WWE MYC Competitor Piper Niven On Changing Stereotypes For Bigger Women Wrestlers
WWE Mae Young Classic Competitor Piper Niven (aka Viper) spoke to The Scotsman on changing her look over time, taking a fellow wrestler to the hospital, and women's wrestling in the UK. Here are some of the highlights:
Changing the style of the typical look given to bigger women wrestlers:
"Back then if you were big girl in wrestling, you had to be bad, angry and grumpy and wear dark colors. I went along with it for a while, then I was, 'Absolutely not! I'm gonna have big, blonde curly hair and wear whatever I want.' I do have a black leotard, because well, that's flattering, but I've also got a really nice bright blue one and a bright pink one. I like make-up too, there's this 'greeny' gold highlighter I love and I do big heavy eyes 'cos you want them to go 'oh, she looks nice' from way over there ? paint for the back row. I come out to heavy metal and go 'hiya!', 'cos that's just me. Everybody says that doesn't go, but that's the point. I'll like whatever I like, and I'm not going to do what you think goes or fits. I hate being told what to do."
UK women's wrestling scene:
"The UK is an absolute hotbed for women's wrestling. We're some of the best in the world and I think it's because women are good at putting emotion into the fight. Women's wrestling used to be very much treated like a sideshow, but now it's the main attraction for a lot of people. When I first started there were, maybe a handful of girls in the UK, and certainly none that looked like me."
Story about taking her friend to the hospital after they had a match and the hospital staff being confused:
"I broke my friend's ankle and feel absolutely rotten about it, although I know it wasn't my fault. It's the nature of the beast with wrestling. I did a Flip Cannonball and her foot slipped and I came down on her ankle. I expected the hospital to say to me, right you, get up the road, but they made me stay in for an MRI and it turns out I've got a wee abnormality in two of my vertebrates, probably from years of wrestling. They put us in separate wards because they heard we'd been in a fight, then they couldn't understand why we were both asking to be next to each other. We said, we're performers, we do this together, so they said ;okay.' Did they think I'd go on a street fight in a leotard?"
Niven also discussed how she got into wrestling. You can check out he full interview by clicking here.