Indi Hartwell is an up-and-coming star in the professional wrestling business. The 21-year old from Melbourne, Australia has just 2 years in the business under her belt but has already come over to the United States for a couple of tours and to train with another future star in the business, Tessa Blanchard, worked for SHIMMER and has gotten a WWE tryout. This, in addition to being one of the top female stars on the Australian pro wrestling scene makes her one to watch in 2018. Indi was gracious enough to give me few moments of her time to answer questions about her career.
The Curtain Jerker: Why wrestling? Why get involved in this crazy business?
Indi Hartwell: Wrestling has been one of the most important parts of my life since I started watching wrestling when I was 8. As soon as my brother introduced me to it, I was hooked… and I never outgrew it. I grew up idolising wrestlers and wanted to be exactly like them.
CJ: What was your first professional wrestling match like?
IH: I was really happy with it but was obviously super nervous. I got to wrestle KellyAnne, who was someone I used to watch at local shows all the time when I was younger. It was only just over a year and a half ago, but I feel like I’ve changed so much since then. It’s actually on YouTube if you want to see it.
CJ: You have a very unique look to you, when you come out to the ring you notice right away that you don’t look like the female performers of the 90’s who participated in “Bra & Panties” matches. Has having a “different” look and working the “newer” style for women I.e. not being involved in the “Attitude Era” women’s matches helped you?
IH: Times change and I feel as though wrestlers evolve with the times too. I’m grateful that I came into wrestling at a time where womens wrestling was already beginning to develop into something even more amazing than it already was.
CJ: What has been your career highlight so far?
IH: I’ve done some pretty exciting things so far in my short time, but I’d probably put it down to my WWE tryout which was literally a year ago now or wrestling Tessa Blanchard in my hometown.
CJ: The wrestling scene in Australia is currently in one of their best periods ever, and there are many talented women coming out of Australia, is there a lot of competition for spots on shows there for the women?
IH: Australian wrestling is still at a point where a show will feature only one (MAYBE two) womens matches, while some shows don’t feature a womens match at all. In that case, it can be hard to gain exposure on shows. However, it’s no secret that the abundance of female wrestlers in Australia is low. If you work hard, you’ll be rewarded
CJ: Even though you have been in the business for about 2 years, you’ve made the trip to the United States for a tour. How did that come about?
IH: My recent trip to the states was my second time wrestling there. Earlier in the year, I made my way to Orlando, FL, and wrestled on the WrestleCon Women’s Supershow. It completely threw me out of my comfort zone as it was my first time wrestling overseas and I had just celebrated my one year anniversary of wrestling, so I was super inexperienced, but I learnt a lot.
I decided to make another trip to the states with my boyfriend, Tome, for training reasons. We wanted to get more training experience so we decided on a school and spent a few weeks there.
CJ: During your time in the States, you trained at Booker T’s gym and also trained with Tessa Blanchard, what did you come away with during your time in these places?
IH: I learnt so much from training there and talking with people. I came away with different perspectives from the various trainers. I also participated in the RISE seminar in Chicago, so the learning didn’t stop. You can also learn by just having conversations with people, it’s not always physical learning.
Spending time with Tessa also taught me a lot. I love picking her brain.
CJ: Anybody that follows you on Twitter (@indi_hartwell) or Instagram (indihartwell) can tell that you are quite the gym rat and into the fitness scene, how much does that play into what you do in the ring?
IH: Being physically fit is so important when it comes to wrestling. It’s one thing to be fit in a cardiovascular sense so you can keep up in the ring, but it’s also extremely important to invest in your physical look. If you don’t invest in yourself, why should anyone else invest in you?
CJ: You are only 21 years old and have a ton of wrestling left in your career, so where do you see your career in the next 5 years? Do you hope that WWE comes calling? Or would you like to do more tours of the United States or even head to Japan for STARDOM? What does the future hold for Indi Hartwell?
IH: In 5 years, I hope to reside in the United States, making a living off of wrestling. Obviously WWE is the ultimate goal, but I’d love to have a lot of experience under my belt. So for now, I’d love to wrestle more often in the U.S. to get my name out there and I 100% want to wrestle and train in Japan for STARDOM. The U.K. scene is booming right now, so I’d love to make my way over there too.
CJ: Where can people find you on social media and get updates on your career and upcoming shows?
IH: I usually post about my upcoming shows on Facebook (www.facebook.com/indihartwell), gym selfies on Instagram (@indihartwell) and everything else on Twitter (@indi_hartwell). I also have merch available via my online store www.indihartwell.bigcartel.com.
Indi will be wrestling for Melbourne City Wrestling on December 16th to take on Kelly Anne at the Thornbury Theatre.
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