In collaboration with PWI, Bell To Belles interviewed over 20 women who have ranked on this year’s PWI Women’s 100 ranking. Bell To Belles will release one interview per day, celebrating the past year in women’s wrestling and the strong women who dedicate their lives to the sport.

Heather Monroe, who ranked #97 on this year’s PW Women’s 100, spoke with Kristen Ashly of Bell To Belles regarding her last year in wrestling, her time at AEW, and if the wildfires in California affected work on the indie scene.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, independent shows stopped production, hurting women who wrestled on the indie scene. Monroe explains how she stayed busy over the last few months.

It was really hard at first, because I think I went through the stage of grief, thinking about all these amazing opportunities I had in front of me that were now gone. But once I was past that, I focused a lot of social media, and staying connected to my fans and the wrestling world as a whole. Putting out new content and being present made me feel like I was still getting out there.“

-Heather Monroe

Last year was a busy year for Monroe, with 71 matches for 21 promotions. She was asked if she had a particular favorite.

I have a lot of matches I really loved last year, because I really felt like I was catching my footing at a wrestler. My match with Jazz at CWFH is definitely one of my favorites. Also a tag match featuring Bomb Bitches Only (Jake Atlas, Dom Kubrick and Monroe) vs. Tyler Bateman, Andy Brown and Ray Rosas from Bar Wrestling.“

-Heather Monroe

Despite wrestling so many matches over the last year, Monroe spoke on who she would like to still face.

I would love to get to the east coast more and work for promotions like GCW and Beyond, because a lot of their fan base hasn’t seen much in terms of west coast talents. I would love the opportunity to work with Serena Deeb.”

-Heather Monroe

In August, Monroe had two matches for AEW, once against Hikaru Shida on an episode of Dynamite and once against Penelope Ford for an episode of Dark. Monroe was asked if she had any plans on returning to AEW.

Not as of right now, but I loved working with them and there is a bunch of women there I would love to work with!“

-Heather Monroe

The wildfires that spread rampantly throughout California affected many businesses, and Monroe was asked if she missed any work during such a terrifying time for the people of California.

Not this year, as there are very few shows happening in California, in general. Last year, wildfires caused me and a bunch of other girls to miss a Hoodslam/GLAM show up in Oakland. They’re devastating, but luckily I am in an area that isn’t affected.“

-Heather Monroe

Finally, Monroe was asked to share what she has in store for fans, over the next year.

This next year is going to be my biggest one yet. I sat back for a second at the beginning of this year, but I’m going to continue to create opportunities for myself. I’m going to bring more eyes to the very often overlooked West Coast indie scene!“

-Heather Monroe

Buy the digital version of the Women’s 100 edition today from PWI here.

Return to Bell To Belles every day until early November for a new interview from a 2020 PWI Women’s 100 ranked woman. Also visit Bell To Belles for relevant news, unique op-ed pieces, and advocacy. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for access to all of our video and audio interviews, and new upcoming video content.

Please credit Kristen Ashly of Bell To Belles for the interview.