I told my mom: I said, 'Mom, I'm going to try out for WWE.' Her response was, 'The heck you are!' She was like, 'You are not doing that!' So I had to try out without her knowing, but now she's, like, the biggest supporter and so proud of me.
It was very spur of the moment. When I heard WWE was having tryouts... I would not let the opportunity pass me by. I hired someone to make my video, and I sent in the video, thinking nothing would come of it.
I've said it before, that I think if we can have any woman from any other background to come into the WWE, it makes it better for the performers.
Ronda Rousey is coming to WWE at such a great time because we're a big family here, and we try to help everyone succeed. She has passion for it, which is awesome, and she respects the business, which is awesome. Everyone has been helping her and walking her through everything.
I wasn't featured in NXT. I never had a TakeOver match. I never held a title. I wasn't a featured athlete. I knew, going in to SmackDown Live, I had to kick down the door and take every opportunity for what it was, and sometimes in WWE - and in life - those opportunities don't come back.
I try to make the most of every opportunity. If you don't, especially in WWE, those opportunities won't come around again.
To portray something that you're really not, it's like a little escape, and I love to act and to be dramatic. I feel like the wrestling ring in WWE is the perfect platform to do that. It's totally acceptable.
I remember, even when I started with WWE, it was a different ball game. There were all these restrictions and things we couldn't do, and now, it's really empowering to know we can do anything that we want and what the guys can do. It gives women the opportunity to show why we're more than divas and why we're WWE superstars.
The generally big places in the world, the big countries for pro wrestling or lucha libre are Mexico, U.S.A., Japan, and U.K. And now WWE is in all countries and it's different.
The WWE Performance Center is absolutely magnificent and like nothing I have ever seen or trained at before.
