Shayna Baszler is happy to square up, no matter who is on the opposite side of the ring.
Shayna Baszler spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about her WWE SummerSlam match with Ronda Rousey. Baszler was open on WWE programming about her issues with Rousey, her training partner and friend of many years. Despite that, it’s still got to be fun fighting your friend, right?
“Fighting is just plain fun regardless of who it is. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s fun to fight someone that knows what they’re doing. Every fighter, whether no matter, UFC, MMA, whatever,” Baszler explained, “when you interview them, even though obviously you want to win as fast as you can. There’s a certain crazy side of you that craves for that kind of war with someone. And it’s good too, to think the possibility of that here is high.”
The audience is a character
Baszler is well-known for her ties to MMA, amassing a 15-11 record in her career. Baszler was asked if she had to teach herself to add to the theatrical part of sports entertainment when she was breaking in. The “Queen Of Spades” said it wasn’t so much about the physical side as it was remembering to include the audience in the show.
“There was a certain sort of pacing to pro wrestling that’s different than MMA, obviously, that I had to adjust to. [It’s] really less about the physical side. It’s more about, in MMA or any sport, you learn to tune out the audience,” Baszler noted. “Whereas in a pro wrestling sense, you want to be listening to the audience. And so, I think that was the biggest switch for me, being open to hearing more than just your cornerman.
“So, I think the physicality comes easy, sort of. I don’t want to say it was easy,” she pointed out, “but it comes easier than you would think. It’s not like we’re [in this] mindless blood rage, we need to kill people, and we need to learn to control that or anything. It’s more about being aware and listening to the audience, [who is] is a character in the show.”
Watch our full interview with Shayna Baszler below:
