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One of our most loved sportswomen picked a battle that nearly cost her everything.
She’s got a legion of fans like no other but Aussie wrestler Emma Dashwood almost had her professional dreams shattered last month when she was caught in a devastating US shoplifting scandal.
The 25-year-old WWE Diva – or female wrestler – was arrested and charged after she left a Connecticut Walmart store with an iPad case worth $22.50 which shop assistances claimed she did not pay for.
Emma – along with her 160,000 plus social media fans – was left in complete disarray when the WWE announced they had released her from her once in a lifetime contract.
But they reinstated her just two hours later; after Emma explained the whole thing was just one big mistake.
According to her lawyers, Emma became confused while operating a self-checkout machine, and simply forgot to pay for the case.
The debacle is all cleared up now but for Emma, who fell in love with wrestling as a wide-eyed 8-year-old, the incident almost cost her everything.
For her Aussie fans – who are desperately excited to see her perform in WWE Live down under in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth later this week – it was almost just as devastating.
The biggest wrestling event to hit our shores just wouldn’t have been the same without our most loved female star.
Emma’s older brother Jake, now 36, is to blame for his sister’s unusual passion.
He forced her to watch wrestling from a young age and while he grew sick of it, Emma’s love for the colourful sport deepened.
The determined young lady began training as a wrestler at 13 and at 19, she moved to Canada to peruse her dream of becoming Australia’s first WWE Diva.
At 23, Emma got her break.
“I applied for a week-long try-out at their school,” she recalls. “Out of a couple of thousand applicants they gave out one contract and I was the lucky person.”
Emma now lives in Florida and – a more tanned, stronger and glamorous version of her 8-year-old self – she rigorously trains seven days a week at the WWE Performance Centre as one of their 15 professional Divas.
Emma has won over a legion of supporters who’ve joined the “Emmulation” and adore her bright personality, her signature dance onto the ring and her fun show that includes bubbles and catchy tunes.
Her dad wasn’t convinced wrestling was a good career for his daughter but Emma’s mum has been her greatest support and is still her number one fan.
Emma will challenge anyone who says wrestling isn’t for girls.
“I’ve been in the ring with the guys and I can hold my own. We’re very well trained.”
The Aussie Diva is absolutely thrilled to be performing in front of her home-town crowd on Thursday.
“It’ll be the first time my family has seen me wrestle with the company and I’m so excited about that,” she explains.
For Emma, wrestling is not about money but about living out her childhood dream – a dream that is once again a reality.
“I want to encourage other women to go after their dreams and give everything they’ve got.”
