At five-feet tall and around 94lbs, ‘Phoenix’ doesn’t look like your typical all-star wrestler. But ask the 20-year-old, thrust into the spotlight as the world’s first hijab-wearing pro, and she’ll tell you that it hasn’t stopped her yet. After all: the bigger you are, the harder you fall.
Text: Thomas Hobbs Photography: Nate Palmer
Nor Diana – a.k.a. Phoenix – is growing increasingly excited as she recalls the biggest night in her wrestling career so far. “As soon as the referee called the end of the match I cried,” she says, grinning. “It changed my life forever.”
The 20-year-old Malaysian, who stands at just five-feet tall, is currently blazing a trail through the wrestling industry as the world’s first hijab-wearing pro. The match she’s referring to is her appearance at Wrestlecon – Malaysia’s biggest wrestling championship – in the summer of 2019: a fight that had her squaring off against four male opponents to be crowned her country’s champion.
Diana remembers how, on the night, she wasn’t going to win. This isn’t her being modest, or confirming that the odds were stacked against her, either. Because, as is the case with all pro wrestling, there was a script to be followed: the winner had already been predetermined as part of a broader narrative. But then something unexpected happened.
“At the end of the match I lay in the ring defeated,” she remembers. “But then [my opponent] Shakuat pulled me [up] to pin one of my other opponents, even though that wasn’t scripted. I realised then that I was going to win.”
Flipping the script was a bold move for the wrestlers. But it was a public declaration of solidarity, made out of their respect for Diana – who uses a pseudonym to protect her real identity. When she raised the belt as the first-ever female Wrestlecon Champion of Malaysia Pro Wrestling – a golden phoenix across her torso, her red-trimmed hijab matching her costume – all of the hardships she’d endured suddenly felt worthwhile.
“In all honesty, it has been difficult the past few months. So many plans had to drop and be cancelled. From wrestling matches, to bookings and appearances.”
“They saw something in me. It’s not easy being the champion because, after that, everyone has a target on you. I was crying my eyes out so bad, my fans were cheering for me… oh man, it was so amazing. During that time, all of my struggles went away.”
Struggle is something that Diana is familiar with. As a woman wrestler wearing a hijab in
