PHOTOS: Red Bombshell cherry ripe for a fight

She’s to be the first female Central Queensland Wrestling Alliance wrestler

WRESTLING: Meet Gladstone's red-haired fighting fury Stephanie Rawlings, aka "Miss Cherry Bombshell".

Stephanie Rawlings aka Miss Cherrybomb

She's looking for an opponent to fight in the New Year.

While on holiday in Sydney, Rawlings took time out to speak with The Observer and talk about how it all started.

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"I grew up always watching it on television and fell in love I think with the story-telling and have always been interested in the unique way that wrestling can tell a story," she said.

Rawlings grew up in Gladstone, studied drama at university in Brisbane before returning to Central Queensland. She is now based in Rockhampton.

She is the only female wrestler training in the Central Queensland Wrestling Alliance and met her partner "Colt Winchester", or Wyatt Medlin, in the sport.

Rawlings was exposed to the Indy wrestling scene while in Brisbane.

"While I was at a convention I met a man by the name of 'Australian Wolf' or Mason Childs and he's pretty renowned in Australian wrestling," she said.

"We got talking about wrestling and how I could become involved."

Stephanie Rawlings aka Miss Cherrybomb

Being a university student eight years ago, Rawlings could not afford wrestling equipment, but a lifelong friendship had formed and Rawlings began teaching and kept in contact with Childs.

Rawlings got a teaching job in Rocky and, by sheer coincidence, reunited with Childs.

"I noticed his face was right in the centre of a CapriCon poster and so I messaged him and said 'hey you coming to Rockhampton and I'm living in Rockhampton now'," she said.

Childs, who coaches Queensland Wrestling Alliance based in Townsville, came to Rockhampton to run seminars in which she started training.

That was also when the CQWA was formed and Rawlings hoped to have a competitive wrestling fight in early 2020.

Stephanie Rawlings aka Miss Cherrybomb

 

"There's no word as of yet and I've been campaigning and have been training for most of the year," she said.

Because she is the only female, finding an opponent had been a difficult task.

"Mixed gender wrestling is becoming a lot more common and especially much more well received by audiences in Australian Indy wrestling but unfortunately it's still not a standard," Rawlings said.

"I have been making myself known in some of the shows and I have debuted, so to speak as a character and have been involved myself at the shows which happened at our last show, Road to Glory.

Sporting a healthy head of flame-red hair and styled in 1940s and '50s fashion, Rawlings said her look was inspired by the feminist movement in that era.

"I've always had this fascination with the '40s and '50s and that sort of I guess with the World War II and female empowerment and the first wave of equal rights for women in terms of the modern era," she said.

"That's what 'Cherry Bombshell' is all about.

"She's all about … strength and female power, that feminine power."