Nor Diana says she has spent her life looking up to WWE's women.
Nor “Phoenix” Diana has been wrestling for two years, even though she is only eighteen years old. She was born in Malaysia and was raised as a Muslim. In an interview with SBS.com, Diana was asked about her experiences in wrestling as both a woman and a Muslim. Diana spoke about watching Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss wrestle in Abu Dhabi.
“They finally showed that women can also wrestle. I felt empowered and proud because as a Muslim pro wrestler I feel like I’ve also been trying to show the world that a Muslim woman can do what other, non-Muslim women can do. I hope that it shows that women, whether Muslim or not, can do whatever we want. When I started watching wrestling, I started watching (Banks). To see her be one of the first women to have a match in Abu Dhabi from WWE inspired me,” said Diana.
Diana wears a full body suit like Bliss and Banks wore in Abu Dhabi. She also wears a mask. Diana said when she started her career, she was aware how she wanted to present herself.
"After my debut match, (fans) were confused whether I was a boy or a girl because I was completely covered. I always knew that I wanted my gear to look different from skimpy and sexy traditional women’s gear but not confuse people,” said Diana.
In the rest of the interview, she said her goal is to wrestle in WWE someday. Right now, she wrestles for Asian professional wrestling promotions like Asia Wrestling Entertainment and Malaysia Pro Wrestling. Also interviewed was Lana Evanson, another wrestler who is Muslim.
The rest of interview with Diana and Evanson can be found at SBS.com.
