Netflix/Erica Parise(NEW YORK) — Sydelle Noel is a natural born competitor — so it wasn’t much of a stretch for the former track star to jump into the ring as professional wrestler Cherry “Junkchain” Bang in Netflix’s GLOW, which officially returns for season two today.
The series is based on 1980s syndicated women’s professional wrestling circuit, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Noel tells ABC Radio she was excited to be a part of it because it gave her the opportunity to really live the experience of being a wrestler.
“Because we’re actually wrestling, we’re doing our own thing,” Noel reveals. “So I, being an athlete, I’m always the one when I see something on television, like, somebody doing hurdles or somebody throwing a punch, I’m like, ‘That person ain’t even really doing that,’ or ‘they don’t even know. They probably never even threw a punch in their life.'”
Noel says it’s even more satisfying knowing the real professionals “respect” her work.
“But I want, like, the wrestlers to really look at our show and be like, ‘Oh my gosh these girls are actors and they’re really wrestling,'” she says. “And to get respect from them — and we are. They are actually loving the show.”
Looking back, Noel admits her athleticism gave her a major advantage.
“Literally our first day of meeting each other, the GLOW girls, was the training day,” Noel recalls. “We didn’t do a little read together or anything. It was really like, ‘There you go. Hi, I’m Ally. Nice to meet you. All right, let’s slam each other.'”
She continues, “It was training day and as I soon as I saw that ring I was ready. I was so ready to just jump in. And everybody was like a kid in a playground.”
GLOW is now available on Netflix.
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