Before getting to the “Why”, we should address the “Who”. My name is KJ, I am an independent professional wrestler based out of western Canada. You may know me as KJ Kash, or her twin sister Envy (more on that another time). I am a French Canadian, donut loving, professional wrestler. That is all you really need to know for now, but I want to address the number one question asked when telling people what I do, “why?”. Here is why it all began.
When I look back at the history of my life, there will be a handful of moments that I will deem momentous in shaping who I am. One of the most significant will be the day I decided to start training to become a professional wrestler. This is part of why it all began.
There are so many variables to consider when wanting to pursue a dream that seems out of reach. Becoming a wrestler was a dream I kept quiet to everyone but my younger sister. I probably would have kept that secret a little longer, except I started to be promoted for shows, and there was no way to hide that anymore. I do get asked all the time “Why did you not tell me?” or “This is kind of out of no where”.
I would laugh and say, “Well I planned on pursuing this when I turned eighteen, but soccer and school took 100% of my time.” I graduated high school at seventeen years old, and had every intention of hitting the road, and accepting my scholarship to play soccer. Unfortunately, other circumstances kept me at home, attending my local University, which may have been a blessing in disguise, especially for my wrestling career.
Why It All Began
Academically, I wanted to turn my attention to becoming a cardiologist. However, an overnight stay in the emergency room changed that idea really quickly. Instead, I spent the next 5 years studying psychology and sociology. Once I finished school I spent time working random jobs, but I felt like something was missing and I was getting restless. Summer of 2016 changed everything. After scrolling through Instagram one afternoon, I came across a random post my friend shared announcing a “New WWE Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks”. At this time, I hadn’t watched wrestling since 2010, and fallen completely away from my love of it. This one simple post engulfed me right back into the black hole of Professional Wrestling.
After spending weeks getting reacquainted with the world of wrestling, I realized that I would be leaving something on the table with not trying this myself. I spent the next 3 months researching every wrestling school that showed up on google. I also spent those months in sheer anxiety, going back and forth in my head with the doubts and the “what ifs”. In the end, it all came down to one thing; regret. Leading up until this point my biggest regret in life was not going away for school and playing soccer. My little sister saw how much this meant to me, and wouldn’t let me turn away from it. Therefore, she sat with me for hours as I worked up enough courage to contact these trainers.
What Others Don’t Understand
Many people don’t understand why one would want to become a professional wrestler. Even though I have a lot of support from loved ones now, I had just as many skeptics at the beginning. Most of the people around me laughed or scoffed. I am not lying when I said that this was why I didn’t want people to know, for fear of being judged. Up until that point in my life, I was outspoken, unconfident, and not sure of who I was. I lived my life according to what I “should” do, rather than what I “want” to do.
In the beginning, I never knew what I really wanted to get out of this, and had no idea what I expected from the experience. Everyone always had to start somewhere, and I didn’t want to regret not trying this.
Wrestlers always joke by saying, “Wrestling is life, and life is wrestling”. Professional Wrestling helped me gain control of my own life, and the confidence to stand up for who I am. In conclusion, something deemed a “fantasy” helped me gain control of my “reality”. This is why it all began.
