Shotzi remembers the WWE WrestleMania match that made her look at pro wrestling in a different way.
The MLW star recently reflected on the moment she began taking professional wrestling seriously, crediting a major match at WrestleMania 32 for changing her mindset. Speaking with WrestleZone, Shotzi recalled being brought in by WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi for a match while she was still early in her career.
“Well, I guess personally for me, it was I was like a year into wrestling and training, and it was like the first Mania week that I was at. I only had like one match — Rikishi brought me in to wrestle — and I was still so new. It was the Dallas Mania where we broke records, the crowd broke the record,” she said.
Shotzi on WWE WrestleMania 32 experience
Shotzi explained that the atmosphere inside AT&T Stadium and the massive audience had a major impact on her outlook on wrestling.
“[WrestleMania 32], the match where it was going from the Divas Championship to the Women’s Championship. Watching that live with everyone, over 100,000 people, I was like, ‘Wow, I need to take this seriously.’ Because before when I had started wrestling, I didn’t know or think I could be athletic enough or good enough to make it to WWE. I didn’t know how far I would go. I was just kind of doing it for fun. My friends were doing it and it was just a good time.
“And then at that moment I was like, ‘Man, I need to take this really seriously because I want to be where they are.’ So that was the personal moment for me.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Shotzi expressed her appreciation for the Divas Era, noting that women at the time made the most of what they were given, while also acknowledging WrestleMania 32 as a turning point for the women’s division.
“Yeah, absolutely. And I love the Divas Era. I love the women there. They’re amazing and so strong, and they did the best with what they could and what they were given. But yeah, that was the turning point where women were really taken seriously.”
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