Kanji would not have become a wrestler if not for Total Divas.
Total Divas was a reality show on the E! Network which showcased the lives of WWE Divas, behind the scenes. While it was really a launching pad for the Bella Twins’ future career, British star Paige (Saraya in AEW) was one of the wrestlers who stood out on the show.
A number of different female wrestlers have cited Total Divas as inspiring them to become professional wrestlers. One of them is Kanji, one of the best wrestlers in the UK and a future world champion in her home country and beyond.
Kanji spoke about her start in wrestling with Wrestling With Jonners. This is where she revealed the influence that Total Divas had on her career and how specifically Saraya’s career inspired her to become a professional wrestler.
“I didn’t know you could be a wrestler in the UK. I wasn’t aware of an independent scene or anything. I’d seen posters around for camp shows, but I didn’t think that was real wrestling.” Kanji said.
“It’s strange, but I was never aware of an independent scene. I just thought that if you wanted to be a wrestler, you had to go to America and be in WWE. I was quite ignorant in that sense.”
“But then I was watching Total Divas, and Paige (AEW’s Saraya) was on there. That’s when it clicked—Paige is British. She must have trained somewhere because she was so young. So I did a quick Google search and found that she trained in Norwich. I thought, That’s it! We gotta move to Norwich so I can train to be a wrestler!“
“But then I realized, if there’s a school in Norwich, surely there are other schools too. Luckily, I found House of Pain in Nottingham. I thought, That’s so ideal—it’s literally in my town!” added Kanji.
Kanji Trained To Wrestle After Finishing University
Kanji continued and revealed how she first started training to be a wrestler.
The technical wrestler had to wait until she finished university, but as soon as she had her degree she went straight to training to become a pro wrestling.
“At the time, I was doing my uni degree, so I decided to finish uni first and then start training. During my course, I messaged the head trainer, Stixx, and asked about open days. I asked if I could come to an open day after I finished uni, and he said, You can come whenever you like—just come to a beginner’s class.” Kanji said.
“But I wanted to go to an open day, so as soon as I finished uni that September, I went to the next open day in December 2016. I just walked in there on my own—my mom dropped me off outside—and that was the first time I had ever seen a wrestling ring in real life.” She added.
“I was so close to the ring, and Stixx was sitting on the edge in a vest top—he’s massive. I just thought, Wow, this is it. There were guys all sat on the floor, listening to him talk, and I realized I was maybe one of two girls in the class.”
“But yeah, that was my first taste of the wrestling world.”
