Scottish professional wrestler Isla Dawn has found fame in the WWE, with titles and sold-out arenas, but admits that her nephews refuse to watch her matches. The Glasgow-born wrestler’s real name is Courtney Stewart. She has won the WWE’s tag team titles and her popularity is growing. WWE programming is moving to streaming giant Netflix, a development that Isla hopes will attract new fans.
Isla’s love of wrestling began in childhood, when she watched such wrestlers as Trish Stratus and Lita. Although she loved their matches, she was also drawn to the moments in-between and the larger-than-life characters. Acting was a natural choice when she studied at Langside College, and she first became interested in wrestling when the college put on a play about professional wrestling. Her uncle, who had connections in Scottish wrestling, introduced her to local wrestlers Big Damo and Nikki Cross, who were positive about her potential and encouraged her to train.
Since 2013, Isla has been wrestling across Scotland and further afield, eventually landing a contract with the WWE in 2018. She started in the smaller “brands” NXT and NXT UK, moving up to the flagship Raw and Smackdown shows and transferring to Florida in the process. She and her Scottish tag-team partner Alba Fyre won the tag-team titles in 2024, in a sold-out arena event in Glasgow, which Isla describes as a “special moment”. They dropped the titles back to former champions, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, after holding them for 77 days.
Isla’s wrestling persona is based on parts of her own character, taken and “ramped up”. Although her onscreen villainy is far from her own nature, she admits that it incorporates elements of her personality. She hopes to encourage young people to believe that their dreams can be achieved, as long as they believe in themselves. When she was a child, she felt that WWE was far away, but hopes that current programmes moving to Netflix will alter that, making it accessible to children and young people all over the world
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