| Vanessa Kraven | |
|---|---|
 Vanessa Kraven in March 2024 | |
| Born | (1982-02-10)February 10, 1982 (age 43) Montreal,Quebec,Canada[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Vanessa Kraven Vanessa the Mountain |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 195 lb (88 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Deadhorse, Alaska |
| Trained by | Ron Hutchison Zachary Springate III |
| Debut | April 2004[1] |
Vanessa Kraven (born February 10, 1982), is a Canadianprofessional wrestler who competed in severalindependentpromotions in both the United States and Canada. She made several trips to Japan for wrestling between 2006-2010 and was a competitor inWWE's secondMae Young Classic tournament in 2018. After having suffered a broken ankle in late 2018, Kraven returned to pro wrestling and had a match againstHikaru Shida forAll Elite Wrestling's AEW Dark in October 2022 and has been active on the independent scene since.
Kraven became interested in professional wrestling at an early age and later as a teenager during the so-called"Attitude Era". After graduating fromhairdressing school in 2002, she began training atSully's Gym underRon Hutchison inToronto and later under Zaquary Springate III in theUnited States[2] before eventually making her professional debut in April 2004.[1]
In April 2004, atNorthern Championship Wrestling (NCW) 'sChallengeMania, she was introduced as "Vanessa Kraven" with agothin-ring persona and appeared with herstoryline half-brother James Kraven as an ally and bodyguard.[2] She became a mainstay in the promotion, continuing to appear as a wrestler and valet with James Kraven, most notably, at theNight of the Blizzard supercard where James Kraven and Stalker faced brothers Adib and Sidi Mansour on the undercard.[3] She was the last NCW Women's Champion, having held the title between early 2005 and August 2006, when NCW's women's division was disbanded.
Beginning in 2005, she worked for Montreal'sInternational Wrestling Syndicate, debuting on March 26 by helping Kid Kamikaze win a match. She remained allied with Kamikaze over the next several months,managing him and aiding him during matches. She made her wrestling debut for the promotion on July 23, when she and Takao lost atag team match to Damian and Kenny the Bastard. She picked up her first victory in December, defeating Lex Lurmon and Jagger Miles in ahandicap match. Over the next year, she regularly competed inintergender matches, which included victories over Eric Lauze,Franky The Mobster, andBeef Wellington. In March 2007, she unsuccessfully challenged for the IWS Canadian Championship in asix-way match won by reigning champion Don Paysan. Later that year, she formed an alliance with Twiggy to take on SLI 2007 (Fred la Merveille and Kenny the Bastard), and on January 26, 2008, they lost a tag team match to the pair atPraise the Violence.[4][5] Her last appearance for the promotion for several years was on August 23, when her match withLuFisto ended in ano contest when they were both attacked by Wellington.[4] She returned to the promotion for the final show in 2010, competing in asix-way elimination match for the IWS Canadian Championship; the match was won byMax Boyer and also included Shayne Hawke,Alex Silva, Kid Kamikaze, and Mike Bailey.[6]
In 2006, she made two appearances for Ontario'sBSE Pro promotion; on May 7, she was unsuccessful in a five-way match won by Kobra Kai, and also including Don Paysan, El Vigote Dos, and Ash, and on July 9, she andTiana Ringer lost a tag team match toShantelle Taylor andTracy Brooks.[7] In 2007, she teamed withSeXXXy Eddy in amixed tag team match against Kacey Diamond and Exess at the Association de Lutte Feminine'sSherri Martel Memorial Cup tournament.[8]
Since 2012, she has been wrestling and has made appearances for Canadian promotions such as C*4 (Ottawa), Acclaim Wrestling (Ottawa), Smash Wrestling (Toronto) and BATTLEWAR (Montreal).
In April 2014, she debuted forNCW Femmes Fatales. Over the next several months, she picked up victories over wrestlers includingSassy Stephie and Jody D'Milo.[9][10]
Since returning from hiatus in April 2022, Kraven has wrestled for and made appearances at Canadian promotions such as C*4 and Acclaim in Ottawa, Destiny Wrestling in Toronto, Main Event Wrestling in Montreal, Femmes Fatales, and East Coast Pro Wrestling in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
On April 20, 2024, Kraven debuted for East Coast Pro Wrestling in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and won the ECPW women's championship from fan favorite Divya Fiji.
Kraven has done five tours of Japan. Her Japan debut being for the NEO Japan Ladies promotion in August 2006. Appearing for the Wrestle Expo inTokyo, she was unsuccessful in gaining a victory againstNWA Women's Pacific and NEO Single ChampionYoshiko Tamura during NEO's World Women's Wrestling Classic (WWWC) World Cup Tournament.[1] During her tours of Japan Kraven has worked for NEO,Ice Ribbon,Pro Wrestling WAVE,JWP andJd' Star. Her last Japan tour was in May 2010, working three shows for NEO and one show forJWP.
In 2006, she had a brief stint inIWA Mid-South; on April 1, she andDaizee Haze lost toMickie Knuckles andMsChif in anelimination tag team match for the NWA Midwest Women's Championship, when Knuckles pinned Kraven to win the match.[11] At the inauguralQueen of the Deathmatch tournament in November, Kraven was eliminated byRachel Putski in a thumbtack death match during the quarterfinals.[12]
In April 2014, Kraven debuted forShimmer Women Athletes onVolume 62 in New Orleans, losing toKay Lee Ray.[13] She returned to the promotion in October, in the Berwyn Eagles club defeatingJessicka Havok bycountout onVolume 68 and defeatingCrazy Mary Dobson onVolume 70.[14][15] In December 2014, Kraven made her debut forShine Wrestling, in Tampa, Florida defeatingLeva Bates.[16]
On July 30, 2018,WWE announced that Kraven would compete in the 2018Mae Young Classic tournament.[17] She was eliminated in the first round after losing toLacey Lane.[18]
On October 18, 2022, Kraven made herAll Elite Wrestling debut by wrestling againstHikaru Shida on AEW Dark.
In June 2023, Kraven debuted forAll Caribbean Wrestling, a promotion that runs shows in Florida as well as the Caribbean, aligning herself with women's wrestler Mazzerati.
In October 2018, a few months after the WWE Mae Young Classic, Kraven broke her leg and ankle during an indie wrestling match. She underwent a surgery in November 2018 and has not wrestled since.On August 11, 2020, Kraven announced her retirement from professional wrestling. However, following the end of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Kraven returned to wrestling in April 2022.[19]
