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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Narin Flanders

WWE's Doudrop ready to silence critics with Becky Lynch Royal Rumble match 15 years in the making

When WWE's Royal Rumble airs live at 1am on Sunday in the UK, a British WWE superstar will be stepping in the ring ready to take a shot at a title.

But probably not the one you would have expected six months ago.

Doudrop, aka Kimberly Benson, will take on Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship after beating Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair in a triple-threat match to secure her number one contender status.

It's a big booking for a woman who only made her RAW debut in June, basically as a sidekick for Eva Marie, and whose first months were dogged by online fans moaning about the name change that saw her go from Piper Niven to, somewhat inexplicably, Doudrop.

Speaking to the Mirror in the run up to the big match, she told us: "Honestly, it's I feel like I'm in a dream world sometimes. It's such an accelerated, almost meteoric, rise through the ranks, you know.

"It's just as dumbfounding to me to be honest."

A familiar face on the independent wrestling scene over more than 15 years - including stints working for some of the biggest promotions in Japan, NXT UK and even ITV's ill-fated World of Sport wrestling show where she was known as Viper - it's fair to say Doudrop has rolled with the changes to her persona during her main roster run.

"I'm really proud of myself for being able to just take any opportunity that comes up and go, 'yeah, okay, let's try it and let's have some fun while we're doing it'.

"I don't really mind the people that don't know me yet because they're about to get an education.

"And that's the fun part for me. You start to see the people who have made comments that weren't so savoury before and you start to see them being won over.

"The tide was maybe against me trying to go from shiny, happy, glittery, bubbly, Doudrop to badass butt kicker, Doudrop, but we're making it work and we're bringing a horde of people along with me."

Having built a name across the indie wrestling scene, the name Doudrop has divided fans, but the woman herself isn't overly bothered by the controversy. (WWE)

As for the controversial name?

"You know, it doesn't really bother me because I feel like it was just another obstacle for me to overcome and I feel like I have done."

And how.

Doudrop's first pay-per-view title shot being with Becky Lynch is a match that she describes as having been 15 years in the making.

"When I first started wrestling training there really wasn't many girls around.

"There was me. Nikki Storm had also just started training. Down south there was Jetta and MsChif, who were both incredibly busy. And over the way in Ireland was one, Rebecca Knox.

"And it was well known to us that Rebecca, as she was known at the time, was the top of the mountain and we really wanted her to come over and my trainers tried to book some matches with her.

"But unfortunately, at that time, she was just getting ready to move over the way for WWE, so I never got that match.

"So this feels like a real full circle moment. To be finally getting this match that I've wanted for so long and to be having it on Royal Rumble is just dizzying, absolutely dizzying."

This year's Royal Rumble is on Saturday (January 29) and will be broadcast from St. Louis, Missouri from 1am Sunday morning UK time so at least UK fans have Sunday to recover if they end up watching it live via BT Sport Box Office or the WWE Network.

The card also includes the two iconic male and female Rumble events, which see 30 competitors join a battle royal every few minutes until just one victor emerges, winning a main event shot at WrestleMania.

Elsewhere, Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar are going head-to-head, while former Shield comrades Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are also going up against each other.

But for many UK fans the women's championship match is going to be one to watch on the card.

Both superstars have risen up through the women's division ranks via NXT, overseen by William Regal.

Doudrop paid tribute to the recently-released talent scout, booker and trainer, who for many is as synonymous as Triple H with the NXT and NXT UK brands.

She said: "William Regal was such a huge influence for me at my try out and when I got to NXT UK. He would always sit and give me advice.

"He was one of the people who showed me you can't ever be bothered by something if you don't let it, that you just need to keep on working. He's got such a positive energy.

"He's just such an important part of the UK scene, for the women's division and for everybody. His influence will be seen for generations to come."

So is Doudrop ready to be the next NXT veteran to wear the gold?

Her answer is cautious but firm: "I don't think there's ever a point where you're going to be like, 'yes, I'm absolutely ready for this' because I think if you did feel like that, then you would probably be a bit complacent.

"I think you need that fear a little bit, because it's the fear that keeps you on your toes.

"But luckily, for me, I seem to do well in the face of panic. So I'm gonna bet on myself."

This weekend we'll find out if that's a winning bet.

* Royal Rumble will on BT Sport Box Office live from 1am on Sunday morning, which is available on BT TV channel 495, or Sky channel 494. Virgin Media subscribers can access BT Sport Box Office by heading to the On Demand section on their TV box and selecting 'Live Events'.

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