She's traded in her high heels and evening gowns for knee pads and a wrestling ring, Nikki Poteet is ready to make her mark as a professional wrestler at this year's Ironfest.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The former Miss Virginia USA will be making her wrestling debut as 'Mindy Meltdown' on Sunday, April 28 at 1pm in The Shed, where she will take on Jasmin Vittoria who has wrestled in Canada and the USA.
Poteet said she looked forward to making her professional wrestling debut at Ironfest.
"Ironfest is such a unique festival with an old timey theme, I've never been to a festival like this and I have never been to Lithgow, so I can't wait to meet the locals and have fun at the festival," she said.
Poteet has been in training for 12 months and said the idea of becoming a wrestler had lingered in her mind for a couple of years.
"Having grown up in the southern part of the United States, wrestling was always on TV and everyone watched it, it became part of my culture.
"I went to a show in Sydney and after that I was introduced to a trainer in Newcastle and started training the next week," she said.
She has since been training with her new coach Lisa who teaches a variety of martial arts.
Read more:
"It's really set things in motion, and has completely changed the way I approach pro-wrestling. I've worked hard to get where I am, and can't wait to make my debut in Lithgow," she said.
Poteet said she will be representing Wrestle Strong Dojo as her character Mindy Meltdown who is an exaggerated extension of one aspect of the real Nikki.
"I have a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering and worked as a nuclear safety engineer for several years before moving to Australia.
"Some of my wrestling colleagues named me Mindy, after a Simpson's character who was a newly hired hot engineer at the nuclear plant where Homer worked. I liked the name - it was a perfect fit, and it sounded great with Meltdown," she said.
Poteet said she loved the idea of getting the audience hyped up and interacting with them and she planned to do so at her Ironfest debut.
To get tickets to this year's festival head to ironfest.net.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Lithgow Mercury. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.
Alanna Tomazin
Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
