A FEW years ago Kayleigh Rae was performing in front of a couple of hundred people in Maryhill.

 

Now she's set to wrestle in front of thousands at the SSE Hydro tomorrow night.

The glamorous grappler, who's from Johnstone and goes by the ring name Kay Lee Ray, works as a carer by day, but after her boyfriend decided to follow a wrestling career, the 22-year-old got involved too.

She quickly earned attention at home and abroad, and now Kayleigh will get to appear in front of friends and family when American promotion Total Nonstop Action hits the Hydro for their Maximum Impact tour.

"Glasgow's my home, and I never thought I'd be working at the Hydro in this stage of my career," says a delighted Kayleigh.

"I can't really find the words to describe how I'm feeling, but I'm really looking forward to it.

"I've got some butterflies now, so no idea how I'll be feeling on Thursday.

"My mum and dad are going to the London show (at the SSE Arena in Wembley), as they're there on holiday, but I've got family and friends coming to Glasgow.

"They're all very excited about that - some of them have seen it on TV but never seen it live, so that'll be different for them."

The night will see TNA tape two episodes of their Impact Wrestling TV show, for broadcast in the UK on Challenge TV and also on America television.

It follows on from Kayleigh's adventures on TNA's British Boot Camp reality TV show last year, where she was one of 12 competitors trying to earn a deal in the company.

She eventually finished third and found it a great experience.

"For TNA it was "we're a TV show, and you have to work differently, because it's for the cameras",' she recalls.

"That was something I hadn't thought about before, that you've got everyone in the building to entertain but you're also working for the cameras.

"So I had to get my head in the game that way."

Closer to home, Kayleigh regularly appears for Insane Championship Wrestling, who've been featured on the BBC in recent years with the Insane Fight Club documentaries.

But while many wrestlers get involved in the industry because they were wrestle maniacs as kids, Kayleigh took a different route.

"Most people watched it as kids but I didn't - I didn't have any brothers, so it never appealed to me," she says.

"Then I was 15 and my boyfriend said he was trying to be a wrestler.

"I saw one show and that was me hooked. I'd done athletics and football at school and was always a bit of a tomboy, even though I love my make-up, but I'd never seen myself doing anything like this.

"I started training, and once I realised I could take the physical side of things, that was me.

"A lot of people go on about it being fake, but you're out there every weekend getting thrown around.

"Everyone was a bit sceptical - my parents and friends were like 'oh, you're going to be a wrestler, that's a bit silly'. But as I progressed and things started to go well, they went 'oh, I see what you're doing,' and they're really proud of me."

As Kayleigh mentions, there's a physical price involved in the action, even if matches are predetermined. However, she's been part of Insane Championship Wrestling's rapid rise to becoming one of the hottest tickets in town.

"The contrast is incredible to when I started - we were getting 50 to 100 people at Maryhill Community Centre, and then we got a little more, and a little more," she says.

"Mark Dallas (ICW's promoter) was always saying that we'd run the Barras, and you'd think 'we're only up to 200 people' but it's just kept growing."

Her career has been rising too - she's toured promotions in Japan and America, gaining praise as she goes, and already she's got shows in the USA booked for later this year.

Yet away from the in-ring drama, Kayleigh works as a carer, something that brings everything into perspective for her.

"When I'm in the ring and all the people are cheering you, it's an adrenaline rush, but you don't want it to go to your head," she adds.

"Having something to come back to and bring you down to earth again is a good thing."

TNA Wrestling, SSE Hydro, Thursday, £22-£45, 6pm