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WOW - Women of Wrestling returns this weekend with their latest TV episode, headlined by an eight woman tag team bout featuring WOW Champion Penelope Pink. PWInsider.com sat down with Pink earlier this week to discuss the WOW life experience and much more.
Mike Johnson: This weekend, Women of Wrestling, WOW, will return with a big eight person tag team match featuring the reigning WOW, Women of Wrestling Champion, Penelope Pink, who has wrestled for quite some time in a number of other places before migrating to WOW. Very happy to be talking to her for the first time. So, let's start off with the easiest question. How are you doing today?
Penelope Pink: I'm doing well, Mike, how about yourself?
Mike Johnson: I'm doing good now that my Internet's working again, but we talked about that before we get on the air. So, let's talk about this, you have had a really unique life opportunity and experience here as the reigning WOW, Women of Wrestling Champion. You've done some other things in your career outside of WOW in Florida and the NAWA and some other promotions, but this is the biggest spotlight you've gotten thus far in your career, and obviously it's a great compliment to your work and it's a very unique moment in your life. Holding this belt and representing WOW internationally as one of the title holders and one of the major performers of this brand. What does it mean to you as a performer who's worked so hard to get to this point?
Penelope Pink: Absolutely. There almost is no words. It's six and a half years of blood, sweat, and tears for this absolute great honor to hold the WOW World Title. I am the eighth woman to be in the spotlight and be the champion of this company, and I'm so thankful that WOW is getting such a great spotlight and opportunity thanks to Jeanie Buss and David McLane and AJ Mendez and Selina Majors to really put forth women's wrestling and being spotlighted on syndicated television. And I'm going to go out there and like I said from day one, I said I was the best damn thing that WOW's ever seen. And every week I go out there and I show them why I meant it, and I prove everybody wrong.
Mike Johnson: Obviously, with such a power behind it with Jeanie Buss and Dave McLane, and so many other people who are involved, how has the WOW experience changed you as a performer from the first time you got involved with the company to now? What has it been like evolving as Penelope Pink and figuring out who she is on camera, and how has that cascaded into your real life?
Penelope Pink: It's been an absolutely amazing rollercoaster ride. I had never been out to the West Coast before and seen the professional wrestling scene out there. So, to get the opportunity to work with our roster, which we've had so many different women from all different walks of life, some that have trained in the UK, Japan, Australia, and just to get the opportunity to step foot in the ring and elevate your wrestling, your ability, your game, has been my favorite part of this experience without a doubt is because you're going to get better the more challenging your opponent is. And I love to say that our WOW roster is one of the deepest and most diverse rosters in all of women's wrestling. And I'm so thankful the fact that I am given the opportunity to not only compete, but also elevate myself as a competitor. And I also get to work one-on-one with the best women's manager of all time, Lana Star. And without a doubt, I've never had a manager before and she brings me to the next level and I'm so thankful and I couldn't have done it without her, honestly.
Mike Johnson: I was going to bring up Lana. In the past, I've talked to David McLane about her and she's one of those true generational talents who have had a journey through pretty much every iteration of WOW. What has it been like having her as a veteran to lean into and to learn from because she's been through not just the fires that we see on camera with WOW, but everything that's gone on behind the scenes as this company's evolved over the years?
Penelope Pink: Absolutely. She is 100% just made WOW. WOW was like the air she breathes. She is 100% WOW to the bone, and she wants to always put the best foot forward and represent as well as humanly possible. And when I realized that, she gave me the call and I was the next prodigy to work with her, I just knew for a fact that we had to be everything that we promised the WOW audience and David McLane that we could be. And without a doubt, I feel like we are really two bodies, but one mind. We have very similar mindsets, we have very similar goals, and when we go out there, no matter where we are, our goal is to steal the show and to perform to the best of our ability, and we bring it out in each other. And I'm very thankful to have someone like her to bounce off ideas and outfit choices and strategy as well.
Mike Johnson: So, let's talk about this weekend's episode of WOW Women of Wrestling, which is titled Even the Score. There's a big eight person tag team match. It's going to be the Tonga Twins teaming up with Tiki Chamorro and Leia Makoa against yourself, Penelope Pink, Miami Sweet Heat, who are the WOW Women of Wrestling Tag Team Champions, as well as the Carson Twins. Vicki Lynn McCoy is going to be floating around outside. Thoughts on this match and what fans can expect this weekend when they tune into WOW to watch it.
Penelope Pink: Absolutely. The Fabulous Four, we are a well-oiled machine. We have the same mindset. We have one game plan, we're going in there, the Island Dynasty, they've kind of just all bumped into each other. They kind of just formed recently. They've all kind of been doing their own individual thing, where we are training together, we're at the gym together. We are just always in sync. So, they have a tall task ahead of them without a doubt. But our game plan still remains number one, win at all costs.
Mike Johnson: So, you mentioned not having the opportunity to go to the West Coast before WOW. As a longtime Florida resident, how do you compare the two coasts?
Penelope Pink: Very, very different, without a doubt. The West Coast kind of has a little bit more, I want to say, diversity and wrestling styles. You find a lot more Lucia out there. Where in Florida, I feel like proximity, a lot of the shows and where you'd run are similar and closer together, so you kind of see these similar faces as well. You kind of work with the same group of people. You kind of tend to know everybody or have heard of everybody where it seems out in California, because the state is so enormous, the shows are more spread out and everyone kind of seems to be honed in on certain areas, whether it's Northern and Southern California, and the range of people as well.
I mean, you have a lot of people coming in from Mexico as well and getting to learn more opportunities from people there as well. So, it is definitely quite different styles, but it's everything I ever hoped it would be. I love learning, and I think if you think you are where you need to be, being complacent is the worst thing in the world. You always need to elevate. Wrestling is evolving always, and I feel like you just need to always be working on yourself.
Mike Johnson: Since you won the WOW Women of Wrestling Championship in the Gauntlet match, we've seen you defend the title against Leia Makoa. Obviously there's a number of women who are potential challengers in the future for you, thoughts on who you think might be your biggest threat for the championship or maybe perhaps who you're looking forward to stepping into the Ring on future episodes of WOW Women of Wrestling.
Penelope Pink: Yeah, absolutely. Our roster's very deep. It's very diverse. But I like to say that when I step in the ring, my toughest opponent is myself because it's you versus yourself in there. Now everyone's going to bring a different style, high-flying ground and pound, but you have to be ready no matter what. It's a mental game. So yes, there are many women, many different styles that I will enjoy getting in the ring. But at the same time, it's me versus myself always, and I think that's your toughest opponent.
Mike Johnson: Someone who's a Hall of Famer, by any definition of the book is AJ Mendez, who's very involved with WOW behind the scenes as well as doing commentary. What has it been like kind of tapping into her brain and learning from her experiences in professional wrestling?
Penelope Pink: Oh my gosh, she has been such an amazing person to have behind the scenes and at commentary. She always is wanting us to be true to ourselves and going out there and being proud of your performance and always elevating yourself, putting yourself on the platform you think you deserve. And honestly, I absolutely love going out there and every time I walk that entrance way, she's standing there and like you said, she's the Hall of Famer. So, it's a constant reminder of the fact that women's wrestling has evolved so much. And to have somebody who has seen so much history and to get that feedback and you to get those words of encouragement means the absolute world to all of us at WOW.
Mike Johnson: Penelope, I know we're starting to run out of our time. Why should they make sure this weekend they're checking out the latest episode of WOW with the eight Woman Tag Team match?
Penelope Pink: Because you'll see yours truly Penelope Pink, the WOW World Champion, and my fabulous four send the Island Dynasty packing. We are the best thing that WOW's ever seen, and we're going to show the worldwide as well as David McLane, so don't miss it.
For more on where you can find WOW, visit their website at WOWE.com.
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