Wrestling: Priscilla Kelly Provides A Great Example Of How To Make An Impact

This past weekend, Priscilla Kelly showed wrestling fans how to make a name for yourself and make a difference afterwards; however, her quirky spot also brought out the worst in some fans.

Priscilla Kelly competed in the WWE Mae Young Classic and was already a big name on the independent scene, so she didn’t necessarily need to attract even more attention to herself; she’s already on the radar of wrestling fans. But two days ago, Hell’s Favorite Harlot became the most-discussed wrestler in the world, with the exception of Kenny Omega, by shoving a used tampon down an opponent’s throat. Well, sort of.

Because, you see, the tampon wasn’t actually used (no matter how good Kelly’s acting was or how long she “rummaged” for it). Oh, and, uh, the other wrestler, “Tuna”, knew it was coming. It was part of the show. At a show in a bar that was meant to have some off-the-wall stuff, since wrestling in small venues is done for that audience and for fun.

See, wrestling has a funny thing of being a “work” with everyone in on the joke and prepared to have fun, except when it involves a talented woman trying to do something different. When CM Punk says WWE would be better off if Vince McMahon is dead or when Joey Ryan flips people over with his junk, it’s awesome.

But when Priscilla Kelly decided to grab the spotlight by doing something creative and disgusting for some light-hearted entertainment, some people lost their minds. And not in a good way.

Of course, it was the usual suspects who were upset. I mean, with the way they’re tweeting, you’d think that Kelly went on a racist tirade that was caught on film or something. (Oh wait, sorry, that guy is going to be on Monday Night Raw tonight.)

But thankfully, many people in the wrestling business took Kelly’s tampon spot in stride, and it was awesome seeing other wrestlers known for crazy, creative spots, such as Joey Ryan and Joey Janela, coming to her defense.

https://twitter.com/THETOMMYDREAMER/status/1081748167408996352

https://twitter.com/OfficialTAZ/status/1081792065904742400

I love TAZ’s words here. Judging by the fact that Kelly’s Twitter following ballooned up to 22.7k (that’s an increase of between five and ten thousand followers in a matter of days), she got over. Jim Cornette, Road Dogg, and whoever else can spin their wheels about how “disgusting” the spot was, but in a form of art where “penis druids” and a “crusty” sock got hella over, a used tampon is quite benign.

Kelly’s rise to fame as a result of this spot is an example of how doing something outlandish can pay off, and why it’s so important for wrestlers to take harmless risks like this. Even if there is backlash, so many others will find it interesting or want to pay closer attention to the wrestler, and if that weren’t the case, why did Kelly’s follower account rise so much? And why are sites like ours dedicating time to write about it?

Furthermore, Kelly has raised some important issues within the wrestling community, especially as they pertain to how we view women in wrestling. The likes of Joey Ryan and Colt Cabana have excelled at “comedy” wrestling, and I’d wager that this spot falls under this category, even if the joke was apparently lost on some.

The stigmatization of women’s menstrual cycles needs to stop – and is a topic that is well-studied by academics – and comes into play here when examining the rhetoric surrounding Priscilla Kelly’s spot. Why were so many, predominantly male, fans so upset by this joke that was done in by two wrestlers who consented to the spot in front of fans at a 21+ bar? Why did this spot generate so much shock and outrage in a sport where wrestlers often cut promos about ending another wrestler’s career? Why did this cross the line? It all circles back to the double-standards that we still need to get rid of in wrestling.

But more importantly, I support Kelly for what she’s done in the aftermath of this spot. After grabbing the spotlight, she’s done her best to hold onto it by engaging with others and promoting herself on social media so that there’s a lasting impact. And that impact extends to her making a charitable donation to Freedom4Girls, a project focused on giving women and girls access to menstrual products. The need for this kind of a project, again, partially stems from men stigmatizing a natural and critical biological process as “disgusting”.

https://twitter.com/priscillakelly_/status/1082046190185840644

So I applaud Kelly for using her increased platform to help others in a way that is related to what helped boost her profile in the first place. Kelly impressed wrestling fans at the Mae Young Classic 2 last year, and she seems to be poised for a bigger 2019 after starting the year on an extremely high note, regardless of what a few sour grapes like Cornette think.

At the end of the day, the most important people seem to be in her corner, with Gabe Sapolsky tweeting that he’s “proud” to have Priscilla Kelly on the EVOLVE roster, given her decision to donate some of the proceeds from her shirt sales to Freedom4Girls.

Kelly has provided wrestling fans and fellow wrestlers with an example of how taking a risk and going on a limb can pay off, and her work to capitalize on the buzz has been A-plus.