FLlGHT CLUB Pull her punches when it comes to breaking moulds
Wrestler doesn’t pull her punches when it comes to breaking moulds
KIMBERLY Benson has two jobs. In one, she wears a skirt and blouse, answers the phone and chats to customers about their coach booking requirements.
For the second, the 26-year-old pours herself into a shimmery swimsuit and fishnet tights, glues on false lashes, then jumps on top of fully grown men from a great height.
Kimberly is a professional wrestler, stage name Viper, also known as the vixen of violence and the babe of barbarity.
She said: “In the ring, you’re an athlete, an actor, a stuntsperson, a comedian. There are so many different roles you have to fill. It can be very challenging but the love of it keeps you going.”
A BBC documentary, Fight Like A Girl, follows Kimberly on a trip to Japan for the biggest fight of her career.
She hopes it will open up other opportunities – and persuade the unconverted that female wrestling is a rollicking great night out.
She said: “Wrestling is pretty niche. This could be an avenue for a lot of other things. I love panto, I love singing. I’m weirdly shy but I love to perform.”
Growing up in Ayrshire, Kimberly was glued to wrestling on the telly. But she had no idea it was a job that actual people could do. Then a boyfriend suggested a workout at a wrestling gym in Linwood, Renfrewshire. Kimberly added: “It was very pungent. “Now, wrestling schools are very purpose-built. This was an old, shoddy ring and some crappy mats that I think got stolen from a primary school.
“There was a weird smell of takeaway food and grungy socks. It was probably damp and I’m sure there was some streptococcus in the ring.” She loved it. At the time, there were very few female wrestlers in the UK. None of them were big, sonsie lassies from Kilburnie.
Kimberly said: “What was popular was fitness models and girls that they tried to teach wrestling to. They were very bad at it.”
Aged 16, she made her professional debut wearing big pants and a sparkly top from Primark. “It was all very last-minute,” she said. Her character Viper has been evolving with her since.
Kimberly said: “It’s been a weird transition. When 16 or 17 years old, you
have no idea who you are, so how are you supposed to be someone else?
“At first, Viper was a little snotty spoiled brat. She’s developed as I’ve grown as a person. The best wrestling personalities are you with the volume turned up to 11. I feel really comfortable with who I am as a person and that K shines through.” imberly has ignored all suggestions and hints about losing weight and turned her body shape into an advantage.
She said: “There has been pressure but I’m really glad I didn’t give in. Some came from other wrestlers. Some promoters asked me to cover up a bit more, go on a diet, lose a few pounds, all those subtle horrible suggestions.
“It took me the longest time to realise the things that made me different were going to help me excel.
“You take a 210lb girl and a 150lb girl – who’s going to pin who to the mat?
“I have helped break a mould in women’s wrestling. I was tired of being told, ‘This is what you have to look like and what you have to be’. I came in and said, ‘That’s a load of nonsense’.”
Being a pro wrestler is a funny old life. Her best friends are wrestlers.
Kimberly said: “There’s no other sport where you can go in and batter the life out of each other, then say, ‘That was great babe, let’s go get a pint’.”
In the ring, Kimberly can serve a sitout scoop slam piledriver while leaving her opponent’s eyeliner and hair extensions intact. She said: “It’s an unspoken common courtesy between women. We understand how long makeup takes, how expensive it is. We do not grab each other by the face.
“I need a hold of you but I’ll slot my fingers round your hair and I won’t pull or tug because I understand it’s all very expensive.
“But in first 30 seconds, a man will grab me by the face and have my hair all over the place. I will be in a real rage, looking round the ring for my lashes.”
Sometimes, Kimberly is not in the mood to be whacked with a chair or thrown out of the ring on to the floor. S But Viper is bigger than her moods. he said: “People come up and tell me that the things I’ve done and said give them confidence.
“Girls say they never used to go out because they were ashamed of what they looked like or too worried about what people would think of them.
“A wee girl came up in tears and hugged me. Her mum said she’s a really good dancer but some girls in her class were making remarks about her wrestling costumes.
“She was going to give it up but she saw me wrestle, now she’s got medals.
“If I can help someone get through everyday life by prancing about in a wrestling ring for 15 minutes, I will get my gear on and do that.” ●Fight Like A Girl is on BBC1 on Monday, at 7.30pm.
I was told, ‘This is how you have to look’. That’s nonsense KIMBERLY ON PRESSURE TO CONFORM