Nor Diana, Malaysia’s hijab-wearing wrestling champion with her eyes on WWE, known in the ring as Phoenix
She idolises WWE female wrestler Sasha Banks, but since she beat four men to become Malaysia Pro Wrestling Wrestlecon champion, she is fast becoming the idol for others
Celebrated as the world’s first hijab-wearing wrestling champion, Nor Diana began making global headlines last year when she floored four male competitors to become the first female to win the Malaysia Pro Wrestling (MyPW) Wrestlecon title.
Today, the 20-year-old fighter known as Phoenix continues to inspire athletes around the world. Here are five things to know about the pint-sized athlete, who may measure just 5 feet 1 inches (1.55 metres) tall – but still packs a mighty punch.
She started in her teens
Phoenix’s wrestling obsession started at the age of 14. She had a lot of fun playing WWE wrestling games on her brother’s PlayStation Portable and began to watch wrestling matches on television. Initially, she was influenced by WWE stars such as The Rock, The Undertaker and John Cena, taking note of how intense their actions appeared to be in the ring. She enjoyed watching their fights and decided she could also become a star.
When she saw her biggest idol, WWE female wrestler Sasha Banks, fight, Phoenix made up her mind to become just like her. And there was no looking back – she stepped up her efforts and searched for wrestling tournaments held in Malaysia. She learned about Malaysia Pro Wrestling (MyPW), Malaysia’s first and only pro-wrestling body. She joined in 2015 and started taking training lessons under her coach Ayez Shaukat-Fonseka Farid, founder of MyPW.
She is not just a tough female fighter – she is a tough fighter, period
Phoenix made headlines worldwide when she defeated four male wrestlers last year to emerge as the new Malaysia Pro Wrestling Wrestlecon champion. She had dreamed of earning the title for years. In the beginning, she used to hide her identity by wearing a mask, which she finally got rid of in 2018.
She became one of the biggest names to reckon with in the Malaysian wrestling scene. She went to London to do her training with Britain’s Pro-Wrestling Tournament known as EVE, which is an all-female wrestling show. And it comes as no surprise that Phoenix has proved her mettle there, too.