'The Baddest Bitch On The Indies' Steph De Lander
Steph De Lander has proven again & again that ‘The Powerhouse Predator’ is the alpha of every division she chooses to hunt in. Recently De Lander sat down with Pario to reflect on her journey so far & also look to the future as she begins her hunt on the indie scene.
The Hunt Begins
The journey for Steph first began in Australia, where she defeated all comers on her way to becoming the first-ever Melbourne City Wrestling Women’s Champion. Looking back on those formative years of her career De Lander says she has a lot of "really great memories". Of those memories, her most notable was becoming the inaugural MCW Women's Champion.
"MCW really took a chance on me & let me run with it, so I'll always be thankful for everything they did for me," Steph said fondly.
Entering The Land Of The Giants
Next up SDL set her sights on bigger prey when she ventured into the jungle that is NXT.
While in NXT a few notable moments stand out as those of which Steph is incredibly proud of.
While in NXT Steph fought her way onto several major shows, such as Stand & Deliver or Halloween Havoc. Along the way getting herself featured on TMZ, twice, thanks to her appearance in the highest-viewed videos across WWE social media.
A brief run in IMPACT Wrestling followed, with SDL holding her own against top stars Jordynne Grace & ‘The Virtuosa’ Deonna Purrazzo. Never satisfied though SDL also made her way across to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where we’ll undoubtedly see her hunting again.
'The Baddest Bitch On The Indies' Finds New Prey
These days ‘The Powerhouse Predator’ has evolved into ‘The Baddest Bitch On The Indies’ after aligning herself with Matt Cardona. A partnership that was first formed during a tour of Australia for World Series Of Wrestling (WSW) before later being cemented in Game Changer Wrestling (GCW).
When Cardona first approached De Lander about forming a team she told Pario that she was initially anxious.
"During the tour, he came up to me & said he had a question for me. Instantly the anxiety in my hand had me thinking 'What have I done, this is bad.' But then he asked how I felt about teaming with him on the indies & being his 'heater'. In my head, I thought 'Wow, this is a huge opportunity. Surely this can’t be real.’”
Quickly Steph would come to realise this was real.
"I was meant to stay in Australia a few extra days to spend time with my family but there was a GCW that weekend so I thought about it and knew I've got to go... This year especially is about my career because I took 6 months off after being released, so now I really have to make that decision & really get the ball rolling."
With Matt now by her side as she ventures into the relative unknown of the US independent circuit Steph has found the ultimate mentor. Not only are they a formidable force together inside the ring but outside the ring their creativity is unparalleled. Something which Steph is relishing seeing come back to her wrestling passion.
"The handcuffs are off now. If we have a promo idea we call our video guy & do it," said Steph with a spark in her eye. "We have a bunch of ideas coming up & I'm so excited for some of the shit that we're going to do."
Although they've only been teaming up for a short period Steph & Matt have already begun making major waves on the indies & according to Steph they "have no plans on slowing down." Not only is this new duo making waves they are having so much fun doing it.
"I'm having more fun now than I've ever had in wrestling. And to me, that's the aim of the game in life," said De Lander. "What I'm doing at the moment is as close to my real personality as it's ever been... I feel like I'm bridging the gap between my true personality & my in-ring persona better than I ever have before, which is really fun."
Looking to the future Steph still has a lot of goals to achieve.
"I want to win a title in GCW. I want to be in as many different places as possible. I want to wrestle for Progress in England & WXW in Germany. I'm looking to get into Mexico, I want to go to Japan & I've also never wrestled in Canada," Steph told Pario excitedly. She has also set her sights on a few very specific targets, "I would love to wrestle Mickie James & I'd like to have a match with Kamille, I think that would be a really cool match up."
Anybody who steps in her path better watch out though, because SDL will devour everybody on her hunt for greatness!
Follow Steph's Creative Journey on social media at: @stephdelander
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