Rosemary: From Prime Time Wrestling To TNA's Scream Queen

Canadian wrestler Holly Letkeman is better known as Rosemary in TNA, but the company's resident "Scream Queen" had to work her way up through the independent scene before she became known for her spooky look and antics. Rosemary has been known by many names, including her other personality, Courtney Rush, and has been a member of Decay and The Death Dollz in TNA. 

The now-42 year old wrestling veteran got her start back in high school, after being exposed to the genre by her father. She briefly trained at a local school in Manitoba, Canada, but quit after one season and went to college for film. After the death of Eddie Guerrero, Rosemary went back to wrestling training, and attended Scott D'Amore's school in May 2007. She made her debut for Prime Time Wrestling in 2008, in a losing effort. That didn't sway her from continuing her dream, however, and she won her first championship, the Great Canadian Wrestling W.I.L.D. Championship, in the final of the tournament of the same name in 2009.

She changed her ring name to PJ Tyler, honoring her love for Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, when she debuted for NCW Femmes Fatales in February 2010, still as the reigning WILD Champion. While in the promotion, she changed her ring name once again to the character that would eventually become the second part of her split personality, Courtney Rush. She won multiple championships while there, including the NCW Femmes Fatales Championship, all while competing for Shimmer Women Athletes beginning in March 2010.

Rosemary, then still going by PJ Tyler, debuted in Shimmer Women Athletes, or SHIMMER, back in 2010 as part of the promotion's Sparkle division. The month prior, she debuted on the Shimmer Board. Rosemary's more tame alter ego, Courtney Rush, debuted in SHIMMER, in the main division, in March 2011. She won her first championship with the promotion alongside villain Sara Del Rey, winning the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. The pair lost the gold that summer, in June, at a Femmes Fatales event when Del Ray turned on her friend and abandoned the future Rosemary in the ring. Rosemary would go on to align with other members of SHIMMER in tag teams, including Xandra Bale as "Ontario's Top Team," but never won the tag team titles again, and never became Shimmer Champion.

At the end of her run in the promotion, Rosemary started to cut more unhinged, darker promos. Before facing Cherry Bomb, Rosemary delivered one of her final creepy promos, one out of many, which appeared to be filmed with an old-school film camera, a la "Paranormal Activity." Rosemary is seen standing in the corner, singing to herself.

"One, two, Courtney's coming for you," she sang. "Three, four, want to break her more. Five, six, with a super kick .... Nine, ten, can't wait to see you again," in a clear nod the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. Rosemary then turned to face the camera after the line with fake blood dripping from her mouth and black contacts in her eyes. The video ended with her jumping at the camera. The turn of the beloved Rush was a sign of creepy things to come when the future Rosemary would move on to TNA at the beginning of 2016.

Rosemary debuted in TNA on January 26, 2016, appearing on stage dressed as a creepy cheerleader while Crazzy Steve and Abyss attacked World Tag Team Champions The Wolves. The macabre cheerleader's new ring name was revealed to be Rosemary, and The Decay stable was born. Rosemary debuted in a TNA ring that April, defeating Knockouts legend Gail Kim. She went on to face Rebecca Hardy, who would later become one of Rosemary's most memorable feuds, and the first match between the pair ended in disqualification after Rosemary used poison mist, spitting it into Hardy's eyes.

It was after Steve and Abyss won the TNA World Tag Team Titles, and "Broken" Matt Hardy and Brother Nero (his brother, Jeff Hardy) won a number one contender's match against the stable for their championships, that Decay began a heated feud with the "Broken Universe." Decay attempted to take Matt's son, King Maxel, from the family. Rosemary would even break into the home in an attempt to steal Maxel, then just a baby, enraging Rebecca. The feud lead to Decay accepting an invitation from the "Broken" one for a match at the Hardy Compound, titled "Delete or Decay." Decay would lose their titles to the Hardys at Bound for Glory.

Rosemary's first Knockouts Championship reign began when she defeated Jade in a six-sided Steel Cage match in December 2016. As of this writing, Rosemary's initial run with the title has been her only singles gold in the promotion. She went on to be defeated by Sienna in a unification match for the Knockouts title and the GFW Women's Championship, ending her reign at 266 days, which remains the second-longest reign in the Knockouts Championship's history.

Following her title run, Rosemary would feud with a debuting Taya Valkyrie, eventually defeating her in a "Demon's Dance Match." She also attempted, and failed, to win another chance at the Knockouts Championship. Shortly after, she suffered a torn ligament while wrestling at an indie show, and was written off "Impact." Rosemary was on the shelf for eight months, but returned at Homecoming to save Kiera Hogan in January 2019.

Rosemary signed a new two-year contract with Impact Wrestling in February 2019, and she would go on to feud with Allie and Su Yung, defeating the latter in a "Demon Collar" match after a supernatural feud that saw Rosemary attempt to save Allie's soul. She would go on to compete for the Knockouts Title once again in a "Monster's Ball" fatal four-way against Havok, Valkyrie, and Yung, but was defeated once again.

Decay, this time just Crazzy Steve and Rosemary, would reunite in January 2021, teaming together at Hard to Kill to defeat Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb. The pair would add a third member, Taurus, and Rosemary would go on to team with Havok, who also became part of the group. They won the Knockouts Tag Team Championship and held them for 98 days. Rosemary would go on to team with Valkyrie at the beginning of 2022, once again winning tag team gold. That year, Rosemary, Havok, and Valkyrie would name themselves The Death Dollz, and they would win the tag titles once again and defend them under the Freebird Rule. After briefly returning to their lesser evil alter egos, Rosemary and Havok would win the titles for a third time at the start of 2024.

Rosemary worked in AAA in August 2017 in a controversial four-way match for the Reina de Reinas Championship. The match ended when Sexy Star submitted Rosemary with an armbar for the win, but didn't let go of the hold immediately and popped Rosemary's arm out of place. The incident went viral on social media, with many wrestlers and fans condemning Star and showing their support for Rosemary.

While Rosemary is known for her intricate, and often spooky, makeup looks, she created a Twitch channel to stream video games as her bare-faced alter-ego, Courtney Rush. She hasn't streamed for over a year now, but her "RMtheDemonAssassin" Twitch account is still live with almost six thousand followers. She's streamed games like "Control" and "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot" for her fans. She and Allie started a YouTube series in 2018 titled "Masters of the Multiverse." The first episode, posted that summer, introduced fans to the world of "DemonXBunny," in reference to Allie's future ring name, "The Bunny" in AEW. Videos include Allie taking Rosemary to Disney World and a cat cafe, as well as a Q&A video and live streams.

"Allie and Rosemary are learning day by day why the All-Knowing, All-Seeing Shadow has crossed their destinies and brought them together," the description of the first video reads. Rosemary is also no stranger to the acting world, especially when it comes to horror movies. She has appeared in several independent films, including "Monster Brawl," where she played a character named Witch B****, "Exit Humanity" as a zombie, and "Beat Down" as a character called French Kiss.

With the current partnership between WWE and TNA involving the company's "WWE NXT" developmental brand, Rosemary made appearances on the show in 2024 to help out fellow spooky character Wendy Choo. She debuted in WWE on the August 27 "NXT" alongside Choo's new gimmick, seemingly a sleep paralysis demon, and would eventually challenge, and lose, to then-NXT Women's North American Champion Kelani Jordan. The following month, Rosemary lost to another darker, unhinged character in "NXT," Tatum Paxley, and she and Choo were beaten down by Lyra Valkyria after the match.

Rosemary continues to be active in TNA, despite not appearing in WWE for awhile now. Choo has been the character to switch promotions, appearing alongside Rosemary in TNA. The demented pair would challenge for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship against Jody Threat and Dani Luna at Bound for Glory, but lost, resulting in Rosemary turning heel on Choo, despite the loss being Rosemary's fault. Rosemary released a pin attempt just before the count of three to inflict more pain on her opponent, then accidentally hit Choo attempting to go for a tag. The pair settled their differences in a No-Disqualification bout on the November 7 "Impact," where Rosemary emerged victorious over Choo, beating her with a cane, sending her back to "NXT."

Since defeating Choo, Rosemary has defeated both Jada Stone and Xia Brookside at "Impact" tapings. With the wins racking up for Rosemary, there's no telling if the demented one will soon set her sights on current TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich for her second reign with the gold.