NWA Champion Kamille Talks Working For Billy Corgan & Names AEW Dream Opponent

NWA Champion Kamille Talks Working For Billy Corgan & Names AEW Dream Opponent

When Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan gave the National Wrestling Alliance a serious rebranding and reboot, one of the company’s most striking and imposing athletes quickly got over with fans, and she did it without saying a word. Kamille (Kailey Dawn Farmer) made her televised debut on “NWA Powerrr” defeating Madi Maxx in a squash match. Soon after, she became the silent powerhouse aligned with the Strictly Business stable, and most notably, then-NWA World Champion Nick Aldis. She soon went on to score victories against Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb, the latter for the NWA World Women’s Title. Kamille was smashing a lot more than pumpkins. Her next bout is against Taryn Terrell on Feb. 12 for the taping of “NWA Powerrr Trip.” 

“Actually, I had a hard time not talking,” Kamille said with a laugh. “I saw comments like, ‘Well, she’s probably not doing promos, because she can’t cut a promo.’ I used to be like, ‘Oh, just watch me’ (laughs).’ Then I finally got the chance.”

Kamille now regularly speaks her mind on the company’s YouTube programs, “NWA Powerrr” and “NWA USA,” and she has continued to roll her way through opponents. Having taken acting and improv classes as a kid helped her as she learned to cut promos. The only real adjustment for fans was actually hearing the Durham, North Carolina-native’s accent. “Since everyone didn’t hear me speak right off the bat, they thought that I was gonna either be British or Russian just cause of my look, and all the sudden I have a southern accent. People were like, ‘What?’ (Laughs) So I guess people are just gonna have to get used to me talking.”

“I think far, far down the line, as far as putting a*ses in seats and people paying to see it, would be me and Jade Cargill from AEW.”

NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille, on her dream opponent

Kamille comes from an athletic background having been a standout softball player both in high school and for Division I Campbell University. She also was a member of the Atlanta Steam in the all-women’s Legends Football League. In addition to her work in the NWA, she’s appeared for numerous independent promotions, and she showed up on an episode of AEW “Dynamite” last year to set up an NWA title defense against “Legit” Leyla Hirsch. 

Recently, Kamille chatted about getting her start in wrestling, working for Billy Corgan and the NWA, and she revealed her dream opponent in this Web Is Jericho exclusive. 

How did you get your start in wrestling, and when did you know it was something you wanted to do? “I went to college. I got a degree. I had a normal office job after I graduated, and I kinda realized, ‘This sucks.’ I moved back home for a little bit at one point just trying to regroup. Me and my dad went to an indie show out in the middle of nowhere. It was a terrible show. The wrestling was terrible, but I had a great time. So the next morning, I kind of woke up and had an epiphany. I grew up watching wrestling with my dad, but I kind of got out of it in high school. But I thought, ‘I used to act when I was younger. I’ve played sports my whole life. Wrestling is a combination of the two. So let’s dive in and see what happens.’”

What was your first experience like in a ring? “I went down and trained at Team 3D in Kissimmee, Florida with The Dudleys. It was a lot different than I thought, just because I’ve always played sports and was very athletic, but being in the ring is a whole other animal. When you get in there, you’re like a penguin trying to get your feet under you. At school there, you had to learn all the basics. When you were ready, you would do a test they had to get to the advanced class. In the advanced class is when you started putting together matches, so that was my first experience doing matches. You get a little better every time until you can fly, and then they say, ‘OK, you can go work the indies.’”

Did your sports background help you with wrestling? “I do think it helped me a bit. I think someone that’s athletic is going to pick things up more quickly than someone that has no athletic background at all. A big thing that helped out was the mentality of being able to handle criticism and using it to make yourself better. I did realize that a lot of people may not have had coaches before or been a part of a team, so their mentality was a little different, and I think some had a harder time handling that criticism.”

How challenging was it to have the momentum of NWA halted for so long because of the pandemic? “It was really disappointing, because we had so much momentum going behind us, and we were also supposed to start touring that year through Live Nation. So it was really disappointing from going to where we were gonna do all that stuff to absolutely nothing. We tried to provide fans a little something, but we couldn’t wrestle, and it was just random content. We just tried to stay in high spirits, because we didn’t know if we were coming back. Obviously, we were kept under contract, and we kept getting paid, which was great of Billy Corgan to do, but we didn’t know if we would come back or not. It was a little bit scary. But the fact that we did come back, and now we’re getting revved up and trying to regain that momentum has really been great.”

Who have you learned the most from working with? “I learned a lot from Serena Deeb just as far as professionalism and coming into the match mentally and physically prepared. That was a great learning experience. Someone like Mercedes Martinez, I learned different things from her about working the crowd. I’ve had some great opportunities to work with some real vets.” 

What did it mean for you to become the women’s champion of such a storied brand? “It meant a lot, especially so early in my career. I had I think four matches on NWA up to that point, so it was just really special. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of weight on my shoulders and a lot of pressure, but I do think that I thrive under pressure. I’m just trying to make the NWA proud and the lineage of that title proud.”

Do you have a dream opponent? “I think far, far down the line, as far as putting a*ses in seats and people paying to see it, would be me and Jade Cargill from AEW.”

Who were your favorite athletes growing up? ”I’m from Durham, North Carolina, so Duke University was right there. So I love Duke everything and Duke basketball, of course. Then you’ve got UNC, which is right down the road. When I got older, I had friends at both schools, so I stopped cheering for a certain team and just started cheering my friends. Then of course the Carolina Panthers. I also love the Durham Bulls, our AAA baseball team, and I love going to baseball games in the summer.”

Who were some of your favorite wrestlers? “Growing up I loved Edge and Lita. I like Maryse as well. Now, that I’m grown and watching wrestling a little bit differently, I’m watching Eddie Guerrero, and I love watching Brock Lesnar.” 

Have you had a chance to meet anyone like that from WWE? “Yeah, I’ve got to meet a lot of the guys and girls, and I try to listen to their stories and just hear what they have to say. The coolest moment for me since Edge was my favorite wrestler growing up was our boss, Billy Corgan, had a concert in Charlotte we drove to. And I guess Edge lives in the area, so he went to the concert, and he came backstage afterwards. I just thought, ‘This is such a full circle moment.’ Even though I was embarrassed to do it, I had to, I said, ‘Adam, would you mind if I take a picture with you?’ (Laughs) I was so embarrassed to do it, but I just had to, because he was someone I really looked up to growing up.”

What’s it like working for Billy Corgan? He has a great knowledge for the wrestling business. It’s great working for Billy. It’s so crazy that someone that has been and is such a rock star happens to love wrestling, and not just love it, but knows the history of it, and it’s something he’s very passionate about. It’s pretty crazy that he’s as humble and as easy to talk to as he is, being the position he’s been in in life. I think pretty much everyone can agree that maybe if you were a bit nervous before you met him, once you get to talking to him, he makes you feel relaxed. It’s just like talking to one of your peers, so it’s been great.” 

What are some of your immediate and long-term goals? “Immediate goals are just to hold that title as long as I can and keep getting better every single match. I just want to get better and more confident and be that ring leader I need to be, ’cause although I am new in my career, a lot of people look up to me since I am the NWA World Women’s Champion. I just want to be able to unselfishly grow the NWA brand as much as we possibly can, because I’ve always played sports, and I’ve always been part of a team. Although wrestling is somewhat individual, to me, NWA is my team. So I want to do everything I can for my team to win.”

B.J. LISKO
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