Katarina Leigh Waters Talks New Wrestling Film
The Other Side of the Ring comes out May 20.
If you can’t get enough of Dark Side of the Ring and Biography: WWE Legends, then you’re in luck. There’s a new wrestling documentary coming out, focusing on women’s wrestling.
The Other Side of the Ring stars four women with various levels of experience and notoriety:
Katarina Leigh Waters – a 21-year veteran who competed in WWE as Katie Lea Burchill, in Impact Wrestling as Winter and Katarina and in Women of Wrestling (WOW) as The Temptress
Shelly Martinez – a Southern California indie standout who appeared in WWE as Ariel and in TNA as Salinas before retiring in 2017
Delilah Doom – debuting in 2014, the manic aerobics instructor is one of the most popular indie wrestlers on the West Coast
Keta Meggett – joined WOW in 2016 as Keta Rush and is the founder/CEO of Team Bully Buster, a nonprofit organization and gym that teaches self-defense
The 81-minute documentary weaves four shoot interviews into a glimpse of women’s wrestling over the past 20 years, covering how these performers discovered the genre, broke into the business, developed their characters and more. I had only known Katarina prior to watching, so it was fun learning about these other wrestlers. Martinez didn’t hold back on the struggles she faced while working for the two top promotions in the United States at the time, and Doom (donning a Cosby sweater) exploded onto the screen like a burst of fireworks. She’s definitely gained a new fan.
Directed by Jeremy Norrie and produced by Sky Island Storytelling, the film is distributed by ZapruderFlix and Indie Rights.
The Other Side of the Ring will be available on Tubi TV, Video on Demand and Google Play on May 20.
I spoke with Katarina about the new wrestling documentary, her current status in the sport and her burgeoning film career. (The following interview has been edited and condensed.)
I just watched The Other Side of the Ring last night and thought it had the perfect cast. Your personalities make for very easy listening. Have you had a chance to see it yet?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “I’ve only seen some of it because I have sort of a fear of watching myself, so it takes me a little while to overcome it. But I agree with you that I particularly liked about it is that we’re all so different. We have such different approaches and stories and how we got into it. Also, the paths that pro wrestling has taken us. Of course, I know them and love them, but I’ve really learned so much about my colleagues.”
The only issue I had is the segment dedicated to whether pro wrestling is real or fake. Aren’t you tired of being asked that?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “Well, I don’t get offended by the question. Right at the beginning of the documentary, they use a soundbite of me saying ‘People ask me if it’s fake. Well, they wouldn’t say that about a movie.’ It sounds like I’m offended by the word, but I’m not. I don’t mind the word. Everybody knows, but the reason why people ask is because for so long we (the wrestling industry) has lied about it. I’m using the collective we because me personally, I’ve never lied about it. I know people who to ‘protect the business.’
When people ask me, ‘are you girls really fighting?’ I go, ‘Oh no, it’s fake.’ Sometimes, when I say I’m a wrestler, they think of amateur wrestling. I go, ‘Oh no, the fake stuff.’ So, I use that word to sort of disarm it to begin with and bring a different aspect to it. Yes, it’s fake, but so are movies and theater. That’s what’s great about it.”
In the film, you mentioned how it was tough to get interested in the women’s wrestlers back in the day because they didn’t really have meaty storylines. What are some of your all-time favorite storylines in wrestling, and your favorite in your own career?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “My first run in TNA. It was something very different and lasted from week to week for about a year. So, it was like the longest story I’ve been involved in, which was very exciting for me. I loved the magical aspect of it. The other would be when I was in OVW in a storyline with Beth Phoenix and ODB. The fake title, the real title, combining them and all our character work in between. Again, we went from week to week and did backstage vignettes and really told a story over an extended period of time.
In general, I like what everybody else likes, like Rock-Austin. My favorite wrestler of all time because he was my first favorite wrestler I really watched was ‘Big Daddy Cool’ Diesel. His feud with Sycho Sid was very special to me. When I first heard of wrestling was Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, but I didn’t watch it because we didn’t have cable TV. So, I didn’t really watch until the early ‘90s.”
The last time fans saw you on TV was as The Temptress in Women of Wrestling (WOW). Are you still part of the company?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “I mean, technically. We don’t have long-term contracts. We have a character with WOW and let’s say hypothetically, they film another season when COVID dissipates a little bit, they’ll call and ask if we’d like to bring our character back.”
Would you say yes?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “Well, I think it’s a phenomenal character and I love working for the company. And I love working with Dagger, my tag team partner there. She’s a fantastic person, both as a performer in the ring and she’s also become a friend. We have a great time at those tapings.”
Do you think WOW is doing its job and giving fans of women’s wrestling what they want?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “WOW is for sure a positive force in not only women’s wrestling, but also wrestling in general. It has created its own market and its own fan base. It can be for diehard wrestling fans, as well as newbies. I like all the different characters and the vibe. It’s a little more family-friendly, but at the same time, some of the characters have an edginess to them.
You know, we watch it backstage on a big monitor while the matches are going on. It’s interesting because the women competing don’t necessarily come from a wrestling background. They’re not the most experienced when it comes to putting matches together or being on the indie scene or things like that. So, it’s fun watching it all come together and the production values are great.”
With you having so much experience, do the younger wrestlers come up to you for critiques?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “Sometimes. I’m always very flattered when somebody does that. I do have a little more input into my own matches than some of the other girls. I’ve always enjoyed when working with somebody who hasn’t been in the wrestling industry long, figuring out ways to make both of us look good.”
With your film background, I have to ask – What are you currently watching?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “A lot of Spanish TV shows on Netflix that are really good.”
Have you seen Money Heist?
Katarina Leigh Waters: “No, is that a scripted show?”
Yes, it’s a Spanish show with English voices dubbed in. It’s amazing.
Katarina Leigh Waters: “Okay, I’m going to write that down. Toy Boy and White Lines are really good. It’s not a Spanish show, but Imposters is really good. On Amazon, there’s Sneaky Pete. It’s about a conman and the actor is great. I like documentaries, too. I just watched Unnatural Selection about bio hackers injecting each other with DNA.”
That sounds very interesting.
Katarina Leigh Waters: “(laughs) Yes, it is. I also actually just acted in a film last year called Sorority of the Damned. I play one of the witches. It’s a quirky horror comedy with a very funny script. It’s not out yet, but I do have a film on Amazon called Karate Kill that people can watch right now. I also just shot a concept trailer for a script I wrote called Beautiful Monsters. I’m in post-production right now. Then, I’m going to present it to people and show them my ideas and visual aesthetic, as it were. Hopefully, from there, we’ll be able to make the film happen. Fingers crossed.”
Follow @katarinasinfamy on Twitter and Instagram.
About Author
