Allie may be a relative newcomer to Impact wrestling but she is already a one-time Knockouts Champion and there will no doubt be more titles to come. It's no surprise that she was so quickly on top of the mountain given she's accumulated more than a decade's worth of experience in the industry she loves. Known to many as Cherry Bomb on the independent circuit, Allie shed blood, sweat and tears, delivering incredible matches to fans across the world. With the announcement of the Global Wrestling Network, Impact will be accessible to many more fans and Allie is bound to be a firm favourite. Read on to learn more about the hugely impressive and talented Allie!
Prior to arriving at Impact, you were known as Cherry Bomb. Its a name you have said you once hated but grew to love. Were you sad having to forfeit the name having grown to love it?
Any time you are transitioning into another role or part of your life, whatever it is, change can be scary. Obviously it's sad because in a way I was shedding my skin a little. The name Cherry Bomb was a name I'd had for 12 years up until that point. Now, I feel like I'm in a new phase of my life and Allie is part of that phase. I've just grown to love Allie and I feel like that is my name. It was hard at first but now I'm use to Allie.
And you're comfortable as babyface Allie? You told Vince Russo you enjoyed being a bad guy. Has the 'face turn' worked for you?
I absolutely love Cherry Bomb and stepping into that role and being somebody completely the opposite of my personality and myself. It was a lot of fun and it challenged me. But developing Allie and the role that Im in now was also very challenging for me because I hadn't been a babyface in probably five years. Its challenging but great fun and I've grown to love Allie, being able to portray her the way that I do.
You were signed to Impact at the same time as your real-life husband, Impact's Braxton Sutter. Previously you've said you two didn't want to work together on the independent scene but ended up enjoying it. Were you therefore glad to have the chance to do so on TV?
Yeah, like you said we worked the independents together and didn't want to work at all together but realised quickly that we had natural chemistry and were able to pull things out of each other. So we really helped each other, working for companies like CZW. Once we started at Impact we definitely had hoped to have the opportunity to work together because we did our try-outs together. I don't know if people know this or not but when Braxton had his try-out with Impact, I was actually managing him. We did that a few times. So it was our goal to end up on TV on Impact together as a TV so we're happy with how that turned out.
On wrestling, have you had to modify your style for Impact and for TV?
Of course, yes, absolutely. For people that don't know Ive been wrestling for 13 years now and worked on the independents for a very long time. To step into a persona of someone who is very inexperienced and doesn't know how to wrestle was very challenging. I get a lot of comments from fans, especially those that have followed me for a long time, that get upset that Im not wrestling to my full potential but I want people to know and for it to be clear that I really love the role that Im in because it is so challenging, so hard. When you've been a wrestler for as long as I have a lot of the things that you do in the ring are so natural, its second nature for me. To force yourself out of that is very challenging. Now I feel Im in a position with Allie to show what I can do and the experience I have over the last ten and more years.
You've talked passionately in other interviews about your father and his lasting impact on you. Is that still a driver for you, do you still have that connection?
Oh absolutely. 100% Going into Bound for Glory, in a Knockouts Championship match, sharing a ring with Gail Kim and to do all that in my home country of Canada? I know that's going to be a really emotional day for me. I'm going to be thinking so much about my dad, hoping that he's looking down on us and seeing all that hard work paid off. He still plays a very big part in my life even though he's not here anymore.
You mention Bound for Glory. What are your thoughts going into your match?
I feel very grateful and thankful that I've been given the opportunity, to live out the dream. I'm so excited to make my country proud. Whether I walk away as Knockouts Champion or not, I'm going to go in there and wrestle the hardest I've ever wrestled and just hope I make my country proud.
The event will of course be on the new GFW network. Are you excited about its potential?
I'm so excited yes. So many of my close friends not in the wrestling business that have asked me about Impact, Ive told them about the network and theyre no able to watch a lot more content which they're really excited about. I've got my mum to download the app so she has it now! I think its really neat that not only can you watch Impact but other indepdentn shows like Smash based out of Toronto. It's an awesome company and so its not only Impact you get but other shows you might not have seen before.
Someone who'll feature on the network is Madison Rayne who it was announced had a WWE tryout recently. Were you surprised to see that?
Yeah, I was surprised but Im happy for her. Wrestling, this crazy business that we're in, we're all part of a dysfunctional family and to be honest we all, at least the good people, want to see our friends succeed. If its in the company Im in or another, I want to see my friends do well. Not only is she a fantastic talent, shes a really great person too so I hope things work out for her.
You previously tagged with Sexy Star and you know Rosemary, what are your views on the incident that occurred between them?
Well I have to say that when I found out what happened, I was so angry. All I could think about was how I wished I could have been there to help her. Nobody, nobody, nobody has the right to take advantage of somebody in the ring and if that's what you do then you don't belong in this business. You have no business here, get out, you're not welcome. We build this relationship in our business, in wrestling, of trust in each other. That's such a big part of it. When you break that trust and you hurt somebody you don't deserve to have it. Im just happy that Rosemary is OK but there's no excuse for it at all.
You're famously a long-standing vegan - Austin Aries, Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate. Have you set the trend?
I think Austin Aries has been a vegan for quite a while. I think right now it's not just in wrestling that people are starting to come around to a plant based diet, I think in general people are starting to realise the impact factory farming has on the environment. Meat production is terrible for the environment. I also think plant based food is more accessible than it was a few years ago, so that plays a role and I also think people, consumers, are more educated about what is good for them. With the internet, reddit and Google I think people are more aware and it's a good thing. I want see more people strive towards a plant based diet or a meatless Monday or one plant based meal a week. The goal is not to be perfect but just try to do better. Small changes. I have a blog and a YouTube Channel.
Finally, Impact seems to be doing well on Spike TV - isn't it time for a UK tour?
Yes, yes, yes and yes again. I think its all of our dream to come back to the UK, so fingers crossed in the new year let's hope we get there. I think the goal is to get back to the UK for sure!
Reassuring and exciting news from Allie! Hopefully we'll see her back in the UK during 2018. In the meantime, you can catch her on Impact on Spike UK every Friday at 9pm, see her at Bound for Glory and check her work out on the Global Wrestling Network!!
