enough, producing, or something in the wrestling world. I’d love to be a part of wrestling for life. It’s been a part of my life since I was 15. It’s half my life at this point. I can’t picture my life without it. The older I get, the bigger a part it becomes and the more I’m doing, so if I could just get even bigger and bigger, that would be great for me. Would love to travel for wrestling. Mexico, Japan, go back to Europe; that was a lot of fun. Just in general, I would like to be, or have my entire career be wrestling.”

Do you have any future opponents you’d like to square off with?

“I have a list. I can’t remember off the top of my head without looking at the list. I will say, actually, just at the most recent set of MLP tapings, I would love to wrestle Nikki Storm. That’s definitely high on my list: to wrestle her at some point. I’d say right now, in terms of likelihood and just doing it in general, she’s probably near the top of my list.”