We enjoyed our first chat with WWE legend Victoria so much that we stopped by the next day to do another interview about her career, her celebrity crush and what it takes to get in a WWE ring. Here's the transcript:
Signs of the Times: All right, back with
Victoria for Day 2!
Victoria: “Day 2!”
SotT: How’s Day 2 going?
V: “Amazing! Amazing. A little bit – what’s awesome today – I’m
going to go off the subject – is seeing Dave Bautista.”
SotT: Yeah! I got a picture with him!
V: “Yeah. You did?”
SotT: I did.
V: “Awesome. We started wrestling school together! He was ‘Leviathan’
back then, and we got brought up kind of at the same time with the WWE. It’s so
exciting seeing someone in our business succeed, you know, from the ground up.
You know what I mean? Seeing him… he’s a superstar, honestly. So you become
proud, like a proud sister, so it’s really neat.”
SotT: Yeah.
V: “A lot of people didn’t know I was here … I had one guy cry.
I’ve never had a guy cry.”
SotT: I almost cried.
V: “Get out of here!”
SotT: I had one tear, and I
was like, “No, no!”
V: “[Laughs] It was my perfume. No, it was like, they didn’t know
I was here. I’m best friends with these guys at [Booth] 2462 – Super Heroes in
Training – and they said, ‘Hey, do you want to work a booth?’ … And I was like,
‘Yeah, I’ll help you guys out. Absolutely.’ So seeing people like, ‘I didn’t
know you were here!’ – it’s kind of neat.”
SotT: Yeah. Well, that’s
good. Ok, so, I was thinking last night after we talked yesterday – I want to
know more about your hardcore matches, because you had a few of those!
V: “Yes.”
SotT: Obviously, you know,
with weapons and things, it’s a little bit different, but how is preparing for
a hardcore fight different than just a regular match?
V: “Oh, my gosh. As it is, I get sick to my stomach before
matches because I’m an extremely nervous person. I’m a perfectionist, too. [For
a] hardcore match, there are so many things that can go wrong. … You do say a
prayer: ‘Please, [let] no one get really, seriously hurt,’ but you do get hurt,
and you’ve got to say sorry later. The mentality is, you go up to your opponent
and you’re like, ‘I don’t mean anything. Let’s just be safe, let the fans enjoy
this and lay it in.’ For me and Trish [Stratus] – ‘Lay it in. We’ll say sorry
later, but don’t make it look phony – this is a real fight.’ So, we put our all
in, but the [nausea] before going out? Brutal. Yeah, brutal. And then you go
backstage and you’re still like, ‘[Gasps] Am I in trouble? Did everything go
smoothly? Did I do a great job?’ And you’re still questioning yourself
constantly.”
SotT: Ok, so, I know you’ve
worked a lot with Trish, but do you have any [other] really good friends that
you’ve developed during your career?
V: “My closest friend right now is O.D.B. – she was in T.N.A. –
Gail Kim, Cliff Compton (Domino) … we talk every day. You can’t avoid… You’re
together forever. You are a family, because you spend most of the time on the
road with each other – more so than your [actual] family. People say, ‘There’s
a big divorce rate.’ Go figure! We’re on the road four days a week, you know,
and kind of grow apart from our loved ones. But I’ve made a lot of good friends,
and it pays to be nice. I always tell people, ‘Don’t let it get to your head. We’re
entertainers. We’re stunt people. Come on. Be nice to your fans.’ I hear a lot
of rotten stories about how some people are just not nice to their fans, and
they pay our bills, so… you know?”
SotT: Well, you’re super
nice. We’ve had a couple [pro wrestlers] come through here. I met Batista today
– super nice. John Cena’s been here – very nice. Hulk Hogan – great guy. It’s
always surprising because you guys look kind of intimidating on screen, but
then, in person, you’re so nice.
V: “You’re always warned, ‘Be careful who you meet … because
you might be disappointed.’ So, I’m so scared to meet my superheroes. I want to
meet Jason Momoa. I’m a huge fan, and I’m scared… I’m just scared I’ll be
disappointed because I’m so nice – I’m over-the-top – that I expect everybody
else to be like that, and I’m just a little nervous about him disappointing me.”
SotT: You know what? I met
him – he came last year. I met him, just for a second, but [he’s] super nice.
V: “Is he?”
SotT: Yeah, he seemed super
nice.
V: “All right, I’m gonna hold you to it!”
SotT: What would it take for
somebody like me to get in the ring? [Laughs]
V: “[With] no training?”
SotT: [Sarcastically] I
mean, yeah. Look at me. I’m, like, in pretty great shape, obviously.
V: “But it’s not about looks now! The body – physique… you see,
it’s not cookie-cutters. Kevin Owens [for instance].”
SotT: So what do I need to
do?
V: “You do have to go to wrestling school. You do have to train.
It’s not for everybody. I thought I could learn the craft in 30 days [but] I
was in wrestling school for three years – which is not very long – but it’s a
lot of technique, technical work, your facial expressions. There’s so much
minute detail in this business. It’s really tough, and we’re live; we get one
shot. That’s it.”
SotT: Yeah, that’s hard.
V: “You mess up, the fans won’t [let it go.] The will let you
know that you messed up. It is the worst feeling ever.”
SotT: Oh, man.
V: “I don’t discourage anybody from [getting into wrestling],
but it’s a dangerous sport. It’s not for everybody. It’s for the people who
have the heart and passion for it and want to do it forever, because once you
get bit by it, you’re not done, evidently – me. Eighteen years and still going.”
SotT: All right. So, last
question: what’s the thing that you’re most proud of from your career?
V: “That I’m still going! After 18 years, I thought I was going
to be slowing down, but it’s incredible seeing people still remember me. You
kind of have to worry about when they don’t want your autograph anymore. But
the appreciation from the new divas, the new wrestlers… When you hear, ‘Oh, my,
you were my favorite wrestler!’ And you’re just like, ‘Really??’ It still
shocks me a little bit that I’m still doing it. I’m wrestling with 20-year-olds.”
SotT: …which is the hard
part.
V: “Isn’t that crazy?”
SotT: Yeah, that’s the hard
part. I used to like playing basketball, but I realize now, when I play against
20-year-olds, I’m 31, but it’s like…
V: “You’re out of shape! You feel like…”
SotT: Yeah, I’m not as fast
as these guys anymore.
V: “You feel like, ‘No! I need to recoup!’”
SotT: So now I just don’t
play. I just watch now.
V: “You’re a good cheerleader?”
SotT: Exactly.
V: “There you go.”
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Victoria can be followed on Twitter at @REALLiSAMARiE and on Instagram at @reallisamarie.
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