One of professional wrestling’s most historic promotions is on full display in Netflix’s Wrestlers. This seven-episode docuseries chronicles the day-to-day operations of Ohio Valley Wrestling, the former developmental territory that produced John Cena and Dave Bautista, as it attempts to stay afloat amidst a financial crisis. Beyond owner Al Snow’s efforts to keep the lights on, Wrestlers spotlights OVW’s diverse roster. The promotion’s locker room is made up of everyone to blossoming second-generation stars as they attempt to get the attention of the big time. One of OVW’s mainstays has already achieved that in the form of Leila Grey.
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Grey’s journey in OVW is documented in Wrestlers, which culminates with the revelation that she is being signed to AEW. Grey has been a staple of AEW programming for over one year now, notably wrestling alongside the company’s longest reigning champion in history Jade Cargill.
Leila Grey Discusses Experience on Netflix’s Wrestlers
While Wrestlers plays up the long road that in-ring talent embark on towards the big time, much of Leila Grey’s success happened suddenly. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Grey noted that she was new to OVW at the time that Netflix came in to shoot the documentary.
“It definitely took some getting used to, and I feel like the summer that we were shooting that I probably was not used to it,” Grey said of the cameras following her around. “Almost like, the whole time. I think if they come back for a Season 2, I’ll feel more comfortable. It was the mixture of cameras in your face. At the time, I was new to OVW, new to the locker room. There was just a lot of things to get used to. At the end of the day, I love working in front of a camera because I’m a superstar. This is what we do.”
Grey first began wrestling in 2020, competing for a multitude of companies before finding a home in OVW come January 2022.
“OVW means everything [to me]. They have helped me in so many ways, especially specifically Al Snow and Doug Basham,” Grey said. “They have been my developmental. AEW doesn’t have a developmental. I love that I’m still allowed to work with OVW and do their weekly TV every Thursday. We are able to work with time cues. We cut promos. Live promos. Backstage promos. I’m really able to work on my craft there. Al Snow taught me how to be a superstar. So now when AEW calls and I have to do a match or I have to cut a pre-tape, I feel like I’m prepared because I’m getting my weekly training every Thursday, every week.”
Wrestlers goes beyond the squared circle as well, as it showcases OVW’s talents’ lives outside the ring. For Grey, this largely revolved around her relationship with fellow wrestler “Certified” Luke Kurtis. Late in the series, Kurtis surprised Grey by proposing to her inside an OVW ring, a moment that Grey insists was not part of any narrative.
“Absolutely not. That was such a shocker. A hundred percent shocker,” Grey said. “So many people were messaging us like, ‘Is this real? Is this just like a wrestling storyline?’ No, it’s real! It’s so amazing that now we are forever immortalized on this Netflix platform. I forever have my engagement on there. It was just such a special moment. We both love wrestling. In an OVWW ring, like this is our home. Captured on Netflix. It just hit all the categories. It was perfect. It gets me a little excited for a Season 2. You never know, you might see a wedding or something on there.”
Wrestlers is now streaming on Netflix.
