Piper Niven

Kimberly Benson is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, performing on their NXT UK brand. She is best known under the ring name Viper. Benson has also competed in Mae Young Classic 2017, as Piper Niven.

Piper Niven
Birth nameKimberly Benson[1]
Born (1991-05-13) 13 May 1991
Ayrshire, Scotland
ResidenceAyrshire, Scotland
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Miss Viper
Piper Niven
Viper
Vyper
Billed height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Billed weight95 kg (209 lb)
Billed fromAyrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Trained byDamian O'Connor
Mikey Whiplash[2]
Debut2008

Professional wrestling career

Benson made her professional wrestling debut in 2009 at the age of 18 with the Scottish Wrestling Alliance. She then moved to Japan to wrestle in the Japanese Wonder Ring Stardom. In 2015 Benson became the first Women's ICW World Champion.[3]

Benson under the name Piper Niven, competed in WWE's Mae Young Classic 2017. She defeated Santana Garrett in the first round[4] and Serena Deeb in the second round,[5] before being defeated by Toni Storm in the third round.[6]

In 2017 she returned to Scotland and trains at Glasgow Pro Wrestling Asylum, whilst being part of the Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion.

In 2018 she returned to WOS Wrestling, facing Bea Priestley and Kay Lee Ray for the WOS Women's Championship that aired on 4 August 2018, losing to Kay Lee Ray.

NXT UK (2019–present)

On the 27 March episode of NXT UK, Niven debuted by confronting Rhea Ripley after her match with Xia Brookside starting a feud between the two. On the 19 June episode of NXT UK, Niven and Ripley competed in a battle royal to determine who will get a future opportunity to face the NXT UK Women's Champion Toni Storm. In the match, Niven got eliminated by Xia Brookside. On the 3 July episode of NXT UK, Niven defeated Ripley. Niven would later be inserted into Brookside's feud with Jinny and Jazzy Gabert. The two lost to Jinny and Gabert on the 17 July episode of NXT UK and the two along with then NXT UK Women's Champion Toni Storm lost again to Jinny, Gabert, and along with Kay Lee Ray on the 24 July episode. In October, Niven would have a brief feud with Jinny and Gabert. After her match with Isla Dawn on the 3 October episode of NXT UK, Jinny and Gabert attacked her backstage and a week later Niven would defeat Gabert in the main event thanks to interference from her former rival Rhea Ripley. On the 28 November 2019 episode, Niven defeated Jinny. On 12 January 2020 at NXT UK: Takeover Blackpool, Niven competed in a triple threat match with Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray for the NXT UK Women's championship, where Niven was pinned by Ray. On the 6 February 2020 episode of NXT UK, Niven defeated Dani Luna. On the 2 April 2020 episode, Niven teamed with Luna in a losing effort to Kay Lee Ray and Jinny.

Niven returned to NXT UK television on 24 September 2020 when she challenged Kay Lee Ray for the NXT UK Women's Championship in a losing effort. On 8 October 2020, Niven appeared during Kay Lee Ray's state of the union address with the rest of the division, where Ray ultimately gained the upper hand as it turned into a melee. The following week, Niven went one-on-one with Isla Dawn following an altercation the two had during last week's melee. Niven managed to defeat Dawn. On 5 November 2020, Jinny called out Niven, claiming she lacks killer instinct and the determination to be champion. Niven confronted Jinny and the two argued before Kay Lee Ray provoked them both to prove which of them has got what it takes to challenge her. Jinny struck first but this lit a fire in Niven which led to both Jinny and newcomer Aleah James being laid out by Niven, and ultimately Niven is granted another opportunity against Ray in two weeks time.

On 19 November 2020, Niven challenged Ray in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the NXT UK Women's Championship. Niven was again defeated by Ray due to interference from Jinny.

Other media

Benson is the subject of the episode Fight Like a Girl of the documentary series Our Lives by BBC.[7]

Personal life

On the Celebrate Bisexuality Day on 23 September 2019, Benson came out as bisexual.[8] On the following 22 November Benson announced that she was now engaged.[9] Two weeks later, Benson revealed that she has Bell's palsy.[10]

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com – The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com.
  2. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Viper « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  3. Asl, Nasim (18 November 2017). "The wrestler getting 'hit like the boys'". BBC News.
  4. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Mae Young Classic Review: Episode Three featuring Ayesha Raymond vs. Toni Storm, Kavita Devi vs. Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair vs. Sage Beckett, and Santana Garrett vs. Piper Nevin". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  5. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Mae Young Classic Review: Episode Five featuring second round tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  6. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Mae Young Classic Review: Episode Seven featuring the four quarterfinal tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  7. BBC – Our Lives, Series 2, Fight Like a Girl – Documentary following Kimberly Benson
  8. Viper-Piper Niven [@viperpiperniven] (23 September 2019). "Happy #BiVisibilityDay! 🥳 Guess who's ready to tell the world? t.co/cvQkFNvGtu" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. Viper-Piper Niven [@viperpiperniven] (22 November 2019). "Yesterday I went to Porten Cross and I got the most beautiful surprise at the end of the pier. 🥰 t.co/yTz1jnsa3K" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. Viper-Piper Niven [@viperpiperniven] (13 December 2019). "The Pros of Bell's Palsy number 1: Am I making a weird face at you? Is my palsy just acting up? Good luck finding out 😏 Also this is my emoji now, cause thats what my face does 😏" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  11. Walsh, Shannon. "Pro Wrestling EVE Results 6.30.19: Charlie Morgan Retires From Wrestling". 411MANIA. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  12. https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=3873
  13. https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=3777
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