Leah Vaughan (born October 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler. She was formerly known as Leah Von Dutch.[2]
| Leah Vaughan | |
|---|---|
 Vaughan in March 2016 | |
| Born | October 1, 1987 London, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Windsor Fanshawe College |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Leah Vaughan Leah Von Dutch |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 125 lb (57 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Derek Wylde Shawn Spears Rob Fuego Taylor Wilde Marcus Marquez[1] Cherry Bomb Truth Martini |
| Debut | 2011 |
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2011–2012)
Vaughan has said "I always wanted to be a wrestler since I was 12 years old. I was about 19 years old when I thought this could actually be a reality and when I was 24 I decided to pursue my dream."[3] She got her start in early 2011 where she would make appearances on the pheriphry of wrestling - ring announcing, acting as referee, selling tickets and merchandise.[1] She was also paired up with Cody Deaner at NEO Wrestling, whom she acted as a manager for.[4] Vaughan received some early training from Derek Wylde, but conflicting schedules made it difficult to steadily train.[5] She made her in-ring debut in September 2011[1] against Cherry Bomb;[6] that same month, she won an essay contest arranged by former pro-wrestler Edge which has as its prize a scholarship for training at Squared Circle Training in Toronto.[4]
Independent circuit (2013–present)
Vaughan has made appearances with Chikara, where she faced Sara Del Rey twice.[4] She appeared at the April 2013 SHIMMER tapings, where she was part of a six-man tag team match on the first day of tapings.[7] The following day, she made her on camera appearance when she competed against Rhia O'Reilly in a match for SHIMMER Volume 56.[8]
She has made multiple appearances with Shine Wrestling, appearing on shows #6,[9] 13,[10] 16,[11] 19 and 22 to 25. She has also appeared with Ring of Honor,[12] Shine Wrestling, 2CW,[13] Reina x World[14] and nCw Femmes Fatales.[15] She has done several tours of the United Kingdom and Europe, in 2013 and 2014 where she appeared in about a dozen different shows there[16][17] She announced in April 2016 that she had signed a deal with World Wonder Ring Stardom.[18][19]
She had appeared on several occasions in the World Wrestling Entertainment, acting as one of Adam Rose's Rosebuds.[20][21]
In March 2017 Vaughan became the first Women's champion for Clash Wrestling,[22] though she lost it to Nevaeh three months later.[23]
She was named by the website DivaDirt as one of "The Five to Watch" in 2012.[24]
On September 8, 2016, Vaughan, as Leah Von Dutch, was defeated by Ember Moon at an NXT taping.
In September 2017, Vaughan announced she was taking a break from professional wrestling to "focus on other projects".[25]
Personal life
In addition to wrestling, she has also made an appearance in a music video by the band The Creekside Strays.[26][27] as well as one by Joey Stylez.[28][29] She has a degree in Kinesiology from University of Windsor and an Esthetics diploma from Fanshawe College in London.
Championships and accomplishments
- Absolute Intense Wrestling
- Absolute Women's Championship (1 time)[30]
- Clash Wrestling
- CLASH Women's Champion (1 time)[22]
- Pure Wrestling Association
- PWA Women's Elite Championship (1 time)[31]
- Vicious Outcast Wrestling
- Queen of the Ring (1 time, current)[32]
- Xtreme Bombshell Wrestling
- XBW Bombshells Championship (1 time)[33]
References
External links
