WWE SmackDown Live women’s competitor Lana was recently interviewed on Facebook by Us Weekly. Lana promoted the upcoming season of Total Divas, explained her training regime, how she got signed with WWE, and more.
Here are the highlights.
On her training regiment:
“It really is super intense. Right now, I’ve been doing a lot of power lifting and cross-fit training. Trying to build that muscle so I can beat some of these girls. Suplex a couple of them. I also do a lot of hot yoga just to, you know, keep myself flexible, and they say that yoga and pilates help with injury and preventing injury. And then I also do judo, muay thai, a little bit of jiu jitsu, and then I train a lot in the ring. Before shows, I go to Orlando at our big performance center and train. And so, that’s kind of what I consist of like full-on focusing and training, and a lot of protein shakes.”
On how she got signed with WWE:
“I’ve been a fan since I was a little girl. I always watched like, of course The Rock, and [Hulk] Hogan, and Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon, but I never thought that it was a realistic thing that I could ever do. But, since I’ve been three years old, I wanted to entertain and be a storyteller and put smiles on people’s faces. And, I’ve been working in the entertainment business and Hollywood since I was 19. They had a huge Divas Search, and I was presented with an opportunity, and I went through a lot of callbacks. Over thousands of girls they auditioned. It was narrowed down to 12, and then five of us they signed.”
On the next season of Total Divas:
“I’m really excited to share my journey of – my in-ring journey – because I do come from an acting background and a dance background, and it’s helped me a lot coming from an acting background, because I’m able to go out there and be an extension of myself as the Russian villain that I play. But also, I’m able to act. So, I think a lot of things do come easier because of the acting background, but then when it comes to actually the wrestling part – and we have the best athletes in the world, and some of the women are in that ring. I mean, they are truly incredible athletes. And also, just the women’s division as a whole is so high. Like, the women wrestle as good as the men now. We’re having like 30-minute matches and the bar is so, so high and it’s really, really exciting.
“And so, because of that, there’s been a lot of pressure on me to be able to not fail. To keep on, like, progressing the women, and you’re just gonna see this journey on the show. My very first single’s match on TV, my very first pay-per-view, my very first title match… I’m excited to share my journey, because there’s been a lot of ups and downs, but I hope it will encourage other people to not give up on your dreams.”
She also talks about growing up with learning disabilities, how being a ballerina helped her as a wrestler, her acting career, how the backstage atmosphere gets intense, how she and Rusev got together, and more.
You can view the full interview below.
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