Introducing Dubai's only female Muslim wrestler

A dawn of a new day

In the pro wrestling world, we are accustomed to seeing stars who are out down yet rise above the rest to attain what they are destined for. This story is much greater than that.

The conservative approach of the Arab world is a known fact, in spite all of that, 17-year-old Gheeda Chamasaddine who goes by the moniker Joelle Hunter has broken the perception to do what she truly believes in and that is wrestling. Standing at 5ft 4in, she may not seem like a power wrestler but in reality she can slam a guy who is manifold her size and show her mettle as an underdog.

For a teenager from Saudi Arabia, a country known for its conservative approach towards women, she wrestles wearing a crop top and fishnets and is an antithesis to what the Islamic country stands for. She is part of HM Fitness, that holds the distinction of being the only Pro wrestling academy in Dubai.

“Bloody Bunny” as she is known to her Twitter followers represents the countless independent women from UAE that have started to realise their global standing and the power that they possess.

She competes in matches with male wrestlers which is seen as a big no-no in their community. Her answer to that is that she doesn’t really care.

“We have our traditions and our culture and this [my sport] is a little bit odd to be honest, because this girl walks out and beats guys up, and the Arab culture is that the man is always the masculine figure and you have to listen to what the guy says. There’s so many people that were like you’re too pretty to wrestle and what are people going to think of you later on?' But I don’t care what people think of me, this is for me and if I don’t do it now then it’s never going to happen in the Middle East. You shouldn’t let anyone be a burden in your life, not even your parents, “ says Gheeda.

American female wrestlers are very flashy when it comes to their in-ring attire and Hunter is quite the opposite as she believes in simplicity being the best way to portray yourself. She says, “My ring attire is very basic. I don’t have anything fancy because I respect the law here," says Hunter. "In America you’ve got girls with everything out and to me that’s not what I’m trying to portray. I want to create something different. That’s why my attire is very plain. It shouts out, 'hey look at me and not my body'.

Surprisingly her mum is who is responsible for stitching her outfits and says, “Actually, my mum made my outfits for me – except for the fact that I bought shorts. Honestly, I had so many old clothes in my wardrobe that I don’t even wear anymore so I made most of them into my crop tops. It’s hard to move in the ring with a lot of glitter and sparkles so you gotta wear something that helps you avoid wardrobe malfunctions."

When it comes to her wrestling credentials, she is currently engaged in a feud with The Vigilante’, 19-year-old Michel Nassif from Lebanon, who while selling the feud also is impressed with the teenager. Nassif points out, “"The way she fights, she fights like a man. If I go into the ring now I can do any moves, she can take it. That’s good. But if you want me to be honest, many other people found it hard to go in the ring with her, I, on the other hand, didn’t because she’s getting a lot of media attention and it’s putting me in the picture as well."

Her brand of wrestling is a more submission infused mat based style. She would be counted as a ring technician with kicks and holds in her arsenal that are believable against the bigger guys she faces. You might think how can a girl out wrestle the men, but when you see her between the ropes your perception would change.

The man behind the fine tuning and rise of this talented female grappler is a top notch coach from Kentucky, 31-year-old Caleb Hall who has been trained by WWE legend, Rip Rogers. Rogers says that since the day she walked into the gym brimming with confidence and a will to be a pro wrestler, she has been a great fit in spite of her working with over 20 male wrestlers in the gym.

By noting that the guys treat her just like any other male wrestler he says, "The other guys are happy to train with her and just treat her like one of the guys and most of them don’t go easy on her. A few of them hold back and I say They treat her just the same' and they do.”

At first he was apprehensive of the reception a girl would get for indulging in wrestling but what he was treated to was refreshing, “I didn’t know anyone and I thought, like when I walked in there would be other girls in there, they’re gonna be mean. But everyone was surprisingly very supportive – there were no girls it was all guys."

UAE is still a raw country when it comes to the reach of pro wrestling as even the biggest wrestling promotion, WWE, doesn;t have events there fearing the backlash that might come their way. Hunter though is aiming for the sky as she has dreams of flying to the land of pro wrestling that is the USA and also leave behind a legacy and foundation for her Arab sisters that want to follow her in her inspiring footsteps.

"I have bigger responsibilities right now, in creating a female fighting division. Because if I leave Dubai behind without a girl’s division then that’s unfair; that’s me being ungrateful. I feel like it’s my duty to create the female wrestling division here. You can be anything you want, no matter what your gender is, nothing’s impossible,” says the invigorating teenager.

If she carries on her path the WWE would soon come knocking at her door.