Piper Niven recently debuted for WWE on Monday Night RAW when she appeared as Eva Marie’s partner. The following week she set the wrestling world buzzing not because of her ring work or victory over Asuka but rather her bizarre new Doudrop moniker given to her by Eva Marie.
Due to the unfortunate nickname, the relationship between the two quickly fractured and they seem to be on a collision course. In typical WWE style, Niven’s past accomplishments and NXT UK career is unacknowledged. However, “Doudrop” isn’t completely new to the WWE audience. Niven was first introduced to the WWE Universe in 2017 when WWE launched the first Mae Young Classic. The 32 women tournament featured wrestlers from all over the world.
Names such as Kairi Sane, Shayna Baszler, Candice LaRae, Mercedes Martinez and Raquel Gonzalez. Piper Niven faced and beat Santana Garrett in the first round. She would go on to defeat comeback queen, Serena Deeb in the second, but was knocked out by Toni Storm. It would be another two years before Niven would sign for WWE, appearing in NXT UK in February of 2019. But what else is there to know about Piper Niven? We are here to fill in the blanks and take you through 5 things you may not know about Piper Niven AKA Doudrop.
5. Doudrop, AKA Viper, was the first Women’s ICW World Champion
In 2015 Piper Niven then known as Viper became the first-ever Insane Championship Wrestling’s Women’s Champion. Viper defeated fellow WWE wrestlers, Kay Lee Ray and Nikki Storm (Cross/ASH) in a Three-Way match at ICW Fear & Loathing VIII.
The match was the finals of an 8 women tournament that featured Kasey Owens, Debby Sharp, Leyla Rose, Sammii Jayne and Mickie James. Viper went on to hold the ICW Women’s Championship twice.
4. Doudrop, AKA Piper Niven, Appeared In IMPACT Wrestling
In 2014 as Viper, Niven was a member of TNA’s British Bootcamp series. Along with a host of other wrestlers such as Kay Lee Ray and Nikki Storm (Cross). The programme followed “twelve of Britain’s most promising wrestlers” who competed against each other in the hope of winning a TNA contract.
Viper progressed to stage three but was eliminated in the third round.
3. Viper Was A Tag Team Champion With Io Shirai
In 2017 during one of her many tours in Japan, Niven (as Viper) won the Artist of STARDOM Championships with fellow members of the Queen’s Quest stable Io Shirai and HZK. During their time as the promotion’s trios tag team champions, they defended the titles against fellow NXT UK Superstars Bea Priestley, Toni Storm and Xia Brookside. The trio would hold the titles for 245 days.
2. Piper Niven overcame Bell’s Palsy to compete at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II
Back in December 2019, Piper Niven was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a rare type of facial paralysis that affects just 0.023% of the population. Wrestling fans may be aware of the condition as WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, now a commentator for AEW, has been open about his diagnosis of the condition.
Across NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II weekend, Niven actually revealed how she battled a severe inflamation of Bell’s Palsy just to make it to her Triple Threat Match for the NXT UK Women’s Championship, telling GiveMeSport:
“Bell’s Palsy is an inflammation of your facial nerve. it flames up, rubs and cuts against a bone in your face to cause paralysis. For most people it’s painless but I was extremely unlucky. I was diagnosed on December 12 and the past few weeks have been cripplingly painful. I’m in agony almost every day, I haven’t been able to eat anything. It felt like I’ve been punched repeatedly. I’ve had a remarkable turnaround. The doctors think I’m Wolverine! I’ve managed to heal remarkably fast. TakeOver really spurned me on, but it was a mental drain as well as physical. I didn’t know if it would ever go away, a lot of people and even I didn’t think I’d be cleared for this match. But even if I still had a melted face, it wouldn’t stop me. I’d wrestle with an eye patch if I have to.”
Doudrop, AKA Piper Niven, made history in ICW and NXT UK with Kay Lee Ray
Niven and Ray have a long and storied past, which has seen them tear each other apart in multiple promotions, but in ICW and NXT UK, they made history. In ICW they competed in the first-ever Queen of Insanity match and in NXT UK they fought in the first-ever women’s Falls Count Anywhere match on the brand.
Both matches were incredible and extremely brutal with both warriors battering one another with an array of wince-inducing violent instruments. The Queen of Insanity match is particularly nasty with barbed wire boards, an ironing board and a lot of thumbtacks/drawing pins.