Jonathan Geddes
BBC Scotland News
WWE
Isla hopes to encourage young fans to follow in her footsteps
She is watched by millions and has won titles in sold out arenas, but WWE wrestler Isla Dawn has one challenge still to overcome – getting her nephews to cheer her on.
“They refuse to watch me,” laughs the wrestler, real name Courtney Stewart.
“They’ll watch anyone on it but me! Auntie Coco is my name with them, and they’ll just skip through my matches and go onto a battle royal or whatever’s next.”
Luckily Isla has had far less trouble connecting with fans at home and abroad, with the Glasgow grappler winning the company’s tag team titles in 2024 on an emotional night in Glasgow.
Although professional wrestling results are pre-determined, the emotion, bumps and bruises are all very real, and being told she and Scottish tag team partner Alba Fyre – real name Kayleigh Rae – were winning gold at June’s Clash at the Castle event at the OVO Hydro was a “special moment.”
“To win a title in WWE is what everyone wants, it’s real dream come true stuff, but getting to do it in Glasgow was extra special,” she explains.
“I remember when we walked out for our entrance and got in the ring, I could see my family sitting in the second row. That was such a nice moment as they don’t get to see me wrestle that often. I think the last time my mum saw me would have been about 2019.
“It was like the whole of the Hydro were behind us. My sister started crying when we won and my brother-in-law took a photo of her, so that’s the family WhatsApp group chat’s cover photo now!”
WWE
Isla Dawn competed in the WWE’s smaller NXT promotion at first
Dubbed the Unholy Union, the duo held the titles for 77 days before dropping them back to former champions, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.
Now a whole new audience is set to open up for the 30-year-old, with WWE programmes moving to streaming giant Netflix in a massive financial deal, a move Isla hopes will capture new audiences.
Isla grew up in Balornock in the north of Glasgow, and first had her attention grabbed by the squared circle as a child, loving early 2000s competitors like Trish Stratus and Lita.
“Altho
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