Frankie B and Nikki Van Blair prepare to (potentially) make history.
On April 12, the legendary Mickie James will present her second-ever all-women’s professional wrestling event. This event, titled “HER,” will take place under the banner of Starrcast in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Seven matches have officially been confirmed on the card, including one that will crown the inaugural Oceania Pro Wrestling Women’s Tag Team Champions.
WrestleZone’s Ella Jay recently caught up with one of the teams vying for the OPW Women’s Tag Team Championships — Frankie B and Nikki Van Blair, who are collectively known as Prima Pi Kappa (PPK). Looking ahead at this title match, Nikki Van Blair noted that she recently made an important discovery; not only are these the first women’s tag team championships for OPW, but across the country of Australia as a whole. As such, the stakes for this title match have been raised even higher.
“I was just curious, have there ever been women’s tag team titles in Australian indie wrestling? Could not find a single history of it. I understand because there aren’t many women in Australia now, and there definitely weren’t as many ten, twenty years ago. So these are, from my knowledge, the first-ever women’s tag titles in Australian indie wrestling,” Van Blair said.
“So to even just compete in the first match for it is literal history. It is groundbreaking. Frankie and I are so grateful for the opportunity, but we are also going to smash this opportunity. If and when we do win, I would have achieved one of my goals just with that. So, I’m definitely not taking it lightly.”
Familiar Foes
Standing across the ring from PPK will be fellow Australia natives Shay Kassidy and Kingsley, who are together known as the Backslide Girlz. PPK and the Backslide Girlz, of course, are no strangers to one another, as they shared the ring on a handful of previous occasions. Both teams have also built a close bond outside of the ring. Given their familiarity, Frankie B believes fans can expect to see an enthralling battle on April 12.
“We are very grateful to be sharing an experience with not only two very talented women, but two very talented women that are also very close to us,” Frankie said. “We train together, we hang out together. We’re in the same circle. It’s very nice to know that your opponent has your best interest like we do theirs. So I think in this match, you’re probably going to see two teams that know each other very well.”
“We know their strengths, they know ours. Same thing. We may know some of their weaknesses, they may know some of ours. So it’s going to be very leveled. But given the height and everything in the situation, it’s going to be very competitive.”
Hall Of Fame Presentation
On top of the stacked lineup of matches, Starrcast confirmed that the HER event will also feature appearances from a trio of legends.
In addition to the spearheading Mickie James, former WWE Women’s Champion Victoria and WWE Hall of Famer Bull Nakano are also headed to Australia. In the case of Victoria, her appearance is centered around an eponymous six-pack challenge that will showcase a half-dozen of Australia’s rising stars. For Bull Nakano, her presence comes in relation to the OPW Women’s Tag Team Championships, which she will be personally presenting to the winners of the inaugural title match.
When asked about the possibility of receiving the OPW Women’s Tag Team Championships from the hands of Bull Nakano, Frankie and Van Blair expressed a mix of excitement and nervousness.
“I’ve got goosebumps just sitting here [thinking about it],” Frankie said.
“My initial reaction when I’m nervous, anxious, is to dry heave,” Van Blair said. “You see it a lot at wrestling training because I don’t like heights, for example. So when they get me to go up to the top rope, I’ll stand up there. And I’ll literally [dry heave]. It’s a gross quality. So when I found out that ‘Oh, and by the way, Bull Nakano is going to be ringside and she’s presenting the winners with the titles,’ I read it, and I was like [dry heaving]. I have no words.”
Watch our full interview with PPK below:
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