On November 15, 365 Pro Wrestling held the inaugural Queen of the Island Tournament in Victoria. It was a landmark evening, featuring 11 women's wrestlers – including the 8 that made up the tournament bracket. When that bracket originally dropped, consensus among the 365 faithful (at least the ones I talk to!) all chose Liiza Hall as the winner. It seemed obvious to us. So, you can imagine our surprise when she lost in first round, albeit after a genuinely incredible match, to relatively unknown Cherry Blossom. Hall came out to cheers, but as the match progressed, we could see the terrifying bully Liiza, the one that it's cemented in all of our heads as a KILLER, come out more and more. When Blossom got the 1-2-3 and the victory, the jammed-packed crowd erupted in joy at the surprise triumph. Cherry Blossom established herself as someone not to fuck with, because everyone who regularly attends 365, and really any indie wrestling company in the PNW, knows that Liiza Hall is not someone to be fucked with. So bright is her star and strong is her ability in the ring, that getting a win over her is a huge step for anyone coming up in the scene.

Hall has been at the forefront of a quiet revolution of women's wrestling on the Canadian west coast. It's a scene that is genuinely on fire and growing at a rapid pace, with tournaments like the 365's Queen of the Island and BOOM! Pro Wrestling's Coco Harriet Invitational putting the spotlight where it belongs. It's a big change from when Hall first stepped into the scene herself. “It's really nice to see how much it's grown in the last 10 years. When I first started wrestling there was probably the same three or four ladies all the time,” reflects Hall, taking valuable time away from her new kitten, Frankie, to talk on an idle Thursday afternoon. “Now I get to wrestle the new trainees from Lion's Gate. I get to wrestle a bunch of people from Portland and Washington. Even here, we have, it might sound like a small number, but even having five or six women who are consistently wrestling in one area is a big deal. It's nice to see more women trying to get into the sport. I love it.”