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Saturday night at Birmingham’s O2 Academy 2, marked the return of TNA Boot Camp 2 alumni Kay Lee Ray to the ICW ring. We managed to catch up with her backstage following her return to chat about the ICW crowds, plans now she’s back and what she’s been up to.
After a couple of months away from ICW, you made your welcome return in Birmingham tonight.
Yeah, taking on Liam Thompson and I got my arse handed to me I think! But it was good to be back, good to experience the crowd back at ICW. No matter where we are London, Birmingham, Leeds or home town in Glasgow you’ve always got a hot crowd that come into ICW that feels everything you do. As soon as you come out, you hear that crowd and they are on your straight away, you know you are going to have fun.
It’s a very different crowd compared to the more “family friendly” promotions.
Yeah, it flips it on it’s head.
Must be pretty cool when your opponent is being verbally abused by the crowd. It must help get you going?
And as I said, every city we go to is hot but in a different way. Like Glasgow you can tell they’ve got a really Scottish accent when they chant, but tonight I actually wanted to comment on the way they said my name, I’ve never heard anyone pronounce my name like that it was so cool but I was like ‘No let’s get on with it,’ but little things like that, they come up with their own things and that’ll be a certain thing for a certain city. But it’s really cool to be back!
Now that you are back, what are your intentions?
We just need to see what happens, ICW wise I’ve got a few things coming up with them a few shows in the future. So arrive, do what we do and see what happens! I’m not allowed to say to much!
Outside of ICW what have you been up to? Where have you been the last few months?
Tuesday I got back from a trip to America, did a little tour for three weeks over their did California, Florida and Chicago this time, which was really nice but that’s only the first time this year. Last year I was in the State three separate times, for three separate things and it wasn’t just a week at a time they were all at least two to four weeks, so by the name October came around I was like “this is really wearing on me, this is this year done.”
I’m assuming you were doing the independent promotions out there, is it a bit strange because ICW sets it’s self apart a little in this country in that they have kind of continuing story-lines. Did you have that over their, or are you going in fresh on each show?
Mainly the company that I go over for is Shimmer, who are an all female wrestling company that in my opinion are one of the best in the world right now for what they do. I think they just filmed Volume 77, I’m not sure because you film two taping in a day, and you do it all weekend so after a while it all becomes a blur, but you do get your own character in every company I think. In Shimmer they see me as the daredevil high-flyer and stuff, and I think most people see me in a venue looking up to see what I can jump off.
I must admit, I was a bit nervous when I saw you climb up to the top rope with the low ceilings.
You always see me as soon as I go to the top robe just have a wee glance up to make sure there is nothing I can smack my head on.
Which was an issue tonight because there seem to be a lot limiting what you could do off the top.
Yeah, but you just need to be a bit careful with that! With Shimmer I actually won their Chickfight Tournament this year in San Jose, and they actually run parallel with Wrestlemaina, so they’ll run the same weekend in the same place. It’s the first time they’ve held a Chickfight tournament in a while I believe in a good few years, so I won that which meant I got a title shot at the next Shimmer event which was in their home town of Berwyn (Illinois) so that was cool to get the title shot in the home town!
Thanks to Kay Lee for talking the time to talk to Steelchair, and you can check out her return to ICW action on their On Demand Service