PWA star comments on ‘intergender’ wrestling
Photo Credit: Owen Jones / @digital__beard
Intergender wrestling has always been a big point of discussion within wrestling circles, whether it be about how each division is booked, in-ring action or a mixed gender matches.
Fans of the indie scene are no strangers to the concept of mixed gender matches and tag teams, but bigger companies like WWE only permit them on a very part time basis due to television ratings and overall moral dilemmas.
The debate is also not a new one, with many independent promotions across Australia booking both men and women in the same matches for quite some time now.
Australian professional wrestler and PWA superstar Charli Evans has recently shared her perspective on the issue in an interview with WrestlePurists, stating even the ‘intergender’ label is an unnecessary one.
In the interview, Evans pushes back against promotions who remain ‘closed minded’ promotions, and shared her experience breaking boundaries in a male dominated industry.
“There is internalised misogyny ingrained into people and they are offended by strong, powerful women,” she told WrestlePurists.
“This isn’t a real fight, this is storytelling, this is performance art, this is cinema. We are telling a story of good vs evil, fast vs strong, and they seem to have no problem with it when it’s a 150kg 6 foot 1 man vs a 65kg 5 foot 4 man, so I do not understand why there is an issue when a woman takes the second role. We have all trained the exact same way. We have planned this whole match backstage before the show.”
Evans also shared her take on the pushback of having men be physical with women in the ring, stating that professional wrestling is, at its core, a performance.
“This isn’t a man beating a woman, this isn’t promoting violence against women, this isn’t domestic violence and I hate that people use that term to describe “intergender” – it completely ignores queer relationships,” she said.
“There is good and bad wrestling everywhere and as for any match, any style, any story if it’s done right, it’s f*cking great.”
The interview also delved into the consensual elements of a wrestling performance, and how claiming the in-ring action is ‘abuse’ could de-value the true meaning of domestic violence.
Evans said she hopes the future will see an end to the stigma surrounding mixed gender matches in promotions across Australia.
“There is so many people leading the way and breaking down barriers,” she said.
“I am excited to see where this goes! We are missing out on so many amazing prospective opportunities and matches if we don’t move forward! If you don’t like it, fine, don’t watch it. That goes for anything, lucha, deathmatch, high flying, if you don’t like it, you simply don’t watch it.”
Catch the full interview with Charli Evans via @Wrestlepurists on Twitter.
News Writer + Aussies Abroad. Based in Adelaide and winner of the 2023 CPA Young Journo of the year, has been a news and arts journalist for a number of years working across radio and print, but has decided to take her wrestling addiction to PWDU. You can find her at any local wrestling night across the state with a beer in-hand and a front-row ticket to the action.
