Delta
Photo: 6sixstudios
Survey the Australian wrestling landscape at the beginning of 2024 & you'll soon realise that some of the top talents in this country share something in common, they are women! One such woman is the inaugural Riot City Wrestling (RCW) Grand Champion, Delta. In less than 5 years Delta has gone from simply watching her brother wrestle to being touted as the next big international star.
Pario recently sat down with Delta to discuss her rapid rise through the ranks of Australian wrestling, battling her self-doubts, comparisons to fellow Adelaide wrestler turned WWE superstar Rhea Ripley, & women taking over Australian wrestling.
THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Before Delta's journey to become the RCW Grand Champion even began she had a unique perspective on professional wrestling thanks to her brother Dean Brady. As Delta explained to Pario watching Dean, who is a former 3-time RCW Tag Team Champion & current RCW Emerald Crown Champion, sparked a passion within her that helped pull her out of a dark place.
"I wasn’t in a good place mentally & physically for a long time. After graduating high school in 2016 I didn’t go anywhere to study, I held a full-time job for about 4 months, until I got let go. So, while all my friends were busy creating their lives, I stayed home & played video games for two years, basically never leaving the house.
"A couple of months before watching my first wrestling show I knew I had had enough of being sad & wasting my life. I knew I wanted to make a change but at the time didn’t know what I wanted to do... Then in September 2018, I watched my first ever live wrestling show at RCW 200. My brother was a tag team champion at the time & they were putting the championships up for grabs in a 4-way tag team TLC match. It was a big deal for him so he wanted his family to come watch... Looking up at my brother from the crowd, standing up on the corner mean mugging everyone, I knew I wanted to do the same... So as cliche as it sounds, watching that wrestling show sparked something in me."
Although Delta had a way into the wrestling business through her brother it still took time for her to build enough confidence to finally take her shot & tryout in 2019.
"I tested the waters with my family by joking about becoming a wrestler, even though I knew it wasn’t really a joke. Surprisingly, no one really reacted in a negative way & in fact, my brother was more enthusiastic about it than I was," Delta laughed.
SILENCING DOUBT
Photo: JIWC
Although many onlookers now highlight Delta as perhaps the brightest prospect in Australian wrestling, Delta revealed that she has battled self-doubt from day one.
"My confidence has always been my biggest challenge. I grew up with a very protective mother, who was always worried I was going to hurt myself. Naturally, that meant I grew up thinking of the worst-case scenarios of how I'd somehow get hurt. So obviously, I'd have to be crazy to try wrestling!"
Thankfully for Australian wrestling Delta pushed through the self-doubt, even if it made for very anxious training sessions.
"Almost every single training session I was worried I was going to get hurt somehow, especially if anything looked the tiniest bit dangerous," Delta said. "I doubted myself & my ability for so long. That has been the biggest hurdle for me so far. It wasn’t until this past year that I’ve been able to shut out those worried & doubtful voices in my head."
SUPERSTAR COMPARISONS
Something that has perhaps helped Delta overcome her self-doubt has surprisingly been the comparisons to WWE superstar Rhea Ripley, herself an RCW alumnus.
"Being compared to arguably one of the best female wrestlers currently? Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s even better knowing that we’ve come from the same wrestling school," Delta said proudly. "I’ve never tried to copy her in any way, which I know is hard to believe because we are so similar. But knowing that what I’m doing, that is authentically me, is travelling down the same path as someone like Rhea Ripley, that’s the biggest compliment & ego boost of them all.
During this portion of the interview, Delta was also very eager to praise her current RCW colleagues; Mat 'Grimm' Basso, Dean Brady, & Matt Hayter.
"The wrestlers I'm surrounded by now inspire me every day. One day when I’m old & I’ve had a successful wrestling career/life, I’ll thank these people & the many more who have helped me on my journey by making me a better person & wrestler."
GIRLS RULE
As mentioned at the beginning of this article Delta recently became the inaugural RCW Grand Champion when she unified the RCW Heavyweight Championship with the RCW Women's Championship. Reflecting on that moment Delta described it as a moment she will "remember forever."
What made Delta's victory even more special for her was being able to witness a fellow female wrestler Jessica Troy winning the top title in NSW a little under a month prior.
"Wrestling is becoming more open & creative so I think in the future there will be endless opportunities for more women to have these big main event championship matches & come out of it as champions. I would like to think Jessica Troy & myself have now set the bar & have inspired those watching to become even more determined & hungrier!"
“Miki Fortune is one of my top picks. This championship was so close to being hers, & I mean very close! So, I see no reason why she wouldn’t challenge me again," Delta answered quickly. "You also have Amber who wrestles for RCW & Wrestle Rampage. She has already made history by becoming the first female to win the Wrestle Rampage Tag Team championships. I see her doing the same in RCW. She’s always pushing to be better & do more.
"Finally, there's Cherry Stephens, who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the ring a few times now. She has all the potential in the world. She’s such a determined & mighty person with the right attitude, which is a recipe for success."
Follow Delta's creative journey on social media at: @Delta_ProWrestler
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