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Ring of Honor’s Madison Rayne is hoping to top off a fantastic year by capturing the ROH Women’s Championship.

Rayne has challenged for the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts title, competed in the WWE Mae Young Classic and wrestled at the hugely successful ALL IN show in 2018.

And on Friday, the 32-year-old, from Columbus, Ohio, will be part of a four corner survival match for the ROH women’s title at the promotion's Final Battle pay-per-view.

The 'Queen Bee' will battle champion Sumie Sakai, Karen Q and Kelly Klein at the American company's last event of the year at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.

Mirror Sport's Tony Quant spoke with Rayne about her memorable 2018, how women’s wrestling is received today, her desire to make history in 2019 in Ring of Honor and much more.

(Image: Ring of Honor/newfilmeditor)

You'e had quite the year. Having reflected on all of these moments, is there any one in particular that stands out as a favourite to you?

It's really difficult to pinpoint a favourite because they were all so special in different ways. Competing for the Knockouts title again and having the opportunity to potentially become the six-time Knockouts Champion was really special. Also the lead up to that match and things I was able to do with Su Yung, Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie was so much fun for me. I hadn’t wrestled with those three women prior to those several matches I had. I had so much fun with the pre-taped stuff with Su-Yung and that really helped to build to that match at Slammiversary, which was so much fun.

I don’t have to say why the Mae Young Classic meant so much to me. After 13 years, to have that opportunity to stand out there and look across and see the WWE logo on the turnbuckles, it felt like everything I had done came together for that moment.

There was also something really special about ALL IN and I feel like the whole weekend had this big 'I'm not going to forget this' feeling about it. Everything the four of us [Rayne faced winner Tessa Blanchard, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. and Chelsea Green] had hoped we surpassed and the way that throughout the match the fans were reacting made us step it up a gear. For that reason to be part of a show so special and to be able to perform for all the fans to a level that everyone had expected and then some. That pulls at my heart strings, because there was so much emotion involved.

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It’s crazy to think you have worked for the three biggest wrestling promotions in America this year. Do you think there has ever been a more exciting time to be a professional wrestler?

This year has been so big for professional wrestling and you have seen so many things happen. I feel like I am an example of that, getting to work for IMPACT, ROH and WWE within the space of a month is totally unheard of. This year has been full of unknowns and unpredictability, which has made it a perfect time to be in the business.

Having been in the business for as long as you have, do you feel the way that women’s wrestling is received is different to when you started out?

To a degree, but I don’t want to say that I am used to it. For me Shimmer was the first big platform that gave me an opportunity, so many of us are grateful to Dave Prazak [Prazak established Shimmer in 2005]. It's been different for me in the last few years in the sense that while I was always very concerned about in-ring work. In the early years of my career I was a part of the Beautiful People and was a big, larger than life character. At that time people looked forward to the backstage segments as much as the in-ring work.

I think there is a difference in the way fans perceive women’s wrestling now. There is an expectation now that the matches should be higher quality to what there was, say nine years ago. With that said though, IMPACT has always given great attention to its Knockouts division and I have been very fortunate to work with Shimmer, TNA and now ROH.

(Image: Ring of Honor)

We are just over a week removed from another huge moment for you in 2018. You are competing at the ROH PPV Final Battle, which takes place at the famous Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. How do you find wrestling in the Hammerstein and what does it mean to you to be wrestling at this event?

It's one of the most historic venues for pro wrestling and what better way to finish this year that has been so tremendous and successful than to have my Final Battle at the Hammerstein. It is the first time the Women of Honor World Championship is being defended at a PPV. Having taken part in a huge four way match at ALL IN, I guess four women matches are my thing. I am planning on going in and coming out on the other side feeling as proud as I did after ALL IN. I have wrestled all three of my opponents and know what they bring to the table.

You are taking on Karen Q, Kelly Klein and Women of Honor World Champion Sumie Sakai in a four corners survival match. How would you describe each of your opponents?

Karen Q - athletic. I would add to that firecracker because she is very much short in stature and knows she has to elevate herself in terms of quickness or in-ring skills. She comes in hard and hits like a firecracker. Kelly Klein - I don’t want to steal Tessa Blanchard’s line, but she is undeniable. Me and Kelly go way back to the years before I was Madison Rayne on TV. We wrestled each other at small local shows in Ohio and I know how good she is. Sumie Sakai - A legend. I love her as a person so it's hard for me to wrestle her. She is the good energy that this world needs. She took place in the first ever women’s match at a ROH show, she has laid the ground work and epitomises the word champion.

In keeping with the theme of wrestling in New York, ROH has a huge show coming up in April at the iconic Madison Square Garden. How exciting is the potential to wrestle in the garden?

Oh wow, my husband and I were on vacation a few summers ago and we were in NY and walked past it and I stopped and looked at it. Josh has been there before and I’m just standing there and I looked at him and said 'I'm gonna wrestle here one day'. I feel like whether I am part of it or not, it's going to be one of those same huge, exciting, the moment you wake up and your eyes open you get butterflies kind of deals and I'm excited to see what happens. I don’t know a whole lot about what's planned but I am hopeful. That's just setting the tone for professional wrestling in 2019, especially coming out of WrestleMania weekend. It is so exciting to see what happens next.

It's been a while since we've seen you wrestle in the UK. Are you aware of any plans for ROH coming back next year and, if so, would you be keen to wrestle in the UK?

This new chapter of working in ROH, I don’t know much about what is happening but that makes it exciting for me. I do know they have made an effort to expand the brand more globally and that includes tours of the UK. The UK has always been good to me and the fanbase has received me well and warmly. I don’t know how many more chapters my career has left, but before I write the final chapter I would love to return to the UK.

ROH Final Battle airs LIVE from New York City on Friday, December 14 at 8pm eastern time [1am in the UK on Saturday, December 15]on traditional pay-per-view providers, free for HonorClub VIP, at a 50% discount for HonorClub Standard, and on FITE TV. Please visit ROHWrestling.com or the ROH App for more information.