In the latest edition of the “Independent Wrestling Spotlight,” Devlyn Macabre sits down with PWMania.com’s Scott Mitchell (@ScottsScoop44) to discuss her career. We speak about her beginning, training, working with SHINE, AEW, and what’s next for her career.
The Beginning of Devlyn Macabre
Growing up, Macabre had stepbrothers. “When I was six, they were really into wrestling,” says Macabre. “I got into it from them and was kind of forced to watch it.” At first, Macabre hated it and wasn’t a fan, but that all changed when she saw the women’s wrestlers.
“That changed my perception,” Macabre tells PWMania. “Also, seeing that there were women in the Smackdown vs Raw video games was really cool.” From then, to now, Macabre has been addicted to the world of professional wrestling ever since.
Growing up, a big inspiration to Macabre was Kelly Kelly. “She was a female, a babyface, and she was blonde, so was I,” states Macabre. “I don’t think I look like her at all now, but at the time, I thought I kind of looked liked her and that was really cool to me.”
Devlyn Macabre Begins Training
When Macabre was seven years old, she decided she was going to be a wrestler, and it stuck with her ever since. “When I was 18, I got a full-time job serving and started saving up to move to Orlando,” says Macabre. “This is where I wanted to move because a lot of the wrestling schools I had researched were located there.”
Macabre began training at the age of 18 and hasn’t looked back since. The first day of training was very intimidating but exciting for a young Devlyn Macabre. “My trainer for my first day was Sarah Stock,” says Macabre. “She was a former WWE Performance Center coach, so she knew a lot.”
For those who may not know, Sarah Stock has quite the resume as a professional wrestler. Stock most notably wrestled for TNA as Sarita, as well as trained and coached all over. “I didn’t know she was a coach,” says Macabre. “I found out the day before my first training session which made it much more intimidating.”
Macabre is not one to get intimidated easily. “She (Sarah Stock) was super patient and taught me how to roll and a bunch of other things,” says Macabre. “She still helps me and critiques my matches from time to time.”
Macabre is very thankful for all she learned from Sarah Stock. “She taught me a lot about the Lucha style of wrestling,” states Macabre. “It was exciting starting training, but also nerve-wracking because I was scared I wouldn’t make it. This is all I wanted to really do in life, and there were a lot of what-ifs in my head.” However, when Macabre began training everything just came naturally to her and went much better than anticipated.
Macabre had her first match about a year and a half after she began training. “I trained a lot longer than most people before I was able to ever do a show,” says Macabre. “I went into the match with a little bit more confidence than most people might have for their first match, but I was still extremely nervous.”
Macabre worked with fellow independent wrestling star, Shalonce Royal. “She was really sweet and really did a great job at taking me under her wing, which I’m thankful for,” states Macabre. “Any new trainees reading this, promoters won’t always get the video of the match back to you, make sure you have someone record it.” Macabre recalled watching her first match back fairly recently. “I’ve definitely come a long way.”
Working on the Independent Scene, and SHINE
In her short time wrestling so far, Macabre got the chance to work with a lot of the greats on the independent wrestling scene. Macabre worked with Kelsey Reagan who is a very close friend of hers. She also got the chance to team up with another independent wrestling star, Riley Shepard.
“Prior to the Capitol show, I never met Riley but she is such a sweetheart,” says Macabre. “I’ve heard of her but never worked with her. She and I have a lot in common and we made a pretty great tag team.” Macabre also worked with The Renegade Twins a couple of times, “they were a lot of fun to work with.”
Growing up, Macabre was a big fan of SHINE and Shimmer, so getting the opportunity to work for SHINE wasn’t something she took lightly. “SHINE is always a really great opportunity,” says Macabre. “It’s kind of crazy and nerve-wracking competing there, but incredibly awesome. I like the locker room a lot; a lot of the women are super helpful and it’s just a great atmosphere to be around.”
Devlyn Macabre Goes All Elite
In the Summer, Macabre got the opportunity to compete in All Elite Wrestling. She worked with Emi Sakura, and Diamante. “It was also a very nerve-wracking feeling competing there,” Macabre tells PWMania. “That was a goal of mine for this year. Three months into the year I got the email and freaked out because I was so excited.”
Macabre was given about a month to prepare from the time of the email to the show and was able to get new gear made for the show. “I was super scared, but everyone was super nice and the coaches were great too,” states Macabre. “One of my coaches, Jay Lethal, was also there that day.”
Devlyn Macabre had the fortunate pleasure of training with Emi Sakura prior to their match. “I love Emi,” says Macabre. “Overall, it was a great experience. I learned a lot about being in a television company and the TV aspect of it. It was definitely a great learning experience.”
Working with the coaches that Macabre got the opportunity to work was great. “They’re very helpful,” states Macabre. “I learned a lot from them. I’m green and newer and they’re some of the best in the world, so they taught me a lot and helped me to put together a moveset and character.”
What’s Next for Devlyn Macabre?
Right now, Devlyn Macabre is focused on going to Europe next May. “I will be going to Europe. I’m going to Amsterdam, Germany, and Manchester,” says Macabre. “I will be training, getting better, learning about different walks of life, and just progressing my wrestling ability.”
“I’m a big adventurer, so I think getting out there will be good,” states Macabre. “After that, I’d love to go to Japan, as well as go train in Mexico for a little bit as well.” A big goal of Macabre is to get signed as well to a major company.
If you’d like to follow and support Devlyn Macabre you can do so below:
Twitter: @itsdevlyn
Instagram: @devlynmacabre
Merchandise: DevlynMacabre.BigCartel.com
