If the world made sense, Anna Sjödin would’ve been president of Sweden by now—sworn in on a jiu-jitsu mat while applying a kimura to the Speaker of the Riksdag. Instead, she’s a wrestler, a submission grappler, a former politician, a political science graduate, a columnist, and a mother. A polymath with a suplex and a smirk.
But the world doesn’t make sense. So we settle for this: a woman who built a career throwing people across rings and wrestling with ideology in both the squared circle and local government.
She’s a walking contradiction—brutal and brainy, articulate and aggressive. She could make you tap out on the mat or in debate, and you’d probably thank her for either.
The Spark: GAEA Girls and the Gospel of Joshi Puroresu
At 17, Anna Sjödin stumbled upon the documentary Gaea Girls, the raw, painful ode to Japanese women’s wrestling that left most viewers flinching. But not Anna. For her, it was a revelation.
Forget Swedish niceties. She wanted to feel pain. Deliver it. Earn it. No tiaras, no TV drama. Just calloused hands and the quiet poetry of a perfectly timed takedown.
She joined Skönsbergs brottningsklubb, a respectable amateur wrestling club, and then did something less respectable: she chased the pro wrestling dream across Europe like a woman possessed.
Ireland. England. Denmark. Spain. She learned from everyone—Fergal Devitt (now known as Finn Bálor), Psycho Steve, Zack Sabre Jr., and a half-dozen others with more scars than savings. She made her debut in 2007 by facing one of her own trainers. That’s the equivalent of learning to box by fighting your coach with one hand tied behind your back.
But she survived. She always did.
Catch Division Killer
Pro-Wrestling: EVE wasn’t built for glamour. It was built for women who didn’t mind cracked ribs, long bus rides, and winning by submission or stoppage. The Catch Division was Anna’s utopia.
On May 8, 2010, she lost to April Davids. No flash. No excuses. Just a hard lesson. Five months later, she came back and choked that lesson into history.
She joined the European Empire—heels in name, technicians in truth—alongside Davids, Nikki Storm, and Shanna, under the unholy guidance of Jetta. It was villainy with a spine and wrist control. And then came Britani Knight—yes, that’s Saraya for the uninitiated—and a trilogy that proved Sjödin could do more than stretch limbs. She could tell stories.
And in June 2011, she beat Knight to become the second-ever Pro-Wrestling: EVE Champion.
Eight Defenses, One Legend
Anna held that title for 302 days. Not because she was protected. Not because she kissed up backstage. But because she earned it—in sweat, in bruises, in mat burns that don’t wash off.
She beat April Davids again. She took down Aurora Flame and won the Nordic Women’s Championship. Then she faced Emi Sakura—yes, that Emi Sakura—who had influenced her since those early GAEA Girl days. And Anna beat her. Not with luck. With leverage.
For a brief moment, the world made sense. A Swedish submission grappler turned pro wrestling tactician was the top dog in the stiffest women’s promotion in Europe.
Then came Alpha Female. April 4, 2012. Reign over.
No excuses. No tears.
Just a new goal.
Off the Mat: The Ground Game Gets Real
But Sjödin wasn’t just suplexing for applause. She wanted more than pinfalls and promo spots. So she dove into grappling and MMA, training under Rosi Sexton in Manchester—a woman known for being able to twist a leg like she was wringing out a dishrag.
Sjödin adapted instantly.
She won gold at Ground Control’s no-gi tournament in May 2010. Silver at Grapplers Quest. Another silver at NAGA’s European Championship. It was the kind of year most fighters would kill for. Anna made it look like a warm-up.
She fought with no music, no crowd, no cameras—just quiet brutality. And she loved it.
The Councilwoman from the Catch Division
Most wrestlers give up the rest of their life for the mat. Not Anna. She served on the Sundsvall city council, representing Sweden’s Liberal People’s Party while also bending limbs for a living.
If that’s not the most terrifying combo imaginable—a grappling centrist—then nothing is.
When she wasn’t running political campaigns or delivering babyface promos, she was getting a political science degreeand writing columns for Body Confidential. Her 2013 entry? A casual note that she was six months pregnant.
She didn’t frame it with melodrama. She didn’t treat it like retirement. It was just another challenge. One more role. The hardest one, probably.
In 2014, she gave birth. Champion again—this time, without a belt.
Legacy in Holds and Headlines
Sjödin never headlined WrestleMania. She didn’t need to.
She headlined real life—and unlike most people who fake strength on Instagram, Anna lived it.
A pioneer in the British wrestling scene. A submission ace with academic citations. A wrestler who could write legislation by day and put you in a triangle choke by night.
She’s not in a Hall of Fame. She’s not in a documentary.
But somewhere, a girl in Sweden is watching Gaea Girls, feeling the itch.
And if she Googles who came next, she’ll find Anna Sjödin—the woman who made pain poetic and politics personal.