The Big Question with TERI BYRNE
Interview by: Russ Ray

Teri Byrne is one of the busiest women in media today and one of the few to work in many different forms of entertainment. A former fitness and bodybuilding competitor, she was hired as one of the original five WCW Nitro Girls (nicknamed “Fyre”). Before wrestling, Teri worked in mortgage banking. She also appeared in the WCW-inspired film “Ready to Rumble” with David Arquette, Scott Caan, and Oliver Platt. Since leaving WCW, Teri has worked with numerous independent pro wrestling organizations and managed the likes of WWF/UFC superstar Dan “The Beast” Severn, as well as the legendary Jimmy Valiant. Teri has an official website at: www.teribyrne.com.

Teri and the other four Nitro Girls recently formed the group Diversity5 and have cut and released a two song CD. The first Diversity5 CD single is available at their website at www.diversity5.com. The CD includes 2 songs: “I Promise” (a pop ballad) and “Shake Me Up” (a dance track). Diversity5 recently completed their third song–the more edgy, rock-driven “Black Magic.”

Earlier this year, Teri formally signed with Gypsy Press Comics to portray the lead character (a “bad ass” female bounty hunter) for the comic book Stiletto. Issue #1 of Stiletto formally debuted at the Wizard World 2001 Convention in Chicago on August 17. You can also see an exclusive preview of her new comic at www.gypsypresscomics.com. I got to speak with Teri at Wizard World this past weekend about the comic book, about her budding music career, and about WCW.

THE BIG Q&A

Q1. What’s Stiletto about?

A1. Stiletto is about a bounty hunter who kicks butt, yet dresses sexy and acts very feminine. There’s a lot of physical action with hand-to-hand fighting and martial arts.

Q2. How did the project start? Did Gypsy Press approach you first or were you looking to get into comics?

A2. Gypsy Press contacted me first about the idea they had for the comic book, but it became a collaboration after that. Matt Hughes and Deacon Black did the artwork, and the writing is done by Gypsy Press. A collaboration of people come up with the stories. I like to call it VIP set in Gotham City.

Q3. What level of creative input do you have?

A3. The concepts and ideas that go into this are from brainstorming sessions we have, so everybody gets a chance. But, the artwork is great, and we never have anything to say about it except how good it is.

Courtesy of GypsyPressComics.com
Q4. Today you have a preview version of Stiletto for sale. When will the book be in comic shops for sale?

A4. We’ll be at the Dragon Con at the end of the month, and we’ll be selling issue #1 there, and by then it will be available everywhere.

Q5. How’s Diversity 5 coming along?

A5. Well, we just finished recording our third single. In fact, the girls were up until 5 this morning in Atlanta working on demos. We’re working with Sony right now to get a record deal.

Q6. Do you hear from or run into any of the old WCW people anymore?

A6. I still see a lot of people at the gym and around town. I see Disco a lot and Raven a lot when he’s not on the road with the WWF.

Q7. You’ve got a lot of art on your web site sent in by fans. Does it sometimes scare you what guys are thinking when they’re drawing half-naked pictures of you?

A7. No, actually I think it’s pretty cool. We’ve got a lot of the art for sale on my web site. We also take submissions at fanclub@teribyrne.com.

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We’d like to thank Ms. Byrne for taking the time out of her busy convention schedule this past weekend to be our guest here in the Big Question! Keep an eye out for Teri’s new comic Stiletto coming out soon, as well as Gypsy Press Comics’ other title Pharaoh. Also, check out the Diversity5 web site at the link above for information on ordering their CD. We’d also like to thank *RADIO EDIT* of the Teri Byrne Fan Club for arranging the interview. As always, if you have a suggestion for a Big Question guest, or if you’re a pro yourself and would like to drop by, contact Troy Brownfield at psikotyk@aol.com.

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