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Mellissa "Dixie" Monroe is eager and enthusiastic, almost to a fault. She makes no secret of the fact that she hopes to make Apartment Championship Wrestling a stepping stone towards greater fame and fortune - a fact which rubs many in the promotion the wrong way.
While many in her middle-class neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia focused on going to college or starting a typical career, Dixie decided to take an unorthodox path toward her future goals. Feeling that she wanted and expected great things out of life, she made a decision one day to actively pursue her goal of making it as a big star in Hollywood. Evaluating the options available to her for getting there, she realized that many many of the major stars of the day were crossover artists from the recording and sports worlds. She realized as well that developing a musical career or a career in traditional women's sports would be difficult, considering the late start she was getting. One day, however, she spotted a copy of Rising Star magazine that focused on the burgeoning modeling careers of Heaven and Dominique LeMonde. The article focused on their ability to gain mainstream, cross-gender appeal despite working in an industry that can be brutal and decidedly unglamorous. She decided that this was an avenue that she wanted to explore. "When I looked at the fact that in professional wrestling , the Rock, Steve Austin, Sable and Goldberg have all become big television or movie stars, I realized that I could become the breakout star from ACW."
One problem existed though - she knew nothing about apartment wrestling. "I really wasn't prepared for the physical and mental toughness I would need to compete in ACW. Although I wasn't afraid of the other women, they just outsmarted me a lot, and then taking advantage of this, were able to overpower me." After losing 21 matches in a row, Dixie sought help from Tanako X, the legendary trainer of Heaven and Barbie. Tanako was engaged with a number of other wrestlers at that time and the could not take her on as a student. He directed her, however, to his former associate Masahiro X. Dixie explained that "Mr. Masahiro told me that I had it within myself to become successful but that I needed to focus." Masahiro agreed, saying "I saw that she had a great deal of drive and ambition - what she lacked was discipline. A Corvette has a lot of power but if it is driven at a high speed without focus and direction, it is likely to crash. Such was the situation with young Ms. Monroe."
Focusing on her goal of reaching Hollywood, Dixie put together her "hit list" of opponents she felt she needed to "take out" in order to work her way up the ACW ladder. Starting with some young, inexperienced opponents, she began putting together gameplans for defeating them. One by one she put together a winning streak which reached 35, including a major victory over top ranked contender Malaysia. "She was tough because she was so strong, but I made sure not to let her get a leg lock on me and I whipped her in the end" What she did not mention was that she has developed an enormous mean streak, in fact slapping Malaysia during the traditional handshake and then biting her on her buttocks during the match. "I'm not in this promotion to make friends! I was just letting her know that she was in for a fight and that I wasn't playing around!"
As her star ascended in ACW, so did the doors start to open for her in Hollywood. Although most of her appearances were in "B" movies (The Nurse of Navajo County) and soap operas (The Cool and the Cruel), Dixie believes she is moving in the right direction along the course she has set for herself and is content to continue onward.
Unfortunately, her pursuit of fame through ACW has angered a number of wrestlers - most notably Heaven. "That little redneck comes in here and brazenly announces that she is using us as a launching pad towards stardom," Heaven explains. "In doing so, she belittles the history and tradition of apartment wrestling and all of the great champions over the years who have given their lives to the sport. How dare her think she is just going to come in here and run roughshod over everyone in ACW. She needs to shut her mouth and pay her dues. Was she performing in Japanese fight clubs into the wee hours of the night? Was she traveling from city to city, performing and making appearances to promote ACW. Was she getting stretched every week by Sensei (Tanako X)? No - I was, and that's what has shaped me into the best in the world and the best of all time. That's why if I get her into the ring, I'm going to put her out of ACW... and that's what I told that little hillbilly." Heaven was referring to the infamous "strip match" in which Heaven completely disrobed Dominique LeMonde in a fit of anger. Her ferocity was not lost on Dixie who has not entered the ring since.
"It is not that I was afraid of her exactly. It's more like ..., well, like I just don't know if I could beat her right now and I don't want it to ruin my career plans so I'm not sure what to do." Her time in ACW now seems at a crossroads - time will tell whether she will reach her goals or become just another "could have been."
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