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08.30.05
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| 08.02.04
Getting To Know Moonlight
by Samir
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L: Moonlight ready for action
R: Moonlight in a more candid moment.
She goes by the ring name Moonlight, and she's as famous for her beauty & blonde locks as she is for her aerial skills and athletic ability. Moonlight, who is known to her friends and family as Irina, has been spending a lot of time in the spotlight for a 17-year-old girl. She began training in ICW in 2002, and after a brief stint there, has moved on to the CWA and MWF, and is slated to begin working CPW as well.
For someone who is in the public eye as much as she is, Moonlight proved remarkably soft-spoken and humble when I sat down with her prior to CWA's Mercury Rising event on July 31st. Having immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine at the age of 7, she still speaks with the hints of a Russian accent. However, her love of wrestling stems from a fascination that began long before she came to North America, it began back in the Ukraine. "When I was in Ukraine, I think I was 5 or 6 years old, I remember seeing some wrestling on TV and I said to myself 'that is cool...'. I used to like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels a lot! I remember my mom bought me a Bret Hart shirt out of nowhere and I used to wear it all the time!"
Drawing her early inspirations from Bret Hart and the Heartbreak Kid, moving to North America only intensified the young Irina's passion for the sport. "When we came to Montreal, I started to get more into wrestling and watched it all the time," she admits. By the age of 11, her dream was to become a professional wrestler. That quest is what led her to the doorstep of ICW, where she began training to wrestle under the wing of Mathy 69 (now known as Excess 69). It's obvious in her high-flying style that Mathy's early lessons still influence Moonlight to this day.
"He was very professional, very encouraging and he loved to teach," she recalls. "He was so quick, and such an amazing athlete too." She characterizes those sessions as some of the toughest she's been through, but still speaks fondly of her humble beginnings. It wasn't long before Irina was in the ring. However, she didn't remain at ICW very long. Like her first mentor Mathy 69, Jaguar, Adib Mansour & the Twin Terrors, she eventually left ICW in search of something new.
A younger Moonlight, back in the ICW days.
Taking to the air against one of the Twin Terrors
Arriving in CWA, she began to train with Dru Onyx and LuFisto. She hopes that the contrasting styles of her instructors will allow her round out her repertoire of moves, and help her develop her technical wrestling as well. "Lufisto, she's very knowledgeable and she brings a lot of cool things from Japan and Mexico to the training," she notes. In comparison, "Dru Onyx is great at giving us the basics and a very good teacher as well."
Moonlight, in her gig as Chris Stevens' valet.
These days, she admits rather guiltily that she is a massive Jeff Hardy fan. "I live to love him," she says, as a blush breaks in her cheeks. "This guy always inspired me. It's because of him that I have a passion for wrestling." She pauses, then adds that it probably helps that Jeff's popularity was peaking while she was a young teen. "But you know... Matt is definitely the more professional one!"
Of course, Moonlight has other dreams as well. Once she finishes her high school, she is seriously contemplating studying Police Technology. "I was always interested in police movies, everything from Rush Hour to Bad Boyz... I really loved Bad Boyz". Of course, she's also interested in the physical aspect of the job as well as the responsibility and the power that come with the uniform.
In her free time, she likes to write poems, to hit the gym, and enjoy the occasional night out dancing. She also reminds me that her mother's cooking is her favorite food, it's simply the best stuff out there. These are the same kinds of things the girl-next-door would say. Moonlight is bashful when the topic turns to her love life. Although she doesn't want to go into details, she has no bones telling me what her idea of the perfect guys is: "A guy who respects me for who and what I am. A guy who is funny and knows how to love me and who would do anything for me and who is sure of himself."
For now, the unassuming girl from the city's East End just wants to continue wrestling, training and improving. Like her idol Jeff Hardy, she just wants to channel her art into a form that everyone can enjoy; the quintessential artist who is both introverted and soft-spoken, yet loves being in front of a crowd.
WORD ASSOCIATION WITH MOONLIGHT
The Twin Terrors – "They are my best friends. Without them, i would never be where i am today"
Adib Mansour – "Master on the mic."
Nick Blade – "Really full of himself."
Lufisto – "A tough teacher, but a good teacher. I have nothing but thanks for her."
Dru Onyx – "Great worker and I love his music!"
CWA – "One of the best feds I've been to."
ICW – "No comment!"
Alex Price – "Loves what he does and a cool guy to chill with."
Matt Hardy – "Obviously more professional than Jeff."
Jaguar – "One of the best technical wrestlers in Quebec."
Hugo Roy – "I guess he's a good friend."
Special thanks to LuFisto, Moonlight & CWA for the images. |
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