Lindsay Miller (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian

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 ...

Nicole Matthews. Matthews regularly wrestles for

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 ...

and

Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) (formerly known as NWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling and Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling) is a Western Canada-based professional wrestling promotion and a former member of the Na ...

among other

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

promotions. She regularly teamed with fellow Canadian wrestler the now retired

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. ...

as the Canadian NINJAs, and the pair former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions.

Professional wrestling career

SuperGirls

Matthews was originally convinced to try a career in professional wrestling by her friend, male wrestler Sid Sylum. She made her professional wrestling debut in February 2006 alongside fellow trainee Veronika Vice. In March and September 2006, Matthews began wrestling for SuperGirls Wrestling, part of NWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. On October 27, 2007, she defeated Nattie Neidhart and Vice in a

three-way 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 ...

for the

SuperGirls Championship The ECCW Women's Championship (formerly SuperGirls Championship or the NWA SuperGirls Championship) is currently the women's professional wrestling championship of Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling, a wrestling promotion in British Columbia, ...

. She defended the championship against Vice and Aurora in the following weeks. Vice, however, defeated Matthews for the title on April 21, 2007. During this time, Matthews also formed a partnership with Sid Sylum, wrestling with him in

mixed tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ...

es and occasionally acting as his

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...

. Matthews continued to feud with Vice for the remainder of the year. In March 2008, Matthews regained the SuperGirls Championship in a match against Penni Lane. She, however, lost the title to Veronika Vice on February 7, 2009. On October 29, 2010, Matthews defeated Tenille Tayla in a Tables match to win the SuperGirls Championship for the third time. She lost the title nearly a year later, on October 28, 2011, to KC Spinelli. In early 2012, Matthews formed a new stable known as The Riot in ECCW, alongside Ravenous Randy Myers, Alex Plexis and Andy "The Dreadful" Bird.

Shimmer Women Athletes

Matthews sent a demo tape to

in December 2006, but was not signed to the promotion. In October 2007, however, Matthews was called to join the company when

needed a tag team partner. Matthews teamed with Perez in Shimmer Volumes 15 and 16. After three singles matches with Shimmer, Matthews once again began teaming with Perez as the Canadian NINJAs (National International Nation of Jalapeño Awesomeness). On October 19, 2008, on Volume 22, the NINJAs challenged Ashley Lane and Nevaeh 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 promot ...

, but were unsuccessful. On Volume 23, taped on May 2, 2009, she fought

Daizee Haze Emily Sharp (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional wrestler known under the ring name Daizee Haze. She is best known for her time on the independent circuit, where she performed for numerous promotions such as Chikara, Ring of Hon ...

to a 20-minute time limit draw, before losing to her in a rematch on Volume 24. On May 3, at the tapings of Volume 26, Matthews and Perez defeated Ashley Lane and Nevaeh to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. On November 8, Matthews came back as a singles competitor by losing to

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 ...

as part of Volume 27, but winning against

Allison Danger Cathy Allison Corino (born March 31, 1977) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager, better known by her ring name, Allison Danger. Professional wrestling career Early career Corino's older brother Steve ...

as part of Volume 28. After a reign of 692 days, Matthews and Perez lost the Shimmer Tag Team Championship to

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 othe ...

and

Misaki Ohata is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by her maiden name . She is best known for her work while signed to the Zabun production company and its two promotions; Pro Wrestling Wave and Osaka Joshi Pro Wrestling. She is a forme ...

on March 26, 2011. On October 2, 2011, the Ninjas failed in their attempt to win back the championship, losing to

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 ...

and

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 Lib ...

, but later that evening, Matthews attacked Cheerleader Melissa from behind after Melissa had won 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 wr ...

from Madison Eagles. As a result, Matthews received a championship match against Melissa on March 17, 2012, at the Volume 45 tapings but was unsuccessful. The following night, at the tapings of Volume 48, The NINJAs participated in a four-way elimination tag team match, but were the final team eliminated by

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

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 ind ...

, who won the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. On July 7, The NINJAs defeated Rush and Del Rey at an

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 ...

(NCW FF) event to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship for the second time. They lost the title to the Global Green Gangsters (

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 h ...

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 ...

) on April 14, 2013, at the tapings of Volume 57. After drawing with Madison Eagles in a number one contender's match at Voume 67, both progressed to a four-way championship match at Volume 68 also involving Cheerleader Melissa and

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 ...

. On October 18, Matthews won the match to become the new Shimmer Champion, making her the first Canadian to have held the title. She successfully defended the championship against

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 ...

at the Volume 69 tapings, and retained the championship by disqualification against Tomoka Nakagawa at Volume 70 when Perez interfered. On October 10, 2015, on Volume 77, Matthews lost the Shimmer Championship to Madison Eagles in a No Disqualification match.

Other promotions

In early 2009 Matthews took part in the first season tapings of

Wrestlicious Wrestlicious was an American women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tampa, Florida. The company was founded by Jonathan Vargas, who won a Powerball jackpot of $35.3 million in 2008. It was known for its sketch comedy and has been ofte ...

, which began airing in March 2010. In the promotion she uses the ring name Hope and forms the tag team The Naughty Girls with partner Faith, played by Portia Perez. She debuted on the fifth episode on March 31, teaming with Faith in a losing effort against the team of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

and Paige Webb. On May 30, 2010 it was announced that Matthews was to make her debut for

(NCW FF) as a participant in the tournament to declare the first ever NCW FF Champion, replacing the injured Kacey Diamond in a match against

. Matthews, however, wasn't able to get the win in her debut on June 5, and Melissa advanced to the semi-finals. She continued to compete for NCW FF, facing wrestlers including

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 ...

in singles competition, while continuing to team with Perez.

International excursions

Matthews has wrestled in both Australia and Japan. In Australia she faced competitors including Madison Eagles and

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 ...

in Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance. She toured Japan with her Canadian NINJAs partner Portia Perez, with the duo facing opponents including

and Saya.

WWE (2018)

On July 30, 2018, WWE announced that Matthews would compete in the 2018

Mae Young Classic The Mae Young Classic was a women's professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a WWE Hall of Famer who is consi ...

tournament. She defeated Isla Dawn in the first round, but was eliminated by

Tegan Nox Steffanie Rhiannon Newell (born 15 November 1994) is a Welsh professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Tegan Nox. Newell previously wrestled on the British independent circuit under ...

in the second. On September 27, 2018, Matthews was caught using a travel visa instead of a work visa to book independent shows and has been banned from working within the United States. She is currently banned from entering the country for five years.

Personal life

Matthews played volleyball and swam in high school. She attends

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, where she is studying

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

part-time. She previously taught swimming and worked as a lifeguard, before becoming a full-time Aquatic Program Supervisor.

Championships and accomplishments

* Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling/Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling **

ECCW Championship The ECCW Championship (formerly known as the NWA/ECCW Heavyweight Championship) is the top singles championship in Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling. It was first established in 1996 in the then-independent ECCW, and its name was changed whe ...

( 3 times) **

ECCW Tag Team Championship The NWA/ECCW Tag Team Championship is the tag team title for the Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling wrestling promotion based out of British Columbia. It was activated in 1996. The first champions were the Glamour Order Of Discipline. Th ...

(

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 ...

) – with Alex Plexis, Andy Bird and Randy Myers ** SuperGirls Championship/ECCW Women's Championship ( 5 times) ** Pacific Cup (2017) * ''

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 ...

'' ** Ranked No. 16 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers 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 2015 and 2016 * Pure Wrestling Association ** PWA Elite Women's Championship (1 time) *

( 1 time) **

(

) – with

Matthews defended the title with either Alex Plexis, Andy "The Dreadful" Bird or "Ravenous" Randy Myers under the

Freebird Rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Nicole 1987 births 21st-century Canadian women 21st-century professional wrestlers Canadian female professional wrestlers Living people People from Coquitlam Professional wrestlers from British Columbia Shimmer Champions Shimmer Tag Team Champions