English WWE star unlike anything fans have ever seen promises ‘special’ debut

WWE fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Blake Monroe on SmackDown, and she has big plans.

The 27-year-old British wrestling star, who grew up in Hertfordshire, is the latest name moving from NXT to the main roster, but she claims she’s a step above the likes of Fatal Influence, Sol Ruca, Joe Hendry and Ricky Saints.

‘Do you really think I’m in that crowd? I’m not,’ she exclusively told Metro. ‘I’m The Glamour. I’m special. I didn’t come to NXT with a recruitment class. I came in as a big deal to NXT, and I will go to SmackDown as a big deal, when I want.’

In recent weeks, fans have been introduced to The Glamour, Blake’s persona somewhere between classic Hollywood and Sabrina Carpenter with a sinister twist.

‘WWE and SmackDown audiences have never seen anything like me,’ she promised. ‘They’ve never seen a woman as versatile as me.’

Blake isn’t giving anything away when it comes to a potential debut date.

However, she teased: ‘We do have this European tour coming up, so maybe, let’s see…’

Blake is stepping into a stacked locker room, although the WWE roster is getting used to not having Asuka around after she recently appeared to step away for the foreseeable future.

‘Her influence is undeniable, and I think the locker room really will feel that loss,’ the Brit said. ‘But you know she’s gonna be watching us, and we’re gonna make her proud.’

Blake is excited to wrestle everyone on SmackDown, and including United States Champion Tiffany Stratton and WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.

‘[Rhea’s] one of the biggest names, man or woman, in WWE so for me, I’m excited,’ she teased. ‘I feel like Rhea is the polar opposite of me, and I would have so much fun playing with her,’

It’s been quite a journey for Blake, real name Mariah May, since starting her career ‘wrestling in school gyms and breweries’ across the UK.

After a year of wrestling, the pandemic stalled things just as she was ‘getting past that awkward stage of wrestling’.

‘I was finally getting past the two left feet and figuring it out,’ she recalled. ‘Then we went into lockdown.’

Once the world opened up, Blake went to Japan, and within a week she decided her planned three-month stint wasn’t long enough.

‘They were like, “Let’s do your first match, and then we’ll talk about it,”‘ she laughed. ‘I had my first match, and they’re like, “You can stay”. So I just moved on a whim to Japan, but it was the best thing I could have done.’

She developed who The Glamour really is, contrasting Blake’s appearance with the ‘grittiness’ of wrestling.

‘I train like that, but my appearance tells you one thing,’ she smiled. ‘I do love pink and glamorous things, and the showgirl stuff.’

Blake took great strides in an epic 18-month rivalry with Toni Storm in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which saw them battle at Wembley Stadium amid what is regarded as one of modern wrestling’s greatest storylines.

She hasn’t felt pressure making sure her current version stands on its own since signing with WWE.

‘I think it was very instinctive. When you’re on TV, it’s so fast moving, so you wish you had time to really workshop a million things, but you don’t,’ she shrugged.

‘It’s very hard to reinvent yourself or whatever, but I never feel like I needed to do that. I feel like The Glamour can transition between any company I’m in.’

She’s been able to show her ‘bad side’ with the ‘Woman From Hell’ edge to her character, and WWE is all-in on her ideas for her vignettes.

She chucked: ‘”Hey, WWE, can I have a bubble bath? Can I have this?” And they’re like, “sure.”‘

The Glamour fits perfectly in WWE, but could have easily been part of the Attitude Era, or the Divas Era.

‘I grew up in the Divas Era, so I would have absolutely thrived,’ Blake raved. ‘For what those women were given, I feel like they would have two minute matches, and they would still get the crowd excited, they would still look like a million bucks.’

‘I have a real knack for the gimmick matches and the weapons, and I feel like this is very Attitude Era,’ she added. ‘I feel like that’s a great thing, to have as many feathers in your cap as possible.’

Hardcore matches are nothing new for Blake, and she’s even been ‘killed off’ a couple of times.

In AEW, it was a Hollywood Ending, and her NXT stint ended after she was buried following a Casket Match.

‘Listen,’ she smirked. ‘My character is so beast you have to kill her if you want to move on from her.’

Blake is all about the theatrics – she already has a role in ITV’s wrestling sitcom Deep Heat to her name – and while there’s no doubt Hollywood will come calling, she wants to take a different approach.

‘If you look at some of my greatest hits or my greatest storylines, they are full of the emotion – tragedy, comedy, all of those elements,’ she said. ‘Instead of ditching WWE to go to Hollywood, I’m bringing Hollywood into WWE.’

Don’t miss WWE when it visits the U.K. this Summer including stops in Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, Sheffield and London. Tickets available now from www.wwe.com/events.

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