Former WWE star and TNA Knockouts Champion Katie Lea was the latest guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show. Katie broke into the wrestling scene after having a love for performing arts and desire to become a wrestler after growing up a fan. She performed in the UK, wrestling for both NWA UK Hammerlock and Frontier Wrestling Alliance. Her work allowed former WWE Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer, who was an agent at the time, to recruit her for an opportunity in Ohio Valley Wrestling.
"I'd actually gone to a tryout,” Katie said. “[WWE] had these open tryouts at the time. So I'd gone to that, and I didn't hear anything. Then I met Tommy Dreamer on an independent show, and he told me if you came back over, give me a call and I'll get you booked and a tryout. And [eventually] he hired me."
Katie Lea would then gain tremendous popularity in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), having memorable feuds with Serena Deeb, ODB, and Beth Phoenix, being a part of the first Women's Ladder Match and ending up winning it also. Katie credits Al Snow for her maturity in OVW, stating that he was the "main go-to person", and allowing her to "have a whole creative process there, rather than just showing up for work.”
This popularity would get her a main roster spot, teaming with Paul Burchill in a bizarre incest angle. However, with the advent of PG programming, the team had to quickly dissolve, leaving Katie with very little direction for the remainder of her time there. "They wanted to do the incest thing, but they wanted to treat it with respect and make it a good storyline rather than just throw it out there because I was going to get some slack anyway, which in the end, unfortunately, they had to pull it because of the PG," said Katie.
Katie Lea would then debut in TNA under the name Winter, and eventually became TNA Knockouts Champion. For a number of weeks, her character was so strong that she became involved in one of the main angles on TV, alluring Angelina Love to be in a muted trance. Katie credits Vince Russo for the storyline. "That was Vince Russo's idea entirely," Katie explained.
She added, "I did have a couple of meetings where I sat down and threw some ideas around. He was always very open and receptive. He would take what he liked and write the storyline. Essentially, that was Russo's idea, and that was his storyline. I'll always be grateful for that."
Although having a prominent part in TNA programming, she was eventually written off television with no explanation. When asked why she was let go, she responded, "I was told nothing. I was not even told one thing. My contract was up, and they just stopped flying me in, and that was the end to that."
Nowadays, Katie is still doing independent work and spending most of her time acting, while working on writing and directing
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