Alexandra Ford (born 5 June 1984) is an Australian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, better known by her

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Madison Eagles. She has wrestled internationally in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and is a former two-time Shimmer Champion. She was ranked by ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' as the number one female wrestler in the

PWI Female 50 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 2011; as of 2022, she is one of two women to win the award without wrestling for

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

or TNA/Impact Wrestling.

Early life

Ford's father, Graham, is the head of

Surf Life Saving Australia Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) is an Australian not-for-profit community organisation that promotes water safety and provides surf rescue services. SLSA strives to create a safe environment on Australia's beaches and coastline through patro ...

. She attended St Catherine's School, Waverley, where she participated in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

, and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

Professional wrestling career

Early years and training

At the age of 17, Eagles began her professional wrestling training at

International Wrestling Australia Mark Mercedes is an Australian professional wrestler and promoter, currently owning and promoting the International Wrestling Australia he was one of the few Australians to wrestle for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling All-Sta ...

(IWA), at their training school in mid-2001. Eagles debuted soon thereafter as the bodyguard for A.J. Freeley in IWA.Hollie, Matthew
"The Return of “The Punisher: Madison Eagles’ Road to Recovery and Redemption"
''WrestleEnigma'', 3 November 2012. Eagles had her first official match in November that year, against Katherine Nixxon. Eagles is a former four-time IWA Women's Champion. In 2003, Eagles traveled to the United States with trainer and owner of IWA,

Mark Mercedes Mark Mercedes is an Australian professional wrestler and promoter, currently owning and promoting the International Wrestling Australia he was one of the few Australians to wrestle for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling All-St ...

. She competed in a try out at

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. O ...

(OVW), a former developmental territory for

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE). In her time in OVW, Eagles trained alongside such wrestlers as

Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...

Elijah Burke Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1981) is an American professional wrestler also known under the ring names "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and Da Pope. He currently wrestles for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as "Da Pope" Elijah Burke, where he i ...

, and

Jillian Hall Jillian Faye Hall ( Fletcher; September 6, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE. After debuting in 1998, Hall worked on the independent circuit under the name Macaela Mercedes. She won numerous champ ...

. While in the U.S., Eagles wrestled for

Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation during the 199 ...

(HWA), Cleveland All Pro Wrestling (CAPW), and USA Pro. At different points in her career, Eagles trained at the Chikara Wrestle Factory in Philadelphia, the

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

(ROH) school, and PWA school in Sydney, Australia.

Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance

In 2007, Eagles and her husband Ryan Eagles founded Pro Wrestling Alliance Elite, which later became Pro Wrestling Alliance Australia (known as PWA), and an all-women's wrestling promotion, Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance (PWWA). The promotions were created on the back of Eagles opening a

professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

, and were intended to encourage Australian wrestlers to travel between states in the country. She has held the PWWA Championship. PWWA ran from 2007 until around 2013 when the last recorded all women's event was held. It was the only all women's wrestling promotion in Australia.

International exploits (2008–2011)

From 2008 to 2011, Eagles wrestled in several other wrestling promotions, including the American promotions

, Chikara,

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

and

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepe ...

. She has also wrestled in Canada for

NCW Femmes Fatales A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

, and in Japan for the Joshi 4 Hope event.

Shimmer Women Athletes

Teaming with Jessie McKay (2008–2009)

Eagles started wrestling for the American all-female promotion

Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) is an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both him ...

in October 2008, where she made her debut at '' Volume 21'' together with

Jessie McKay Jessica McKay (born 23 June 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Billie Kay and for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she competed as Jessie McKay. In J ...

as "The Pink Ladies"; they participated in a gauntlet match to crown the first Shimmer Tag Team Champions but were the first team eliminated. Eagles' first singles match in Shimmer saw her lose to

Sara Del Rey Sara Ann Amato (born November 13, 1980) is an American professional wrestling trainer and retired professional wrestler, best known by her ring name Sara Del Rey. She was a mainstay for Chikara and Shimmer, but also appeared for many other inde ...

on '' Volume 23''.

Shimmer Champion (2010–2012)

At '' Volume 30'', Eagles defeated

Cheerleader Melissa Melissa Anderson (born August 17, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Cheerleader Melissa. She is best known for her work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she worked as Alissa Flash and Raisha Saeed ...

to become number one contender for the

Shimmer Championship The Shimmer Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship in Shimmer Women Athletes, and has also been defended on shows of sister promotions Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro. Championship reigns are determined by professional wre ...

and went on to defeat champion

MsChif Rachel Frobel (née Collins) is an American professional wrestler who is better known by her ring name MsChif. She has been wrestling since 2001 and in that time has worked for several independent promotions across the United States, with guest ma ...

to capture the title on 11 April 2010 at '' Volume 31''. Eagles went on to rack up nine successful title defenses against several wrestlers including Cheerleader Melissa,

Ayumi Kurihara (born July 13, 1984) is a retired '' joshi puroresu '' wrestler. Professional wrestling career Kurihara entered training with the women's pro wrestling promotion AtoZ and then transferred to M's Style, where she learned the craft from well-kn ...

Mercedes Martinez Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a form ...

Ayako Hamada is a Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Libre ...

Serena Deeb Serena Deeb (born June 29, 1986) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is well known for her first stint with WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand and also known for her time with the develop ...

and

Hiroyo Matsumoto (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other w ...

, as well as defending the title for the first time ever in PWWA and successfully retaining against McKay and

Nicole Matthews Lindsay Miller (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by her ring name Nicole Matthews. Matthews regularly wrestles for Shimmer Women Athletes and Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling among other independent p ...

in a triple–threat match. On 2 October 2011 at '' Volume 43'', Eagles teamed with

in an unsuccessful attempt against Hamada and Kurihara for the

Shimmer Tag Team Championship The Shimmer Tag Team Championship (stylized as SHIMMER Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling tag team championship in Shimmer Women Athletes. The title is recognized nationally by Ring of Honor, and also by several independent promoti ...

. Later that night, on '' Volume 44'', Eagles faced Melissa in a rematch for the Shimmer Championship, which Melissa won, ending Eagles' reign at 539 days. After the ''Shimmer'' tapings, Eagles wrestled a match that same month and suffered a career-threatening knee injury from a bad landing after jumping off the ropes. Eagles was later awarded the top spot in

magazine's ranking of the top 50 female wrestlers in 2011, despite Eagles not wrestling for the largest American wrestling promotions such as

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

Return and various feuds (2012–2014)

In January 2013, Eagles returned to the ring after being absent due to injury and delivering her third child. Three months later, on 6 April at '' Volume 53'' in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, in her return to ''Shimmer'', Eagles defeated her

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and former tag team partner,

. On '' Volume 54'', Eagles competed in a fatal–four way number one contender's match for the

SHIMMER Championship The Shimmer Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship in Shimmer Women Athletes, and has also been defended on shows of sister promotions Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro. Championship reigns are determined by professional wre ...

against

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

Courtney Rush Holly Letkeman (born November 29, 1983) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actress currently signed to Impact Wrestling under the ring name Rosemary. She is a former Impact Knockouts Champion and a current and three-time Impact Knockouts Wo ...

and

Saraya Knight Julia Hamer (née Hamer; born 19 October 1971), better known by her ring names Sweet Saraya and Saraya Knight, is an English professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. She is also the mother of AEW wrestler Saraya. Early life Hamer was b ...

, which was won by Courtney Rush. Throughout '' Volume 55'' and '' Volume 61'', Eagles scored victories over wrestlers including

Kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

, Athena, Courtney Rush,

Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Michin" Mia Yim. She is a member of The O.C.. She is also known for her tim ...

Jessicka Havok Jessica Cricks (born June 20, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Jessicka Havok. She is currently signed with Impact Wrestling, under the ring name Jessicka where she is a current two-time Impact Knockouts W ...

and

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...

, before being put in a tag team match with

against

Kellie Skater Callee Keating (born 30 September 1987) is a retired Australian professional wrestler best known by her ring name Kellie Skater. She has wrestled internationally, in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. She is perhaps best known for ...

and

Tomoka Nakagawa is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. After being trained by Taka Michinoku, she started her career in his Kaientai Dojo promotion in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underwent ...

for the

, which they lost due to miscommunication. Week later at the '' Volume 63'', Eagles broke her wrist during a match against

Heidi Lovelace Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to orld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she performs under the ring name Ruby Riot. Prange has also worked in World Wonder Ring Stardom (a ...

, which she won, but continued to compete throughout the night on '' Volume 64'' in a fatal–four way match against Courtney Rush,

Evie Evie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Evie (given name) * Evie (singer), American contemporary Christian music singer Evelyn Tornquist (born 1957) * Evie (wrestler), ring name of New Zealand female professional wrestler Cheree Crowl ...

and Nicole Matthews, which Rush won.

Second Shimmer Championship reign (2015–2016)

On 18 October 2014, at '' Volume 67'', Eagles, this time working as a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

, returned after sustaining an arm injury and fought

in a no countouts and no disqualifications match which ended in a draw. Later that night, at '' Volume 68'', Eagles competed in a fatal four–way elimination match against

and Nicole Matthews for the

, which Mathews won with lastly eliminating Eagles, after a distraction provided by Matthews' tag team partner,

Portia Perez Jenna Grattan (born October 26, 1987) is a Canadian former professional wrestler better known by her ring name Portia Perez. Perez teamed with Nicole Matthews as The Canadian NINJAs, and they are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions. Pro ...

, helped her hit Eagles with a fireball and win the title. The

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

between the two continued on '' Volume 69'', where Eagles attacked Matthews after her match with

. On 11 April 2015, at '' Volume 73'', after a confrontion between Eagles and

The Canadian NINJAs The Canadian NINJAs (National International Nation of Jalapeño Awesomeness) were the professional wrestling tag team of Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez. They are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions. History Shimmer Women Athletes Nicol ...

, Eagles defeated Perez in a number one contender's match, but went on to lose to Matthews in a title match on the next day at '' Volume 74''. A few months later, on 10 October, during the tapings of '' Volume 76'', Eagles unsuccessfully competed in a number one contender's

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

when Matthews and Perez interfered. As a result, Eagles and Matthews faced off in a

no disqualification match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at '' Volume 77'', with Eagles defeating Matthews to win the Shimmer Championship for the record–setting second time. The next night, at '' Volume 78'', Eagles successfully retained her championship against Nicole Savoy. On 26 June 2016, Eagles lost the title to the returning Mercedes Martinez.

Shine Wrestling (2013–present)

Eagles also made sporadic appearances and participated in the Shine series with her debut being held in mid-April 2013 on '' Shine 9'' losing to

in a tournament match for the

Shine Championship The Shine Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship in Shine Wrestling. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries. These narratives create feud ...

. Few months later, in October, Eagles returned competing in the promotion in a match against

Amazing Kong Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...

, which Kong won. On '' Shine 22'', Eagles unsuccessfully challenged Ivelisse for the Shine Championship. After missing a few shows, Eagles returned to ''Shine'' and racked up victories over

La Rosa Negra Nilka García Solís (born November 14, 1981) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler known as Black Rose or ''La Rosa Negra''. Professional wrestling career García began wrestling in Puerto Rico. She worked in World Wrestling Council (WWC) ...

at '' Shine 26'' and Su Yung at '' Shine 30''.

Other promotions

After returning to wrestling, Eagles went on to compete for the PWA championshipKing, Rosemary
"Wrestler Madison Eagles will battle her brother-in-law to be the first female PWA heavyweight champion"
''Daily Telegraph'', 21 August 2013. as well as competing in the ''Pacific Pro Wrestling'' promotion in her home country of

, where she became their inaugural Women's Champion, after a victory over

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

in mid-March. Eagles retained the championship against

Shazza McKenzie Chantelle Allison (August 5, 1988) is an Australian professional wrestler better known by the ring name Shazza McKenzie. She is known for her work across the independent circuit for promotions such as Shine wrestling and SHIMMER Women Athletes. ...

and Storm, before losing it to

in September, ending her reign at 189 days. In 2014, Eagles again wrestled in Japan at

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...

, losing to Takumi Iroha.

Personal life

Ford was married to fellow professional wrestler Ryan Eagles (real name Doug Ryan), and they have three children.

Championships and accomplishments

(IWA) ** IWA Women's Championship (4 times) * New Horizon Pro Wrestling ** IndyGurlz Australian Championship (1 time) ** Global Conflict Shield Tournament (2016, 2018) * Pacific Pro Wrestling ** Pacific Women's Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Australia ** PWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mick Moretti * Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance (PWWA) **PWWA Championship (1 time)PWWA Champion – Evie , PWA Australia
* ''

'' ** Ranked No. 1 of the top 50 female singles wrestlers in the ''

'' in 2011 *

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eagles, Madison 1984 births Living people Australian female professional wrestlers Australian women company founders Sportswomen from New South Wales Sportspeople from Sydney 21st-century professional wrestlers Shimmer Champions