April Hunter - Pro Wrestling Manager, Model, Journalist, & Photographer

Submitted By James Walsh on 01/17/08

"From: April Hunter - who is really a nerd...w/ boobs Date: Jan 16, 2008 6:29 PM Subject: In-Ring Retirement Body: The "Retirement" Rumors... April Hunter - pro wrestling manager, model, journalist & photographer: In the words of Ric Flair: "I will never retire!" Unless of course, the doctors tell me I pretty much have no choice. And they did, so I am… That's right, I'm a manager now and I will no longer be wrestling. I'm going to miss being beaten up several nights a week, breaking bones, bruising my body, having my ass spanked in front of thousands, and most of all having "nip slip" shots posted on the Internet. Damn it, those were the days! But as they say all good things must come to an end... The results are in from both my US and Canadian doctors (yup, I even went "abroad" for a third opinion!). I have to stop wrestling as soon as possible. Not only will I be crippled, but I'm headed towards internal organ failure as well. Oh, the injuries... there are others besides just my back and neck. I'm in constant pain. My femur doesn't fit correctly into my hip socket. Mondays I go to the doctors for ART chiropractic therapy trying to fix the sciatica and discs that are pressing on my spinal cord, making my arms, hands and feet numb. Every day I have a laundry list of exercises to do. I have a special chair cushion (that keeps my spine straight) for when I work on the computer... a neck pillow to convince my C spine to curve the normal backwards instead of forwards, like it's now fused. But I do it. Needless to say though, when sitting in a chair is a pain in the ass it's probably not the best idea to go flying off any ropes anytime soon. Once you throw one or two things off with an injury, it's easy to throw out the rest while you're babying the other stuff. And since we only get paid when we work, I tended to tape up and work through way too many injuries. Now I can't ignore it any longer. And I refuse to take pain killers. I've just seen too many in this business destroyed by them. So what's to blame? Too many big bumps? Definitely! Too many bad opponents? Probably. Hell I've even had my elbow broken by a tag-team partner. I'll be honest and say the current state of women's wrestling in the US hasn't helped me. I've lost count of the times I've worked with girls who were more or less completely untrained but just so happened to be somebody's girlfriend… or somebody wanted them to be their girlfriend. That's not to say that good looking girls shouldn't get a push in pro wrestling. Sex sells and be honest, what would you rather look at – a cute thing with a tight butt or a man-beast who hits a mean enzuigiri? Hell I got my break in WCW at a time when I was far from a refined technical wrestler – but before I got in the ring I busted my ass, got myself into a wrestling school and trained, trained and trained some more. Good looking girls will always have their place in wrestling – it just shouldn't be inside a wrestling ring unless they can actually wrestle too. The secondary reason I'm pulling out is that there is a staggering lack of ...professionalism' in ..professional' wrestling. It's not uncommon to drive on a six-fourteen hour round-trip for less than you'd make in eight hours at your day job only to be told the promoter wanted to cut your rate or your travel money. To be honest, I just got tired of fighting for everything that in every other realm of entertainment is standard and not even discussed. The people of the adult (XXX) world are much more professional and aware of networking than the ones in wrestling. It doesn't make sense, but not much does. At one point, you start thinking, "I'm kind of a grown up now. Why am I driving that far for those amounts of money to play-fight in a ring and have someone try to cut my pay even further?" It just stopped making sense to me, unless I was working overseas. That I never got tired of, but it's more business-like there. Wrestling is a selfish business and it'll treat you like a racehorse if you let it… they'll ride you into the ground and make as much off your ass as they can while feeding you just enough to get by… then if you break a leg, it's out to pasture with a rifle and on to the next fastest horse. I don't want that to happen to me, so the time is now - while I can still get on my knees to play with my (future) kids without assistance. Of course I've not given up on the business entirely. I still love the buzz of being in front of a crowd. I love the traveling too, for the most part. So I'm a manager now - I simply will no longer be wrestling. I've always loved managing actually, and am pretty excited to be back on that side of the ring. I always thought there was a lack of GREAT female managers who truly knew their way around the ring and can believably alter and add to a match... more than just a fifth ring-post rack of boobies anyway. The Sherri Martels and the Tammy Sytchs are few and far between. Wrestling has been a huge part of my life and I've gained a lot from my experiences – I have a lot to be thankful for. I have been able to travel and work all over the world. I've met lots of interesting people and made some new friends. I've taken tons of pictures and have some incredible memories... all because of pro wrestling. However, the fact is that you only have one body to last your lifetime. And no offense to wrestling, but in my view it's not worth getting crippled over. Not much is. Truth be told, it was all a blast... until it just wasn't any more…and that's always a good time to exit something. Honestly, I am proud that I went for it. And that, in moments of uncertainty, I remained true to who I am... even when I was playing someone a lot more brave and ballsy. I was tested under pressure and now know I can hold my own, speak several languages (not very well!), adapt to nearly anything (including snails, squid and French espresso/rocket fuel)...and even acquired some damn fine friends (and stuff, like a cool Maple Leaf)! But it's time for me to move on, while I'm still young (and still cute from not having my nose broken that fifth time.) I'd like to thank everyone who's been a part of my journey, big or small. Some promoters may drive me crazy - some co-workers even more so - and there have been a hell of a lot of ups and downs. But when all is said and done will I regret giving the last eight years of my life to this business? No. Well, not all the time! ;-) And as a final point - just for the record - the vast information and knowledge I've gained about men, interplay between the sexes, politics, hierarchy, manners, et al, has been a hugely satisfying learning experience. Wrestling changed my entire life. I learned a lot about LIFE - and people - from this career. These lessons will serve me well in ANY future I choose. While I was always challenged by wrestling, it was never my first love or where my heart was. I fell into it, saw the great opportunity and tried to do it to the best of my ability. But in my heart, I am and always have been a writer, model and photographer. It was a dream I dared to chase, but ultimately it wasn't MY dream. So, what I'm doing now is just concentrating on getting healthy and dropping weight (six lbs since October - the thinner I am, the less stress on my joints, ligaments and spine). I'm still able and happy to model, do appearances and conventions which is what my schedule is currently starting to get loaded with. It's been a fun ride. When one door shuts, others open. Like, who knows... maybe even the Arnold Classic or American Gladiators, brother! And this is the longest I've gone without a single bruise! :) Something a fan sent me this week, which was… wow. Very awesome: "Big Ups to Big Red". http://www.lethalwow.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9362 Speaking of doors opening up, I've been writing a book for a bit now, so with some luck and hard work that will go well. And yes, if you dicked me over, you should be nervous! ;-) But to all my fans and supporters I say ..thank you'. It's been awesome. And the ride isn't over yet. It's just heading in a different direction – I hope you'll still be on-board with me – I'd never have lasted this long without you. So thank you again. Here are some of the dates/results of my final matches. Hopefully I'll be able to see some of you there! *USA Final Match Results:-Mixed tag: Daffney & Damian Wayne defeated JD Michaels & April Hunter for UWF in hometown Philly babeeeeee! *Germany Match Results:-Wesna defeated April for German Stampede *Canada Final Match Results:-April Hunter & Jen Blake defeated Danya & Amy for PWX, Ontario Canada.-Intergender tag: Jennifer Blake & April Hunter defeated Cheap Heat.HUGE THANKS to PWX for allowing me to have a "retirement" show moment—you guys rock! **France Final Match:-Spring 2008 TBA::Queens of Chaos Tournament, Paris. April Hunter (USA) vs "The Alpha Female" Jazzy B (Germany) Thank you for watching me! See lots more of me on my site or DVD's! Check my schedule for more! www.aprilhunter.com - Kisses! April xo You Can Sleep With A Blonde, You Can Sleep With A Brunette. But You'll Never Get Any Sleep With A Redhead! www.AprilHunter.com myspace.com/aprilhunterofficial Appearances... -January 26 & 27::Las Vegas, NV - Photo shoot Saturday/Sunday: Autograph appearance for Power Play Sports Cards autograph signing. Galleria @ Sunset www.powerplaysportscards.com -February 2nd:: OCW Wrestling, Ashland KY (Armory). JD Michaels w/ April Hunter vs. Mason Raige -March 1&2:: The Arnold Classic convention(to be confirmed) Columbus, OH -March 15:: MMA Convention, Frankfort KY -April 5th::MMA Show (Autograph/presenting the title)Bardstown KY -August 27/28: Playboy/Glamourcon convention, Chicago IL" :: GO BACK TO THE HOME PAGE :: DISCUSS THIS POST ON THE FORUMS! :: BUY WRESTLING DVD'S THROUGH OUR STORE! CLASSIC WRESTLING PPV'S! INDEPENDENT WRESTLING! BEST OF COMPILATIONS! THE DIVAS/WOMEN OF WRESTLING LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN! GET IT ALL ON DVD IN THE EPICENTER EMPORIUM! 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