Kc Spinelli competing for a spot at the Nightmare Factory

[Sinclair Promotions]

Kc Spinelli on the local news in Kitchener Ontario

A Guelph, Ont. wrestler is one match away from the chance of a lifetime.

On Sunday, Natalie Cicoria – known professionally as Kc Spinelli – will step in the ring to battle for the opportunity to train with some of the world's best wrestlers.

It's the grand prize for the finals of the Quebec-based competition Wrestling Academy 2023. Three winners take home $10,000 each and they will receive three months of training at the Nightmare Factory wrestling school in Atlanta, Georgia. It is co-owned by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Cody Rhodes.

"And then you have Billy Gunn and his sons who come in and help as trainers, as well as Shawn Spears who has dropped in numerous times as well," said Spinelli.

The competition is run by Jacques Rougeau, who is best known as The Mountie during his time in the World Wrestling Federation.

Spinelli, 38, knew before she could walk that wrestling was in her future.

"I've worked with WWE. I've worked with Impact Wrestling. I've worked with AEW. And I've worked with ROH," she said.

Aside from Canada, she's also wrestled in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Pakistan and Holland.

Sunday's match may be her biggest challenge yet. Standing in her way is experienced wrestler Kat Von Heez. But it's not anything she isn't prepared for with nearly 15 years of wrestling experience of her own.

Sometimes acting as the heel, or the villain, she also has the intimidation factor and some smack talk on her side.

"If there's one thing this mouth is good for, it's definitely entertaining," she said.

Knowing what's on the line, she's not taking anything lightly.

"This opportunity is hopefully going to open some doors so the people on the other side could potentially help me gain access to making this a full-time gig," Spinelli said.

Sunday certainly won't be Spinelli's first career hurdle. She's had to navigate her way through what's historically been a male-dominated sport.

"'We don't have room for you on our roster, you can still help with the ring and come out to shows but as for getting any work, we just don't have it for you,'" Spinelli said, recalling a conversation from earlier in her career.

She's wrestled with a chip on her shoulder for that reason, but the industry has evolved a lot since she began.

So it's fitting that CTV News caught up with her at Canada's first female-owned professional wrestling academy – Off The Ropes.

Used to knocking down barriers and bodies, Spinelli looks to pin her next opponent, as well as pin down a permanent contract.

"I'm Kc Spinelli and someday, somebody is going to see me and say 'we want her' and I'm hoping with this opportunity, that's what it is."


On a side note I'm really routing for her to get this chance. Kc is one of my favourite people in wrestling and I'd love to see her make the best of this opportunity.

[on_the_edge]

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I hope she wins cause I am a fan of hers and it would be great. On the other, I feel she is established to some extent, getting up there in years and it could take a chance away from someone who could use this opportunity more. So, I hope she wins but if not, I hope the winner is someone who can really benefit from the training.

[Sinclair Promotions]

Kat Von Heez

[TTX]

It's just two women at this point so either KC or Kat and neither from the sounds of it is exactly a newcomer.

[Sinclair Promotions]

Prize Money Split becomes point of contention

A Guelph, Ont. wrestler turned down a shot at training with top pro wrestling talent because she didn't agree with how the prize fund was split among competitors.

Natalie Cicoria, known as Kc Spinelli in the ring, competed in her finals match at the Quebec-based Wrestling Academy 2023.

The finals included three matches – a men's tag team, a men's singles and a women's singles. The winner from each got $10,000 and three months of training at the Nightmare Factory wrestling academy in Atlanta, GA.

The winner from each match is decided ahead of time by the flip of a coin. But what's not pre-determined is who would get the money and training. That's based on their performance in the match.

The outcome of the women's match is where some added drama comes in – unplanned from the original storyline.

Former pro wrestler Jacques Rougeau, who organized this cross-country competition, asked Spinelli and her competitor Kat Von Heez whether they'd be OK with splitting the prize fund.

"And without hesitation, I said no," said Spinelli. "So I said 'Jacques, look, you're already picking two guys. Now with us having to split our win, it's sort of already telling the people that we don't match up.'"

So when decision time came, frustrations boiled over. Pro wrestler QT Marshall, who co-owns Nightmare Factory and served as a judge, raised both Spinelli's hand and her competitor's.

"So they asked is in front of everybody 'are you willing to split the $10,000' and I had to say no," said Spinelli.

She says it became bigger than wrestling at that point, arguing that it comes down to fair compensation for men and women.

"They're asking for you to take a cut. They're saying you win 'but.' You're not saying that to the men. How dare you say that to the women?" she said.

Spinelli says the total prize pot should've been split equally.

"If we had four people with $7,500 and it was two men and two women, I would be OK with that. There would be nothing to say no to," she said.

COMPETITION ORGANIZER RESPONDS
Rougeau says how the prize fund was divided came down to the number of male versus female competitors.

"If there's 60 competitors and there's 50 that are men and there's 10 that are women, it's normal that there's going to be two prizes of $10,000 for the men and one prize of $10,000 for the women," he says.

But Rougeau says he intended to get both women that amount in the end.

"You're bringing this to me, you know, it's something that's new to me. We never expected to encounter this and instead of me taking the money away from the guys that were supposed to get the $10,000, for me the most important thing was to raise more money for the girls so that both get $10,000," Rougeau said.

But he says the rejection from Spinelli caught him off guard so he had to act fast for the fans.

"So I jumped in the ring. And I just improvised and I took both of their hands and I said 'OK if you want one winner, I'll take one winner. So I took Kat Von Heez's arm and I raised her arm up,'" he said.

While wrestling thrives on storylines and drama, the drama in this case spilled out of the ring and into the real world. But regardless of which side of the ring they stand on, both Spinelli and Rougeau agree 'equal pay, equal play' should be top of mind.

[Sinclair Promotions]

To be fair to everyone involved I can agree with Kc's decision on this. If Jacque came out and said "Look, I was hoping to raise $40,000 for this competition but I only raised $30,000 and I have to cut everyone back from $10,000 to $7,500" I'm sure the other competitors would have taken the pay day.

Sad that it had to go down this way, but I'm proud of Kc for sticking by her morals.

[on_the_edge]

Good for KC. She did the right thing. Sounds like maybe Rougeau did not plan things properly. It might have been an honest mistake but he put himself in a bad light IMO. It looks bad that you are asking the females to take a split and not one of the males divisions. To make it worse they reward the person that did not say no to the poor compromise. I am a bit disappointed in Rougeau and the others who ran this event. I have half a mind. But you already knew that. I have half a mind to contact Scott D'amore and have him send PCO after his former tag partner to knock some sense into him.