Willow Nightingale is a success.
Period.
If anyone isn’t aware of that at this point, it might be she herself.
The former NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion and 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament winner recently spoke with Fightful for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.
During the discussion, the woman who was one-half of the ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023 main event against Athena, spoke about how she is still grasping the enormity of her success at this point in her pro wrestling career.
“It’s still a bit bizarre because, at this point, I’ve been wrestling for coming up on nine years,” she said. “I’ve always been looked at as the underdog or someone who is a rookie or still getting my feet under me.”
Nightingale continued, “For people to be shifting that perspective and really seeing me as someone who is there, who has brought it, who has already achieved these accolades, it’s still surreal. I’m still sitting in it and grasping the weight of it all, but doing so gratefully.”
Additionally, the AEW women’s standout spoke about her peers showing her the level of respect of a veteran performer, such as longtime IMPACT Wrestling star Deonna Purrazzo.
“Obviously, that’s going to be a rewarding thing to hear,” she said. “As much as hearing praise from fans matters, hearing praise from people that I respect and work with and my peers, who know the ins and outs of the business and everything we do and go through, and they see every step of my journey, both in the ring and behind the scenes, if anything, that matters a little more.”
She continued, “It’s very humbling and rewarding to hear that, especially from Deonna, who I have known since the beginning of my career. My first few months, she was the person I had wrestled the most. For her to keep me in such high regard, really put a smile on my face at a time when I was really questioning my own success and self-worth.”
Check out the complete interview at Fightful.com.
