Jenny Sjödin

Anna Jenny Sjödin[1] (born Anna Jenny Thunell; August 2, 1985)[1][8] is a Swedish professional wrestler and submission grappler better known as Jenny Sjödin.[2][4] She was trained in professional wrestling in several schools across Great Britain and Ireland and has spent most of her career working there for promotions such as Fightstar Sports Entertainment (FSE), Futureshock Wrestling (FSW) and Pro-Wrestling: EVE, where she is a former one-time Pro-Wrestling: EVE Champion. Sjödin is also an accomplished submission grappler, having won a gold medal in Ground Control's 2010 no-gi tournament and silver medals in Grapplers Quest's advanced division and North American Grappling Association's (NAGA) European Championships that same year.

Jenny Sjödin
Birth nameAnna Jenny Thunell[1]
Born (1985-08-02) August 2, 1985
Hudiksvall, Sweden[1]
WebsiteSjodinTraining.co.uk
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Jenny Sjödin[2]
The Swedish Tigress[3]
Billed height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1][2][4][5]
Billed weight61.4 kg (135 lb)[2]
Billed fromSundsvall, Sweden[4]
Hudiksvall, Sweden[5]
Trained byFergal Devitt[6][7]
Jon Ryan[6]
Paul Tracey[6]
Phil Boyd[1][6]
Peter Farrell[6]
Pippa L'Vinn[2]
Psycho Steve[6]
Sean Maxer Brennan[6]
Zack Sabre Jr.[6][7]
DebutJuly 7, 2007[1][2]

Professional wrestling career

Sjödin first became interested in professional wrestling at the age of seventeen, after seeing the Gaea Girls documentary on Japanese joshi puroresu, after which she began following the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion.[2][7][9] Having trained amateur wrestling with Skönsbergs brottningsklubb, Sjödin moved to Dublin, Ireland in April 2007 to begin training professional wrestling under Fergal Devitt, Paul Tracey, Phil Boyd and Peter Farrell with NWA Ireland.[2][6][9] She made her debut on July 7, 2007, facing one of her trainers, Phil Boyd, at a Spanish Wrestling Association (SWA) event in Segovia, Spain.[1][2] During the next years, Sjödin worked for several independent promotions in countries such as England, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and her native Sweden.[1][10][11] In March 2008, Sjödin took part in the American Wrestling Rampage (AWR) promotion's tour of Ireland, along with several former WWE wrestlers. During the tour, Sjödin had a five match series with German wrestler Alpha Female, which she won 3–2.[8] In the beginning of 2009, she moved to Manchester, England to continue her training under the likes of Jon Ryan, Paul Tracey, Psycho Steve and Zack Sabre Jr. with NWA UK Hammerlock and The Wrestling Factory.[1][2][7][9] While training in Manchester, Sjödin began incorporating more mixed martial arts and grappling based offense into her in-ring style.[2][11]

On May 8, 2010, Sjödin took part in Pro-Wrestling: EVE's inaugural event in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, losing to April Davids in the opening match.[2] The match marked the launching of EVE's "Catch Division", where matches could only be won by submission or referee stoppage.[2] Sjödin avenged her loss against Davids on October 16, 2010.[2] Sjödin then formed the villainous European Empire stable with Davids, Nikki Storm and Shanna, under the leadership of Jetta, while also starting a storyline rivalry with Britani Knight, which led to a trilogy of singles matches between the two.[2] After both wrestlers had managed to win one of the matches, Sjödin defeated Knight in the third match on June 4, 2011, to become the second Pro-Wrestling: EVE Champion.[2] After failing to become the inaugural Nordic Women's Champion, losing to Finnish wrestler Aurora Flame, following outside interference from Miss Mina,[7][12] Sjödin challenged Flame to a rematch, where she agreed to put her Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship also on the line. On August 13, 2011, Sjödin defeated Flame to retain her title and win the Nordic Women's Championship.[2][13] On October 8, Sjödin defeated April Davids in a rubber match to retain the Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship.[2] The following night, Sjödin successfully defended the title against one of her idols,[7] Japanese wrestler Emi Sakura, in a match that was broadcast on Ice Ribbon's 19 O'Clock Girls ProWrestling program on Ustream.[2] After a reign of 302 days and eight successful title defenses,[14] Sjödin lost the Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship to the Alpha Female on April 4, 2011.[14] On August 25, 2012, Sjödin unsuccessfully challenged April Davids for Futureshock Wrestling's (FSW) Women's Championship.[15]

Grappling career

After moving to Manchester in 2009, Sjödin also began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts under Rosi Sexton at the Fighting Fit Martial Arts Centre.[2][9] On May 23, 2010, she won the gold medal in the female division of Ground Control's no-gi grappling tournament.[16] As a result of her win, Sjödin earned herself a trip to New Jersey, United States to take part in the Grapplers Quest tournament.[2] After taking the silver medal in the 120 lb (54 kg)–139.9 lb (63.5 kg) division,[17] Sjödin finished off her 2010 with another silver medal at North American Grappling Association's European Championships in Paris, France.[2]

Personal life

Sjödin is a former member of the Sundsvall city council as a representative of the Liberal People's Party.[6][9] She has a degree in political science.[2] In 2013, Sjödin began working as a columnist for the Body Confidential website.[18] In a column on October 17, 2013, Sjödin revealed she was six months pregnant.[19] On January 17, 2014, Sjödin announced she had given birth.[20]

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling

Submission grappling

References
  1. "Bio". JennySjodin.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  2. "Jenny Sjödin". Pro-Wrestling: EVE. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  3. "The Swedish Tigress". Fight Club Finland (in Finnish). Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  4. "'The Female Fight Machine' Jenny Sjodin". NWA UK Hammerlock. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  5. "Jenny Sjöden". Southside Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  6. "Q & A: Jenny Sjödin". LadySports. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  7. Leslie (May 31, 2011). "Jenny Sjödin: The Dirty Dirty Sheets Interview". Dirty Dirty Sheets. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  8. "Jenny Sjodin". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  9. "About". JennySjodin.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  10. "VV7 resultater". Dansk Pro Wrestling (in Danish). February 27, 2012. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  11. "Jenny Sjödin". Fight Club Finland (in Finnish). Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  12. "Jatkosota 2011 tulokset ja kuvat". Fight Club Finland (in Finnish). February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  13. "Jenny Sjödin voitti Naisten pohjoismaiden mestaruuden". Fight Club Finland (in Finnish). August 21, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  14. "Alpha Female wins EVE Championship!". Pro-Wrestling: EVE. April 3, 2011. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  15. "Champions and title histories". Futureshock Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  16. "Jenny Sjödin Takes Gold!". Pro-Wrestling: EVE. May 29, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  17. "Results: 2010 Grapplers Quest U.S. National Championships". Grapplers Quest. June 13, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  18. "Jenny SjöDin". Body Confidential. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  19. Sjödin, Jenny (October 17, 2013). "Exercise In Pregnancy". Body Confidential. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  20. Sjödin, Jenny (January 17, 2014). "What a mind-blowing experience it was giving birth, resulting in an absolutely wonderful miracle. Welcome to the world little champion". Twitter. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  21. Alvarez, Bryan (June 16, 2010). "Wed update: Strikeforce tonight, Danielson update, Show on NBC, Harts vs. Usos, cool TNA angle, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.