April Hunter, a retired American professional wrestling valet, made a lasting impact in the industry. Her career spanned from 1996 to 2001, with notable stints in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Hunter's journey began in ECW, where she debuted as Kimona Wanalaya in 1996. Raven, a renowned wrestler, discovered her working as a stripper and brought her into the ECW fold as his valet. The name Kimona Wanalaya was a clever play on words, with "Come on, I wanna lay ya" being the inspiration behind it.
As Kimona, Hunter became a key figure in Raven's Nest, a faction led by Raven. She took the place of Beulah McGillicutty, who had turned face and sided with Raven's archenemy, Tommy Dreamer. The storyline involved a complex web of relationships, with Kimona announcing that she was "pregnant" with Dreamer's "baby." This led to a dramatic confrontation between Dreamer and Raven, with Shane Douglas revealing that Beulah was never pregnant and had been cheating on Dreamer.
The lesbian angle, which was a first in professional wrestling, was eventually dropped due to objections from Beulah. Despite this, Hunter remained a face and continued to work alongside Dreamer and Beulah. Her time in ECW came to an end after a striptease performance was included in the "Extreme Warfare Vol. 1" VHS release, despite Paul Heyman's initial promise that it wouldn't be filmed.
Hunter then ventured into the independent circuit before resurfacing in WCW as Leia Meow, the cheerleader/valet for the Varsity Club. She later adopted a dominatrix gimmick and became the valet for the Jung Dragons. After WCW closed its doors, Hunter retired from professional wrestling.
