European wrestlers will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when WWE holds invitation-only tryouts in Manchester, England, on Nov. 17. Thousands have applied for the chance to impress WWE officials, but few will make the cut and get their long-awaited audition for the most powerful company in sports-entertainment. One such invitee is 5-foot-6 Jemma S.T. Palmer from Tamworth, England:

WWE.com: You’ve been selected for a WWE tryout next month. How does it feel to be selected out of thousands of applicants for a WWE tryout?
Jemma S.T. Palmer: It was really surreal. I found out when I had come home and there was a message on my (answering machine). I played the message and there was an American accent and I thought, “No way.” My heart was just jumping. So, I had to play it again because my head was just spinning. And when I listened to it the second time I couldn’t believe it and was jumping around the house and screaming my head off. I think the neighbors thoughts I was going crazy. I just couldn’t believe it. I had been checking the e-mails and checking the phone all the time just thinking, “Please, please, please.” It was amazing. It’s what I’ve always wanted.

Ever since then I think everyone thinks I’m going a bit crazy because I just keep chuckling to myself. Even when I’m in the gym, I just start smiling and everyone’s wondering what I’m smiling about. And at work I’m always smiling, too. So, everyone thinks I’m going a bit nuts. I just want to let everyone know I’m fine. I just want to put it on a billboard and let everyone know.

WWE.com: Can you give us a little bit of background into you and your wrestling career?
Jemma S.T. Palmer: It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I grew up watching wrestling and always liked Hulk Hogan and Undertaker. Really, when you come from this country, I think it’s really hard to get into that industry, especially for a woman. So, I started going to the gym a lot and entered a lot of beauty pageants. I was in Miss Great Britain and a Maxim Magazine search for the top U.K. babes. And then, from that, I was selected as one of the top three, and that helped my modeling career a lot. I did modeling for two health and fitness magazines. And once I got some modeling under my belt, I approached the largest wrestling companies in the U.K. and did some promotional work for an organization called the FWA. Then they asked me to start training with them, which was absolutely fantastic. So, I haven’t actually wrestled in the ring yet, but I used to do a lot of wrestling at school with the boys, which my mom wasn’t too pleased about because my uniform used to get a bit muddy. But I’ve always been into contact sports, and my dad used to do martial arts with me.

WWE.com: How would you describe what your wrestling style might be like?
Jemma S.T. Palmer: I think I’m quite a tough girl. I like to think I am. I had a mom who always brought me up to be a little princess and dressed me in nice, pink, flowery dresses. And then my dad brought me up as more of a tomboy, and I had action men, and we used to go out into the woods hiking, wearing combats. So, I’m quite feminine to look at, but once people get to know me I’m quite a strong character and strong person, and they’re really surprised. They just see me as a little, petite, blonde person. But when you get to know me I’m quite strong and domineering.

WWE.com: When you go for your WWE tryout how do you plan on distinguishing yourself from other wrestlers there?
Jemma S.T. Palmer: I don’t think there’s one specific thing I can do. I think when you walk into the room, if you have a certain thing about you, people are drawn to you. I don’t know what it is. Usually, when I walk into a room, even if I’m dressed really scruffily, people seem to want to come up to me and talk to me. I think it’s because I’m quite a positive person and because of the energy I have. I don’t want to plan on going in and being a certain thing. I just want to go in being me, and hopefully they’ll like that.

WWE.com: Currently, there’s not a large United Kingdom presence in WWE, especially with the Divas. What would it mean to you to add that element to WWE?
Jemma S.T. Palmer: That has driven me even more to do this. When I first started watching wrestling there weren’t many women at all involved. I told my career advisors at school that I wanted to be a wrestler, which they found quite amusing. I was always told it’s just a dream and I couldn’t’ ever do it. But that just made me want to do it even more. I don’t see why there shouldn’t be people from this country, especially me, in WWE. I just want to show them that we have talent over here as well. I just need to come down a bit, otherwise I’ll go in there bouncing around like Tigger.