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April Hunter - One of the few hopes for the WWE's Women's Division?

Allow me to introduce you to April Hunter, perhaps one of the most exciting up-and-coming female wrestlers to be found in the numerous indy wrestling promotions. In this article I intend to tell you more about Miss Hunter and why I believe she would be a great addition to the WWE RAW roster.

History:
April has wrestled in promotions around the world, and her degree of experience would easily put to shame some of the more established Divas on the list; Stacy and Torrie being the immediate examples. April also appears to know how to hold her own in a match. Although at times, she may not sell a move as much as she should, or reacts too early to an impending impact, she nonetheless delivers a very solid match with very few errors. Some of the more observant amongst you may also realise that April cut her wrestling teeth in WCW. She started out as one of the original Nitro Girls, but plans fell through when it came to offering her wrestling tuition. When she was released, she headed to Killer Kowalski's Pro Wrestling School in Boston to learn the tricks of the trade.

April has enjoyed quite a bit of success out in the indy wrestling scene, teaming with Slyk Wagner Brown, they have become the first intergender tag team to win a title in wrestling history. Although the promotion in which they won it may not exactly be world-class, this doesn't detract from the achievement. April has wrestled men, and dealt out and received punishment in equal doses, always giving it her all, and seeing it no differently to the challenge posed by a slightly more conventional woman-on-woman match.

Style:
April's wrestling style is certainly exciting and varied to watch. On her website she describes her style as technical, strong, submission and high-flying; an interesting combination I'm sure you'll agree. You may wonder how a lady of April's size can successfully combine strong, powerful moves with truly impressive aerial ones. She certainly does not resort to the use of double axe handles or flying elbows that some of her powerful male counterparts may use, but instead effortlessly combines the agility of Lita with the power of Victoria and technical prowess of Molly.

Technical	Watching a match of April is a thing of wonder. Her speed and agility is amazing and the sheer inventiveness and technical knowledge evident in her repertoire is quite staggering.
Strong	April is obviously muscular, but as mentioned before this does not slow her down. She will happily powerbomb or slam opponents into the mat, and her strength makes her decimation of opponents all the more inevitable.
Submission	April's submission moves are unsurprisingly very closely linked to her technical ability. In one video I expected April to perform a standard headscissors. But then she stopped. It looked like that maybe her opponent had caught her mid-move and was about to reverse it. But as the camera angle changed, it became clear April had her opponent in an incredible submission move. All of April's submission moves are born out of similar seemingly impossible or unexpected situations. She certainly makes a refreshing, yet I'm sure, devastating impact upon women's wrestling.
High-flying	April is not afraid to mix things up by performing moonsaults, be it from standing on the mat or from the top of the turnbuckle. Equally impressive no doubt.

Usually I couldn't give the time of day for finishing moves, but in April's case I'll make an exception. For starters, she has five which she regularly employs. Most wrestlers are only capable of holding down about two truly unique ones. April manages to nail over twice that number. What makes these moves all the more special is their true uniqueness, and how they can literally be pulled out of thin air. None of them seem to be generic versions of another finisher, unlike the various incarnations of Trish's Stratus-faction Bulldog for instance. The only truly standard and 'boring' finishers on offer are her moonsault press off the top rope, dubbed the 'SoldierSault', and her 'Head Hunter' or neckbreaker off the second rope.

How her finisher's work:

April has taken a lot of time to perfect some truly impressive finishers, so I will attempt to explain how they work to help showcase her amazing talent.

The Ayaquita: - One of her most visually spectacular moves is the Ayaquita, or bodyscissors takedown submission.

1. Opponent runs toward April.
2. April jumps, placing both hands on mat, and places legs either side of opponent’s waist.
3. April closes legs around opponent's waist and rolls to one side.
4. One leg is forced behind opponent's neck; other leg pushes on the hip region.
5. April rolls over.
6. Opponent's leg is between April's and April pulls on opponent's arm for extra leverage.
7. Opponent is in uncomfortable squatting position.

Hunter's Hangman: - This is another unbelievable move.

1. It starts with April sitting on top turnbuckle.
2. Her opponent gets close and then turns her back to her by missing a move or an action by April.
3. April grabs upper body of opponent.
4. She raises her right leg and puts across her opponent's neck. She rests her other leg on opponent's right shoulder.
5. April holds onto the top rope and leans back.
6. April shifts her right foot to opponent's neck. The force of April's weight going down lifts opponent up and chokes them.
7. April holds onto and pulls opponent's left arm for extra leverage.

Center Fold: - April's last submission move is the Center Fold, which is basically a flying headscissors submission.

1. April runs toward her opponent and performs a standard headscissors, but stops mid-rotation.
2. Her opponent's head is between her legs and her arms are either side of one of his arms, holding onto her legs.
3. April's full weight is on her opponent's shoulders and she pulls on his arm for extra leverage.

SoldierSault	Head Hunter	Ayaquita	Hunter's Hangman	Center Fold

All in all, April is one hell of a wrestler!

Physique:
April weighs in at around 150 pounds and stands at 5'9". Her weight would make her perhaps the heaviest Diva in the WWE if she were hired, but don't forget that Victoria tips the scales at a similar figure. Her height makes her just slightly taller than Victoria, but not quite as tall as Stacy Kiebler. In terms of overall size, she'd very definitely intimidate all of the Divas apart from perhaps Victoria. But despite what may initially add up to one large lady, she is remarkably agile and flexible in the ring. Her speed is amazing, and videos of her have left me in awe. Her finishing moves are also mind-blowing and almost indescribably complex, but put simply they are both brutal to watch and beautiful to behold.

Advantages:

• Strong - could easily hold her own in the ring
• Smart - could cut a decent promo
• Experienced - could go out there tomorrow and wrestle a better match then the likes of Torrie and Stacy
• Big boobs - instant crowd pleaser
• Context - the WWE currently has two other notable indy Divas on their books (Alexis Laree and Angel Williams), they've also just debuted Melina Perez from OVW, so there seems to be a desire somewhere along the line to introduce, fresh, new and original talent. If more of these girls get called up for TV, things could be looking good for April
• Desire - April has aspired to join the WWE for much of her professional life, and there's little doubt that this passion and commitment would be evident in her matches for the company
• Willing to take a tumble - with many of the women currently employed by the WWE, the closest they'll ever come to wrestling is the occasional slap across the mouth. April on the other hand would have no qualms about mixing things up, and would undoubtedly be able to have incredible hardcore matches with the likes of Victoria
• The next big thing? - potentially she could be introduced as the next Chyna, and kick ass left right and centre. An early shot at the title belt would also help establish her early on and could help pave the way for more intense women's matches in the future
• Strong following - April always has a large number of fans, and more people watching WWE programming really can't be a bad thing for the company

Disadvantages:

• She's done porn - granted the WWE rehired Sable after she'd posed for Playboy, but that had been with their blessing after all. Depends what mood WWE are in come contract time
• Not blonde - WWE has recently hired a lot of girls purely on their looks alone. April does not fit into the classic blonde bimbo role too well
• She's different - she's a red-head so instantly stands out. On top of this, she is a big lady in terms of her height, muscles and chest size. Some may see her as the next Chyna. All too often wrestling ability plays second fiddle to marketability

Conclusion:
I hope I've made a fairly convincing case there for April's deserved place in the WWE. She is an incredible technical wrestler and would really breathe new life into the Women's division. She has both beauty and strength (like Victoria) and could pull both T & A enthusiasts and those who enjoy watching fast-paced, technically clean wrestling. The recent PPV match between Trish and Lita proved how Women's wrestling in the WWE is enjoying a high, so bringing in a superb wrestler would be much appreciated. As for a role in the company, she would struggle to get over on T & A grounds alone. With Trish and Torrie out there, few fans would be willing to go for someone they see as another Chyna. Instead she should be brought in as a wrestler first, and piece of eye-candy second. A rough challenger to Victoria or Trish would provide the ideal storyline and quickly integrate her with established wrestlers. I'll certainly be keeping my fingers crossed in future for a WWE contract for April!

All pictures copyright: AprilHunter.com