00:00I used to wrestle a long time ago, like in my early 20s, and had quite a good wrestling
00:08career, and then it all ended when the promoter passed away. There wasn't really any work
00:14for girls wrestling at that time, so it just died out, and I just put it in the back of
00:18my mind and carried on with my life. And then somebody put a YouTube video of my wrestling
00:24match at Windsor Gardens in Blackpool, and then there was talk on this wrestling forum
00:29like, I wonder what Sammy Rogers did and what happened to her. So I answered in the
00:34forum, and then someone said, oh, Showtown Museum in Blackpool has got one of your posters.
00:41So I went down to the museum to see my poster from Windsor Gardens that's got my name on,
00:46and the Blackpool Gazette asked if they could come and interview me, dressed in my old costume
00:51as the cowgirl Sammy Rogers. And then they asked then, would you ever think about doing
00:56a comeback? And I thought, well, I said, never say never. And then after that, I was
01:00thinking about it, like, could I do a comeback at my age? Like, would it even be possible?
01:07So I thought, if I did, it's got to be in Blackpool, because that's where all my wrestling
01:11career was based. So I was looking online, and I found Ross's Rascals Academy in Blackpool,
01:17and I approached him, and I said, you know, I used to be a wrestler years ago. Could I
01:21have a few private sessions and see if I could get back into it and see what level
01:26I'm at? If I wanted to do a comeback show, even just one, could it be possible? So we've
01:31been training ever since October, every week. And then as it got towards Christmas, he said,
01:38what do you think about doing a show in February, and I'll pair you with one of the current
01:42professional female wrestlers. So that was it, and that's just gone in a blur. So we've
01:47been training really hard, and today's the day, and I've done my comeback, and it's been
01:53amazing. Mentally, it's been a lot harder, because now I'm a bit older. Like, I'm more
01:59frightened of injuries, so I'm a bit more careful with my body, and I'm overthinking
02:03everything. And my confidence levels have been so up and down during the training. Like,
02:09one week I wanted to do it, another week I was ready to give it up, and I just didn't
02:13have the belief at times, which is where Ross and Taylor came in, like, really encouraging
02:19me and pushing me and telling me, you can do it. Once you're in the ring, you're really
02:23going to enjoy it and have a great time, and I have. It's been amazing.
02:29I was so nervous this morning. I felt sick and I couldn't eat anything, but once I came
02:34through the curtains, I just felt like on top of the world again, and I just loved every
02:38second of it.
02:39I never thought I'd ever get back in a wrestling game ever again after 32 years, but Ross has
02:45made it possible and given me the encouragement and support and the opportunity to do it again.
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