In Turnbuckle Times’ latest exclusive interview, TBT’s own, Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) got the chance to sit down with Davina Thorne (@davina_thorne). Thorne opened up about her coffin match with Ravenna Vein at Night Zero, as well as her upcoming match with Camryn Avery at WrestleArts, her return to 2econd Wrestling, Uprising Women’s Athletes, and so much more. Watch the interview in its entirety down below.

Let’s jump right into it. On Thursday night, you’ll be going one-on-one with Ravenna Vein in a coffin match at Jamesen Shook’s “Night Zero” event. What is your mindset heading into this one?

“My mindset is I can’t lose this because I’m claustrophobic. Like, that’s real. No, I’m so excited. I, as a wrestler, love being challenged. A coffin match is not something you see very often. It’s so different. It’s such a fun match concept. When I heard I was in a coffin match, I was like, ‘Oh, hell yeah, that’s sick.’ I’m going to do some research after this interview, going to watch some coffin matches, think some strategies, but I’m also just really excited to wrestle Ravenna. She’s somebody I saw for a while.

I think her character is just so cool and she has such a cool presentation and like, I never wrestled in Tennessee before. This is my debut. My grandpa is actually from Chattanooga, so there’s that. I’m hyped. I’m very excited. I haven’t been this excited for a match in a very long time. I usually really look forward to my matches because I think every match is an opportunity to learn and grow and do different things. But, I am so excited and I can’t wait.”

You and Ravenna are very evenly matched and two of the hottest up-and-comers of the women’s wrestling scene today. What can we expect when we see the two of you face off?

“I think Jamesen was right, I think you can expect an absolute show stealer, no matter who wins, who comes out on top. I think people are going to want to see this match again. Maybe not in a coffin match, but maybe in a different type of match. I think that it has the opportunity to be the best match on the show, and I know that’s my mindset heading into this match. I know, it’s like my mindset coming into most matches, I try to view them as the best match on the show.

Sometimes, it’s really hard. I especially think it’s hard on this card because there’s so many cool matches and every match has a different stipulation, which I think is a dope concept. As someone who’s a big fan of ECW and hardcore wrestling and stuff like that, I think it’s such a sick concept. So, I think people can expect this to be a show stealer, and I honestly expect this whole show to be a show stealer. I don’t know how you can do that, but like.”

Does the fact that it’s a coffin match add any flair for you coming into this one?

“It’s crazy. It definitely wasn’t something I was expecting. You don’t see many coffin matches, especially on the independents. It’s such a different thing. So, I think it adds a sense or pride that someone’s able to trust me to be in that match type. It’s not easy. It’s something that hasn’t been done much. Of course you can call a regular match and it’s comparatively easier. But, you have to think of the stipulation, prepare accordingly, and it just means a lot. Also, it’s a little scary. I am claustrophobic. But, yeah. I can’t wait. It’s really cool.”

You have a very busy rest of July coming up, as you’ll also be traveling to WrestleArts on July 25th to face off with Camryn Avery. What’s your mindset heading into this one?

“I’m very excited. WrestleArts is a place I’ve been wanting to go to for a second. I’m very excited for that. I don’t know much about Camryn Avery, but I think she’s also newer, so that’s always fun. I like wrestling the new girlies, it makes me feel trusted, and I know when I was newer I was more protected and I’d only get matches against certain people. That kind of, in sense, I feel trusted.

I’m super excited. I always love going to Indianapolis, that’s always cool. There’s also a lot of really cool people on the show that I like. My boyfriend is also on it. That’s cool. I always love that. Regan Lydale, who’s another one of my friends and rivals, is on it. I love her. That will be cool to see her. But, yeah. There’s a lot of super cool people on that show, so I’m really hyped.”

You will also be making your return to 2econd Wrestling on July 30th. What can we expect from you at this event?

“2econd Wrestling. I love working 2econd, and I love working the Cubbie Bear. I think that’s such a cool venue. It’s literally right across  from Wrigley Field. That’s really cool. 2econd has seen me through a lot of different eras. They’ve seen me since the beginning of my career. I feel like I’ve grown a lot there and I’ll continue to grow there. I’m really excited to come back. I’ve been on a bit of a winning streak there. Hopefully, they give Davina Thorne a championship opportunity. Come on now.

I am excited to come back. Definitely that venue will be cool. I always love wrestling there. I only got to do it twice. The first time I wrestled there was against Nixi XS. That was a fun match. Then, I got to wrestle there last month and I was in a four-way with Trentico, Maurice, and Shelly Benson. So, that ws a fun one. Really excited to come back. It seems like every time I wrestle there, I get a very fun match. Hopefully we’ll keep that trend going.”

You have been racking up some wins at 2econd Wrestling, including the four-way win and in singles action against Nixi XS. What has it been like for you to continue to rack up these wins, as well as work with someone like Nixi?

“It was really cool. I wanted to wrestle Nixi for a long time, because I feel like we’re very similar characters. I definitely have a very fun time with that, and I think she’s one of the best for character work out there right now. She’s just so good at promos, has a look to her, and is just such a fun person to wrestle. So, like, getting that win over her was very cool. Wrestling her was really cool because I wasn’t, Shelly was originally supposed to be in that match. I wasn’t supposed to wrestle that day. Actually, I was originally just supposed to manage Sean Login. But, I was there and I got that match, so that was awesome.

The four-way, four-ways are tough. There’s three other people, no rules, anybody can win really. But, I always have a strategy going into matches and I’m a tricky one myself. I knew I was going to strike when I had my opportunity, and I had full confidence in that match. Maurice and Trentico have a little feud going. They don’t like each other. Maurice is so involved with Trentico, that I was kind of like, if they get into something, that’s my opportunity to strike on one of them and get the win. Shelly, she’s always really fun to work with. I love working with her. Our joke is that we never wrestle indoors.

Until that match, we never wrestle indoors. We always wrestle at festival shows and it has always been when it’s almost 100 degrees. I love wrestling and I’m always grateful to do it. My least favorite thing to do is wrestle when it’s 100 degrees, and outside. So, that was cool for me and her, to get that match indoors. Hopefully, eventually, we’ll get a singles and get to run that one back, because I do have a very fun time working with her.”

Wrapping up your July, we will see you return to Uprising on the 31st. What can we expect from you here?

“I love working Uprising. When I was coming up, they just started doing the shows when I started training. I saw them come up as a promotion, and I haven’t seen a women’s wrestling promotion like that in the United States since Shimmer. Shimmer is such a cool promotion. It did so much for women’s wrestling and it did so much for independent women’s wrestling. So, to see a promotion, that was trying to take on that task. They’re not easy shoes to fill, but that was definitely cool. I definitely set a goal in my mind for working there. I went to a lot of Dreamwave shows to help set up, and went to a few Uprising shows to set up.

Granted, Uprising shows are harder to make because they are on Friday’s. I was working a job at the time because wrestling is expensive. But, it was definitely a goal I set in mind for myself. Being able to work there now is very rewarding. I think they have some of the top talents in the whole US, and around the world honestly now. They’re bringing in girls from around the world. They have this partnership with Stardom now. It’s just very cool to be seen as somebody who is good enough to play with the big dogs. That’s really cool. Especially since I am very early in my career, I feel very trusted. They don’t just let anyone on those shows. So, it’s cool for me.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up Anakin Murphy. Anakin is bursting onto the scene like very few before him have. What has it been like seeing all he’s accomplishing in his own right on GCW?

“It makes me very proud. I know when we first started talking, he had just started working for GCW. I believe he just started in January, and we just started talking in February. So, he just started working there. To see where he was then to where he is now is very insane. GCW is such a hard show to get on. It’s such a hard show to become a regular at and such a hard show to get storylines at. Since we’ve started dating, I’ve watched him just blossom. It’s insane. I am so f**king proud of him.

I have been there, I was there when he wrestle Murdoch, I was there when the TOS announcement happened, I was there for TOS, I was there for Cage of Survival. When they were in Arizona I was there. The most recent loop I was also there. I try to go to every one I can because I know how much it means to him. Also, I love GCW, so I always like going to GCW shows. They’re like, I don’t think arguably, I think they are the biggest independent in America right now. It’s such a good show. There’s so many people on there, and it’s just an opportunity to learn always.

Just seeing him accomplish the things he has, it makes me very proud. I’ll always be very proud of him. At the same time, I’m his girlfriend, I can say what I want, but I’m also a very honest person, and it’s just so cool to see. I can’t get over it. He’s the coolest person ever. I’m trying to be as cool, but whatever.”

Looking ahead for you, do you have any future goals you’d like to accomplish?

“I have a lot. I would like to wrestle in all 50 states. I’m at 11 right now, after this weekend I’ll be at 12. Which, honestly, after a year and a half, is pretty f**king cool, in my eyes. I got one recently that I thought was going to be hard. I grew up in Arizona, so that was a big, ‘Oh, I always want to wrestle there, that would be so cool.’ When I went to go help with GCW for him, but I was there to help and stuff, I got put on the bonus match for Arizona, so that was sick. That’s definitely a goal. I’d like to wrestle as many places and people that I can. There’s always something to learn from it. It’s just, it’s different. Every place is different. Every wrestler is taught differently.

You need to wrestle all of these people to learn different things. I think, at a certain point, that’s the only way to get better. Not saying that I’m at that point, because I’m still so young in my career. But, getting out there, is still one of my big ones. I just want to be somebody that people can be proud to be a fan of and proud to support.

Not even in wrestling, but one of my biggest goals as a human is to just be a good person. I know sometimes I didn’t have good people to look up too or good people around me. That’s one of my big goals. I always want to be someone that my friends, family, and people can be proud to know. Especially people who watch me wrestle, who are fans of my character and stuff like that, I just want them to be proud to look up to me. I feel like I’m doing a decent job at that.

My biggest goal with wrestling is to be able to make a living off it. I’d like to be able to buy my dad a house and retire him. He’s worked so hard to help me and my brother. Especially, with me, he’s always been one of the biggest supporters of my wrestling dream. That’s a big goal of mine, to help him out. Who doesn’t hate working for corporate America? But, my dad’s like, he really doesn’t like it. He’s such a chill dude and he’s stressed a lot over his job. I’d really like to help him with that.”

Any opponents you’d like to square off with?

“I have such a long list. There’s so many people that I’m like, I need to wrestle you yesterday. Mercedes Mone, obviously, top of my list. Would love to wrestle her. Kylie Rae. Laynie Luck is killing it right now. Shazza is another one. I’d love to wrestle her. Gabby Forza, I’m such a big fan of her. I’d love for Anakin and I to wrestle her and Bear. I need somebody to make that happen. That would be so sick. Please. Please, I’m begging someone, make it happen.

There’s just so many people. Especially in GCW watching those shows, Joey Janela would be such a cool person to wrestle. I think he’s genuinely one of the best independent wrestlers right now. On the back of that, Megan Bayne. I think she’s so cool and she’s so good. I’d love to wrestle her. Who else? Who else? Don’t ask me. I have a whole list that gets jumbled up all the time and I change things. There’s so many people.

I’d love to wrestle Anakin again, somebody please make that happen. My God, please. Those are the ones off the top of my head that I’d love to wrestle. Give me Atticus Cogar. I’d love to beat VNDL48’s ass. I’ll take all of them. Give me all of them, for f**king with my man, and just because they’re all so great. I have so many people. Just give me everyone at this point. I’ll fight everyone and anyone.”