"Stutterfly" Katie Shelley

Name: "Stutterfly" Katie Shelley

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 125 Lbs.

Hometown: New York City by way of Panama City, Florida

Alignment: Super Face

Entrance Music: "Pokécito" - Popushi feat. Eric H.

Fighting Style: High Flyer

Basic Moves:
- Dropsault
- Spinning Sidewalk Slam (Used as a counter to running opponents)
- Dragon Suplex Pin
- Mickie James' Lifting DDT
- Flying Overcastle Neckbreaker
- Slingshot Dragonrana
- Standing Shooting Star Press
- Split-Legged Corkscrew Moonsault
- Corkscrew Neckbreaker
- Frog Splash
- Suicide Dive (to outside)
- Diving Dropkick
- Moonsault into a Diving Double Foot Stomp to Opponent's Chest

Signature Moves:
- Dazzling Gleam (Tornado DDT; Sets up Aerotica)
- Giga Impact (Sliced Bread #2)
- Aerial Ace (Double Tilt-a-Whirl Headscissors Takeover)
- Junk Yard Jam (Pedigree, shamelessly stolen from her husband's repertoire)

Finishing Moves:
- HM02 (Swanton Bomb)
- Aurora Veil (Black Widow Submission)

Quote: "Game on!"

Superstar History: The younger sister of former BWF Champion Kirlia Gardevoir, Katie James (originally competing under the ring name of Starla Gardevoir) dreamed of one day competing for BWF herself, but lacked the in-ring experience. She was first referred to the Southern Independent Wrestling Federation by former WWA superstar David Blazenwing (who had connections with the owner Biohazard) and immediately signed up. When questioned on a ring name, Starla decided to start fresh and not make her name on her sister's fame. Kirlia called her a "little stutterfly" in that she was trying to fly on her own, but was still having problems getting into the air, and the name stuck with Starla.

Stutterfly shocked everyone by defeating Indy standout Landon Price in her SIWL debut match, and was primed in a tournament to fight for the SIWL Championship, but without notice, Biohazard skipped town and the SIWL was put on ice indefinitely. Realizing she needed to stay sharp, Starla started searching and found 3WL, a Women's wrestling league, and joined up! Stutterfly also took a chance in joining the newly-founded Korrupt Championship Wrestling on the same day.

Stutterfly started out shaky in KCW, losing her first two bouts. In 3WL, she won her debut match, but lost the following triple-threat match she was in. Realizing she would not be able to divide her time between two big wrestling federations, she opted to surprisingly leave 3WL for the time being and decided to stay with KCW instead... a decision which she would not regret.

Stutterfly went up against KCW International Heavyweight Champion Shostakovich Kruschev in a non-title bout on February 7, 2006, the stipulation being that if she won, she would get a future title shot at him... and in a shocker, Stutterfly actually managed to defeat Sho with a roll-up!

On February 19, KCW hosted it's Bedlam in Belgium pay-per-view. Starla went up against Alex Wilkie in a Ladder Match for the Ironman Championship, but ultimately fell short. Her night was not over, however... Shostakovich, in the main event, easily defended his title against the King of Mystery. Citing that he could not be beaten, Stutterfly came out, playing back the footage of her beating him from a few weeks back, and reminding him of her future title shot against him. Sho called her out for a title shot then and there, and Stutterfly accepted, then pulled off the impossible, rolling Sho up for three again and pinning him to become the new KCW International Heavyweight Champion!

On the next Animosity, a Hardcore Championship was introduced. Alex Wilkie interrupted Stutterfly's International Heavyweight Title presentation ceremony to announce the belt, but got his at the end of the night, when Stutterfly defeated Wilkie in the main event to claim the KCW Hardcore Championship and become a dual titleholder in KCW!

Unfortunately for Stutterfly, this was KCW's last show, and the fed itself folded in late March. Starla quickly found another new home, however, ran by competent people... the Independent Wrestling Union! And on their first program, Starla defeated JT Stone and Cody Galle! Starla drew in a 15 minute Ironman match with Galle the following week, then defeated Skorp the week after that. Primed for a IWU Heavyweight Title Shot at IWU's New Dawn show, Starla was crushed when she learned that due to financial issues, IWU would close down indefinitely.

Ironically enough, Starla made her way to Dynasty Wrestling Alliance, a California-based promotion, but after only one match, they too closed down indefinitely, due to staff issues.

Now without a fed, Starla made her way to Elite Superstar Wrestling with the dream of finally making an impact and becoming a true World Champion. She won her debut match at Devil's Playground, and then something snapped inside Starla...

She became angry, but needed an outlet... and with the help of The Legend, Starla gave herself up to The Legend and transformed into the evil Darqangel. Luckily for Starla's fans however, her sister Kirlia and friend Captain Marticus were able to talk sense into Starla at BWF's Tainted Twilight PPV on May 21, 2006, and as soon as Darqangel had arrived, Stutterfly was back.

That night, Starla faced Cody Galle for the first time in BWF, and defeated him soundly. A week later, at ESW's Elitefest PPV, Starla came close to winning their Neo Championship a few times in a Three-Way Ladder Match, but ultimately, Shane Sanders was able to retain her title.

A few short weeks later, Captain Marticus debuted in ESW and together with Starla, they captured the vacant ESW Tag Team Titles, defeating Brody Lawson and Dan The Man, on June 19, 2006! A month later, on July 30, she toppled Val Valentine in the finals of a tournament to claim the ESW United States Championship as well!

That same day, Starla defeated Azariah and Landon Price in a Cruiser Showcase match in LWA. Six days before, the Cruiser-X Champion Alexis Sykes has destroyed the belt and proclaimed the division dead, and upon Starla's win, it was announced that the Cruiser division was, in fact, no more. So the next day on RXW's Revolution TV, Starla jumped from LWA to RXW, bringing with her a brand new Cruiser-X Championship just for RXW!

The following month, though, was a bad one for Starla. On August 7, Starla defended her ESW U.S. title for the first time against The Ace in a handicap match, with David Blazenwing as her partner. The duo literally tore Ace apart, leaving him nearly dead, but before Starla could make the pin and retain her title, David turned on Starla with a superkick, then pulled Ace on top of her for the win! In RXW, Starla hit a speed bump as well, losing her Cruiser-X Championship to Serenity at Retribution on August 27. Days later at ESW Darkest Hour, she lost to David Blazenwing one on one in a Street Fight after missing an Aerotica that sent her crashing through the announcer's table.

Taking time off from ESW following the crushing loss to Blazenwing, Starla has started the regrouping process in RXW. After joining the Industry with Kyle Cross, Chris Legion and Cody Galle, she got a win on September 4, teaming with Alli Taylor to beat Krystal Lyne and Serenity! They then defeated Casey Campbell, MC the Midget and Kyle Cross in the main event of RXW's Over the Edge PPV before disbanding a few days later, and following that, the end of RXW.

Starla re-emerged in ESW for one night on November 7, 2006, returning to battle and defeat David Blazenwing in the biggest win of her career to that point. Weeks later, Starla won the International Gauntlet Run out of Sydney, Australia. One month later in the same venue, Starla battled her sister Kirlia at WrestleFest IV, but Kirlia stayed one step ahead of Starla through the entire match and defeated her baby sister. Frustrated and angry, Starla lashed out at her sister, dropping her with a DDT and officially turning heel.

Two weeks later on BWF Havok, Starla appeared, rechristened as "Katie Starr, the Starr Diva of BWF" and again got into it with her sister Kirlia, culminating in a Last Man Standing Match between the two at BWF's Survival of the Sickest PPV on January 28, 2007 which saw Katie put her sister out of action for some time.

After that, Katie teamed with James Reilly and Jason Jones to form America's Most Hated, winning the BWF Tag Team Titles from The Executioner and Adriana Garcia before the team's break-up shortly thereafter. Katie then moved on to battle Gabe Shelley over the United States Championship... and something strange happened. Gabe revealed to Katie that he was... in love with her!?

Katie had to make a decision, and at BWF Tainted Twilight 2007, she did just that -- by kissing Shelley on national television (and winning the United States Championship in the process!) After that, BWF closed and re-opened as PWN (Premiere Wrestling Nation) and Katie's U.S. Title became the PWN International Title, which she lost to Alex Wilkie in her first title defense. Injured in the match, Katie took some time off, telling Gabe that she'd be back someday.

Some time later, BWF reopened, and Katie made a surprise return to the promotion as Starla Gardevoir, teaming with Alli Taylor to capture the BWF Tag Team Championships for a second time. BWF closed a few months later for good, but not before the team of Alli and Starla could explode, leading to a match at WrestleFest V that saw Starla defeat Alli in an RXW Rules Match.

In an unexpected turn in the young starlet's career, Starla was arrested for possession of marijuana in the early spring of 2008. After a falling out with her sister, she finally decided to ditch her 'goody two shoes geek' image, completely changing up her look to what she calls 'punk chic'. Rather than follow in her sister's footsteps and join the PWA, however, Starla (reverting back to the ring name Katie Starr) decided to make her in-ring return as a member of the Viking Wrestling Federation! The return only lasted a few weeks, though, as Starr was gone from VWF after only three matches. (After she gave her resignation, interestingly enough, an impostor with her ring name appeared on VWF television for the next two months losing every match she appeared in. Sore losers? After seeking legal action, the impostor disappeared from VWF television, and rightfully so.)

After a few more months of soul searching, Katie learned that the Epic Wrestling Organization was back in business, and decided to head back to Toronto and return to eWo. Unfortunately, she only had one match there before the company closed again. After this, Katie took it as a sign to return to college and focus on graduating, which she did in early 2010. Luckily for her, the timing was just right, as David Blazenwing came calling with an offer to head to the Pioneer Wrestling Association. Katie took him up on the offer, re-dubbed herself Starla Gardevoir, and then proceeded to lose three matches before being injured at the hands of Jake Cruize.

This wouldn't be the last Katie saw of PWA, however. In August 2010, she, along with her sister Kirlia (now going by her own birth name Sarah James) and Jen Corlen-Blazenwing, appeared and sided with Jen's sister Emily Corlen to form Bound by Blood. The stable was quick to dominate, racking up a string of wins and Championships, as Emily captured the PWA Grizzly Beer Title and Katie, along with Sarah, the PWA Tag Team Titles. The group soon fractured, though, as Emily was booted from the group and the rest joined Simon Kalis' Order of Chaos.

The James Sisters lost the PWA Tag Team Titles a month later to the Glorious Bastards (Johnny Maverick and Oliver "Spyke Gein" Maverick), a match in which Sarah got injured. The sisters needed a replacement and decided to mend fences with the returning Emily Corlen. Unfortunately, the girls all but disappeared from the airwaves after the reunion... months later, in February 2011, we learned why, as we found out Sarah's injury was fake, Jen Corlen was pulling all the strings and all of this was done to take Emily Corlen out of action forever! Katie, having bonded with Emily, sided with Emily over her own sister, and at Genesis XI, teamed with Emily to defeat Sarah and Jen in a Losing Team Leaves PWA Match. Due to some contractual trickery, however, Emily ended up losing her job as well!

After that night, Katie only wrestled once more in PWA, in a close but ultimately losing effort against PWA World Champion Matthew "Virus" Engel in a non-title match. After that, Katie broke her ankle while training and took off of PWA, utilizing a contractual loophole to allow Emily to return to PWA and assume her contract in her place. As Katie's ankle slowly healed, she formed a close relationship with Ollie Maverick, becoming his girlfriend and moving to Los Angeles to live with him. Her ankle finally healed in mid June 2011 and, after being inducted to the BWF Hall of Fame at WrestleFest VI, announced that she had signed a brand new contract to wrestle for the federation that made both her and her sister stars, though the company soon shifted to become True Glory Wrestling.

Although Katie wouldn't win a Championship during this stint, she did defeat Dallas Hoover, Chris Marshall and, in the finals, Lucious Starr to become the 2011 Happenstance Tournament victor. Several World Championship matches against TGW World Champion Emily Corlen followed, with Corlen getting the best of James every time. In her final shot, Katie agreed to put her contract on the line in a Hell in a Cell title match, and after 40 plus minutes, Emily emerged victorious for a final time, ending Katie's BWF/TGW career for good.

After leaving wrestling, Katie married Oliver and became pregnant with twins, but just a few months into the pregnancy, she suffered a tragic miscarriage, losing both children and sending the former wrestling starlet into a spiral of depression and anger. As 2014 began, Katie chopped off her hair, dyed it bright pink, began going by her original ringname Starla Gardevoir again, and announced to her fans on Twitter that not only was she in the process of divorcing her husband, she was preparing to return to in-ring action. Truly, a rebirth for the woman known as Stutterfly is underway... and that rebirth has brought her to the gates of Excelsior Wrestling.

In Excelsior, Starla would experience a career rebirth, as she captured the LVF Goddess Championship.  When Excelsior shuttered operations, Starla moved to Alternate Xperience Wrestling - AXW - and it was here that she would experience her greatest career milestone to date.  After an impressive run as AXW Xperience Champion, Starla would "cash in" the championship to face then-AXW Champion David Slayton... and in a stunning victory, Starla won the match to claim her first-ever World Championship title.  During this time, she reconnected with her old flame Gabe Shelley, and the two finally tied the knot after years of "will they, won't they" romances.

After Starla lost the AXW Championship, she stepped away from the ring with the reveal that she was an expecting mother.  On February 11, 2017, Starla (now once again going by Katie) gave birth to Emma Madison Shelley.  A year later, in May 2018, Katie revealed that, at long last, she was ready to make a return to the ring... right around the time that Empire Wrestling announced it would be making a return itself...

Title History:
- AXW Champion (1)
- AXW Xperience Champion (1)
- LVF Goddess Champion (1)
- BWF United States Champion (1)
- BWF Tag Team Champion (2; 1 w/ James Reilly, 1 w/ Alli Taylor)
- PWN International Champion (1)
- RXW Cruiser-X Champion (1)
- PWA Tag Team Champion (1; w/ Sarah James)
- ESW United States Champion (1)
- ESW Tag Team Champion (1; w/ Captain Marticus)
- KCW International Heavyweight Champion (1)
- KCW Hardcore Champion (1)
- BWF 2006 Gauntlet Run Winner
- BWF/TGW 2011 Happenstance Monarch
- BWF Hall of Famer (Class of 2011)

Character Picbase: Ariel Bloomer

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