Albie Anne Troska
Creativity is one of the most unique facets of humanity, in that it requires a wide range of perspectives & experiences to bring captivating outcomes to the table. Occasionally it helps to have a lifelong passion but just as often fresh ideas come from people who remain untarnished by the past. Albie Anne Troska is the perfect example of the latter as she had no real interest in professional wrestling until she witnessed it live & up close. From that initial encounter, a creative spark was lit within Albie & she has rapidly become one of the brightest young prospects emanating from Newcastle Pro Wrestling.
Albie recently sat down with Pario to discuss her unique path into the world of wrestling, the tough hurdles associated with being new to the medium & balancing the pressure versus motivation that comes with the alumni of her wrestling school.
IGNITING THE PASSION
Unlike many of the other wrestlers that Pario has spoken with Albie's history with wrestling was rather surprising. As Albie explained, growing up she knew of wrestling because of her father & brother but she had no interest in it. She even went so far as to tell us, "I absolutely hated it."
Naturally, you might be wondering then, how the heck did Albie become a wrestler then?
Well, Albie's entire perspective changed when her friend, Referee Hannah, dragged her along to a Newcastle Pro Wrestling show.
"Hannah was the person who ignited my passion when she convinced me to go to a show," recalled Albie. "At that show, I watched one match featuring The Velocities (Jude London & Paris De Silva) & immediately thought, 'Oh my lord!'"
Now, while there is nothing like seeing wrestling live & in person, it still takes a special type of person to take that leap from fan to performer. When asked what that tipping point was for her Albie said, "I've always done dance, gymnastics & theatre, so wrestling just seemed like that on steroids. I was thinking, this seems like the next step."
A BLANK SLATE
Entering training presented yet another eye-opening experience for Albie. Since she hadn't crowned up a devout wrestling viewer she had no points of reference in terms of famous wrestlers, the history of the art form or even, most importantly, the psychology behind it.
"At my tryout, they asked, 'Who is your favourite wrestler' but I didn't have one. At the time I didn't even know that John Cena or The Rock were wrestlers, I just knew them from their movies," Albie laughed. "So, I leaned across to Hannah to ask who I should say. She told me to say Lita. I don't even remember what I said but apparently, it was wrong because everyone laughed at me."
Wrestling fans are notorious for gate-keeping wrestling, however, the crew at the House Of Free Fighting welcomed Albie into their ranks with open arms. As it turns out the trainers at the school enjoyed the fact that Albie was a blank slate that was willing to learn & be moulded in a way.
"A lot of people are amazed that I joined this sport so blind to it," Albie told Pario. "My trainers & mentors actually like that they can impart their wisdom on me because I'm brand new & ask a lot of questions. I think that's particularly why Hoff [Adam Hoffman] has taken me under his wing. He has been able to mould me into whatever he needed because I had no preconceptions of how this all works or what I wanted to do."
RACE TO CATCH UP
Now, unlike her wrestling persona Albie's wrestling journey wasn't all sunshine & rainbows. This was especially the case during her first year, with the global pandemic severely impacting the training protocols.
"I spent a lot of my rookie year in COVID," Albie reflected. "We were in & out of lockdowns. We even had training sessions where we rocked up & then it was announced half an hour into it that we weren't allowed to touch, or we had to leave. So there were definitely parts where I felt like I was left behind in a sense, compared to everyone else. They could at least talk about things but I would have no idea what they were talking about."
Despite this, in just 3 years, Albie has become a fan favourite & someone who a lot of people have high expectations for.
Having such high expectations placed on you early in your career could be daunting. However, Albie told Pario that for her it's very motivating & that she is grateful for the women who "paved the way" for her.
"It's crazy to look at the women who were here before me & where they are now... I'd like to thank them for paving the way. They’ve done a great job, but I hope that in another 10 years, there won't just be 2 women in the wrestling school, there might be 20 or 30."
Follow Albie's creative journey on social media at: @AlbieAnneTroska
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