Thanks for doing this interview with us.
It’s a pleasure, thank you for having me and asking me to do this interview with yourselves.
Firstly, could you tell us about yourself away from wrestling?
I’m just an ordinary teenage girl with a passion for wrestling. I have been in sports since I was four years old and that started with swimming lessons, ballet, tap and modern dance then it went onto gymnastics for 8/9 years where I represented Cheshire and Merseyside three years on the run. I fell out of love with that at the age of 12 due to school work etc getting too much for me to juggle as I was training five nights a week out of seven. Then here we are with me wrestling! With regards to away from the ring, I love going to the gym, spending time with family and working full time, it’s quite a lot to juggle but I’m managing it all with wrestling!!!
How old were you when you first started watching wrestling and who were some of your favourite wrestlers at that time?
I’m going to be honest here I wasn’t really a fan of wrestling until I started it , my dad was wrestling mad and so was my little brother it wasn’t actually until I went to watch my first live wrestling event in Runcorn that I fell in love and knew that wrestling was what I wanted to do , but once I got watching it hmmm favorite wrestlers were the likes of Natalya and Charlotte only because they were athletic, fun and girlie which is just like what I was and still am now.
At what point did you decide you'd like to train to start wrestling and how did you go about looking for a school?
Well, this is a funny one. My dad had bought tickets for a local show in Runcorn as there was a Groupon discount and he was like “just come and watch it’ll be a laugh, you're doing nothing better” so I went along, we were stood in the queue waiting to go in to our seats and my dad was like “see that guy over there I’m sure I know him from somewhere". He got the courage to go over and see if it was who he thought it was, it was only a childhood friend of his who at this moment in time we thought he was just watching too. So we go to our seats the show starts and this guy who he knew came through the curtain and my dad popped so much it was quite funny if you ask me.
Then after the show, we got chatting with him again and he said it was a wrestling school as well as shows. He said me and my dad should try it out and because I’d just quit gymnastics I wanted to do something that would keep me fit and healthy, so me and my dad two weeks later had our first training session and the first bump I took I completely missed the mat. I was like “right that’s it I’ve tried it and I don’t like it". Two weeks pass and my dad spent hours trying to get me to try again so I went back training the following week and here we are five years Later and I’m still doing it. Even though I did take a break out but I’m back now.
Do you have any form of athletic history which you think may have helped you with training?
Like in the previous questions, I’ve mentioned my background. I'm an ex-gymnast, ex-dancer, swimmer etc, so in a way I think the gymnastics have helped me loads as the style of wrestling I do I can relate to my wrestling as I am a quite flippy athlete and like I say “Sparx will fly" so I feel gymnastics has helped me in the long run within my wrestling career .
When did you make your in-ring debut and what are your memories of both the match and the show?
To be honest I can’t actually remember. My memory is rubbish, I just remember it being on a trainee show where I train and I’m sure it was an intergender tag match, and the female opposition was Lizzy Styles. Before I made my entrance I was so nervous and couldn’t stop shaking as at the beginning of my career I was this little, quiet 13-year-old who didn’t really want to mess up and from what I can remember of it, it went really well. Lizzy looked after me and I was made to feel at ease and not panic, the crowd were so supportive and I think that’s why I felt like I could let loose a bit and get the crowd involved.
You've wrestled for various promotions around the UK. How valuable is that experience for you to get out around the country and wrestle against different opponents especially at such a young age?
It is so rewarding and such an amazing opportunity at such a young age, travelling up and down the UK has made me open my eyes a bit more, I’ve been able to explore places I never thought I’d go to be honest. It’s such an amazing feeling when you go out to a new crowd and they get behind me from the minute I make my entrance. All of my matches I’ve had I couldn’t thank my opponents enough for helping me build on the wrestler I am today and giving me so much feedback. It’s made me stop and think about so many different things. I’ve met so many new people through wrestling, it’s like we’re a big family we’re always there to support people and I think that’s what shows what female wrestling is all about, although we may not always see eye to eye we always know we’re there for each other.
On top of wrestling all around the UK, you'll also be wrestling in Belgium and Germany this year. How did those opportunities come about?
Yes, that’s right I fly out to Belgium in March for PWA. This opportunity came about as one of my 2018 goals was to get abroad and show the crowds what I’m about and make Sparx fly, so I thought “Do you know what? I’m gonna make this happen" I noticed Lana Austin had wrestled at PWA and it looked like such an amazing company, well set up etc, so as most wrestlers do I sent over my wrestling CV to the promoter and within 24 hours I got a reply saying that the talents team would review everything and I’d get a reply soon. I think it was 2 weeks later I got a message off of the promoter and he said that the talents team wanted me on board the roster they were amazed with what I had already achieved at such a young age and knew I could bring something different to their shows. A few days later I received confirmation of the dates, flights and it was so hard to keep quiet until PWA announced I would be flying over but it was worth the wait as all the praise and support I got from other wrestlers, family and friends was just amazing.
With regards to Germany, it was my dad who helped me get this one I’m not going to lie. It’s a company called IPW and its someone who I’ve done a show with before for the Knights down at WAW/Bellatrix and he said he wanted me to go over and show Germany what I could do, I fly over there In April and lucky me it’s my 18th birthday weekend. I can’t wait for these opportunities, but if it wasn’t for Andy Baker and the RWA and my dad these opportunities wouldn’t have been made.
Are there any matches from your career thus far that stand out in your mind above others?
There are so many that I’ve loved and would do anything to do them again. There’s two that really stand out and mean something to me and I will never forget them. The first one would be when I went on the camps with WAW and got to wrestle Saraya Knight. That was just amazing at the time she was the biggest name I’d wrestled in my career. It was amazing and went so well, although I was so nervous to wrestle her I just relaxed and the crowd were amazing it was also the biggest crowd I had performed in front of it had to be well over 2,000 people. I made my entrance I had the whole shebang, fireworks, an amazing song to come out to and the fans all behind me - and of course, Sparx did fly and I was victorious over the one and only Saraya Knight.
The next match would be with Lana Austin that I had for 4GW. I’d always looked up to Lana so to get to face her one-on-one was just a dream come true. I learnt so much off of her just in the space of 15 minutes, I would love to do that match again just to face her one-on-one would be amazing yet again as we have both come so far since then so the match would be 10X better!!!
What short and long-term career goals do you have?
Like I said earlier one of my goals was to get abroad and wrestle but this year I’m managing to tick this goal off the list.
I would love to go over to Japan and wrestle that would be amazing but my biggest goal has to be to reach the WWE or even be on the WWE radar. I look up to the female rosters on both Raw and SmackDown but that’s only because I want to reach there one day!
If you could name one person who has had the biggest influence on you both in and out of wrestling, who would you name?
In all honesty, it would be my mum and dad! Without my mum and dad, I wouldn’t be the person I am today in the ring and out. Although they can be tough on me at times, I wouldn’t change that as it makes me learn and see their views on life. I know they only do what they do or say what they say because they love me. I've got to say it would be my dad more though as he’s a wrestler too so to have someone so close to you also in the business it just makes things 100 times better, he’s my traveling buddy (when we have the same shows) he’s the person who pushes me to my limits and the one who I can go to for ideas, advice and anything else.
Where can British fans go to see you wrestling over the coming weeks?
The British fans can see me at :
Alpha Omega in Morecambe on 3rd February
Ironfist on 10th February
Wrestle Island in Birkenhead on 11th February
BWR in Grimsby on 2nd March
And lots more places
Lastly, what advice would you offer anyone looking to get into wrestling?
The one thing I tell everyone is "don’t let anyone tell you-you can’t do anything or go anywhere in wrestling". If you have a passion for wrestling then give it a go. Don’t back down just because you think people will take the mick out of you etc. As I learned that when people at school first found out I wrestled they just laughed at me and said “it’s not real etc" but then as soon as they found out I was injured, in A&E etc they stopped as they soon realized it wasn’t all fake.
Other advice I would give is stay grounded and humble although you won’t always see eye-to-eye with fellow wrestlers, you’ve just got to learn who you can and can’t trust in the industry and learn how to deal with things within wrestling.
I just want to say thanks to RWA and Andy Baker for the guidance they have given me to get to where I am today.
Thanks again for your time, Jami.
Thank you for having me and I look forward to doing more stuff like this with yourselves.
Feel free to follow me on social media it’s sensational Jami Sparx on Facebook, and @jamisparx on Twitter.
Be sure to see Sparx fly in 2018!
It’s a pleasure, thank you for having me and asking me to do this interview with yourselves.
Firstly, could you tell us about yourself away from wrestling?
I’m just an ordinary teenage girl with a passion for wrestling. I have been in sports since I was four years old and that started with swimming lessons, ballet, tap and modern dance then it went onto gymnastics for 8/9 years where I represented Cheshire and Merseyside three years on the run. I fell out of love with that at the age of 12 due to school work etc getting too much for me to juggle as I was training five nights a week out of seven. Then here we are with me wrestling! With regards to away from the ring, I love going to the gym, spending time with family and working full time, it’s quite a lot to juggle but I’m managing it all with wrestling!!!
How old were you when you first started watching wrestling and who were some of your favourite wrestlers at that time?
I’m going to be honest here I wasn’t really a fan of wrestling until I started it , my dad was wrestling mad and so was my little brother it wasn’t actually until I went to watch my first live wrestling event in Runcorn that I fell in love and knew that wrestling was what I wanted to do , but once I got watching it hmmm favorite wrestlers were the likes of Natalya and Charlotte only because they were athletic, fun and girlie which is just like what I was and still am now.
At what point did you decide you'd like to train to start wrestling and how did you go about looking for a school?
Well, this is a funny one. My dad had bought tickets for a local show in Runcorn as there was a Groupon discount and he was like “just come and watch it’ll be a laugh, you're doing nothing better” so I went along, we were stood in the queue waiting to go in to our seats and my dad was like “see that guy over there I’m sure I know him from somewhere". He got the courage to go over and see if it was who he thought it was, it was only a childhood friend of his who at this moment in time we thought he was just watching too. So we go to our seats the show starts and this guy who he knew came through the curtain and my dad popped so much it was quite funny if you ask me.
Then after the show, we got chatting with him again and he said it was a wrestling school as well as shows. He said me and my dad should try it out and because I’d just quit gymnastics I wanted to do something that would keep me fit and healthy, so me and my dad two weeks later had our first training session and the first bump I took I completely missed the mat. I was like “right that’s it I’ve tried it and I don’t like it". Two weeks pass and my dad spent hours trying to get me to try again so I went back training the following week and here we are five years Later and I’m still doing it. Even though I did take a break out but I’m back now.
Do you have any form of athletic history which you think may have helped you with training?
Like in the previous questions, I’ve mentioned my background. I'm an ex-gymnast, ex-dancer, swimmer etc, so in a way I think the gymnastics have helped me loads as the style of wrestling I do I can relate to my wrestling as I am a quite flippy athlete and like I say “Sparx will fly" so I feel gymnastics has helped me in the long run within my wrestling career .
When did you make your in-ring debut and what are your memories of both the match and the show?
To be honest I can’t actually remember. My memory is rubbish, I just remember it being on a trainee show where I train and I’m sure it was an intergender tag match, and the female opposition was Lizzy Styles. Before I made my entrance I was so nervous and couldn’t stop shaking as at the beginning of my career I was this little, quiet 13-year-old who didn’t really want to mess up and from what I can remember of it, it went really well. Lizzy looked after me and I was made to feel at ease and not panic, the crowd were so supportive and I think that’s why I felt like I could let loose a bit and get the crowd involved.
You've wrestled for various promotions around the UK. How valuable is that experience for you to get out around the country and wrestle against different opponents especially at such a young age?
It is so rewarding and such an amazing opportunity at such a young age, travelling up and down the UK has made me open my eyes a bit more, I’ve been able to explore places I never thought I’d go to be honest. It’s such an amazing feeling when you go out to a new crowd and they get behind me from the minute I make my entrance. All of my matches I’ve had I couldn’t thank my opponents enough for helping me build on the wrestler I am today and giving me so much feedback. It’s made me stop and think about so many different things. I’ve met so many new people through wrestling, it’s like we’re a big family we’re always there to support people and I think that’s what shows what female wrestling is all about, although we may not always see eye to eye we always know we’re there for each other.
On top of wrestling all around the UK, you'll also be wrestling in Belgium and Germany this year. How did those opportunities come about?
Yes, that’s right I fly out to Belgium in March for PWA. This opportunity came about as one of my 2018 goals was to get abroad and show the crowds what I’m about and make Sparx fly, so I thought “Do you know what? I’m gonna make this happen" I noticed Lana Austin had wrestled at PWA and it looked like such an amazing company, well set up etc, so as most wrestlers do I sent over my wrestling CV to the promoter and within 24 hours I got a reply saying that the talents team would review everything and I’d get a reply soon. I think it was 2 weeks later I got a message off of the promoter and he said that the talents team wanted me on board the roster they were amazed with what I had already achieved at such a young age and knew I could bring something different to their shows. A few days later I received confirmation of the dates, flights and it was so hard to keep quiet until PWA announced I would be flying over but it was worth the wait as all the praise and support I got from other wrestlers, family and friends was just amazing.
With regards to Germany, it was my dad who helped me get this one I’m not going to lie. It’s a company called IPW and its someone who I’ve done a show with before for the Knights down at WAW/Bellatrix and he said he wanted me to go over and show Germany what I could do, I fly over there In April and lucky me it’s my 18th birthday weekend. I can’t wait for these opportunities, but if it wasn’t for Andy Baker and the RWA and my dad these opportunities wouldn’t have been made.
Are there any matches from your career thus far that stand out in your mind above others?
There are so many that I’ve loved and would do anything to do them again. There’s two that really stand out and mean something to me and I will never forget them. The first one would be when I went on the camps with WAW and got to wrestle Saraya Knight. That was just amazing at the time she was the biggest name I’d wrestled in my career. It was amazing and went so well, although I was so nervous to wrestle her I just relaxed and the crowd were amazing it was also the biggest crowd I had performed in front of it had to be well over 2,000 people. I made my entrance I had the whole shebang, fireworks, an amazing song to come out to and the fans all behind me - and of course, Sparx did fly and I was victorious over the one and only Saraya Knight.
The next match would be with Lana Austin that I had for 4GW. I’d always looked up to Lana so to get to face her one-on-one was just a dream come true. I learnt so much off of her just in the space of 15 minutes, I would love to do that match again just to face her one-on-one would be amazing yet again as we have both come so far since then so the match would be 10X better!!!
What short and long-term career goals do you have?
Like I said earlier one of my goals was to get abroad and wrestle but this year I’m managing to tick this goal off the list.
I would love to go over to Japan and wrestle that would be amazing but my biggest goal has to be to reach the WWE or even be on the WWE radar. I look up to the female rosters on both Raw and SmackDown but that’s only because I want to reach there one day!
If you could name one person who has had the biggest influence on you both in and out of wrestling, who would you name?
In all honesty, it would be my mum and dad! Without my mum and dad, I wouldn’t be the person I am today in the ring and out. Although they can be tough on me at times, I wouldn’t change that as it makes me learn and see their views on life. I know they only do what they do or say what they say because they love me. I've got to say it would be my dad more though as he’s a wrestler too so to have someone so close to you also in the business it just makes things 100 times better, he’s my traveling buddy (when we have the same shows) he’s the person who pushes me to my limits and the one who I can go to for ideas, advice and anything else.
Where can British fans go to see you wrestling over the coming weeks?
The British fans can see me at :
Alpha Omega in Morecambe on 3rd February
Ironfist on 10th February
Wrestle Island in Birkenhead on 11th February
BWR in Grimsby on 2nd March
And lots more places
Lastly, what advice would you offer anyone looking to get into wrestling?
The one thing I tell everyone is "don’t let anyone tell you-you can’t do anything or go anywhere in wrestling". If you have a passion for wrestling then give it a go. Don’t back down just because you think people will take the mick out of you etc. As I learned that when people at school first found out I wrestled they just laughed at me and said “it’s not real etc" but then as soon as they found out I was injured, in A&E etc they stopped as they soon realized it wasn’t all fake.
Other advice I would give is stay grounded and humble although you won’t always see eye-to-eye with fellow wrestlers, you’ve just got to learn who you can and can’t trust in the industry and learn how to deal with things within wrestling.
I just want to say thanks to RWA and Andy Baker for the guidance they have given me to get to where I am today.
Thanks again for your time, Jami.
Thank you for having me and I look forward to doing more stuff like this with yourselves.
Feel free to follow me on social media it’s sensational Jami Sparx on Facebook, and @jamisparx on Twitter.
Be sure to see Sparx fly in 2018!