Interview: Kacy Catanzaro on Transitioning to Wrestling, MYC, HHH’s Outlook

ESPN held a recent interview with Mae Young Classic competitor Kacy Catanzaro discussing her transition into a wrestling career, competing in this year’s Mae Young Classic tournament, and Triple H’s outlook for her WWE career.

On the topic of transitioning from American Ninja Warrior to professional wrestling, Catanzaro stated the hardest part has been adjusting to taking bumps and falls due to it going against her previous training experience.

There are so many things about wrestling… that your body has trained itself its whole life not to do. Everything that you do in a wrestling match is something that your body doesn’t want to do. Your body doesn’t want to take these huge falls or jump off the top of a ring, these things that you never thought that you would be doing. It’s been this really cool but difficult thing to train my body to learn all of the amazing aspects that this sports entertainment business is, but it’s been really hard.

On the topic of competing in this year’s Mae Young Classic tournament, Catanzaro praised Mae Young for her contributions towards women’s wrestling and feels excited to help contribute to WWE’s on-going Women’s Revolution.

Mae Young has been such a constant presence in this business for women. She didn’t care what anyone thought women could do, or that they didn’t want her in this spot or told her she couldn’t do that. She never let that get to her. She never let that get in her way. She didn’t accept it. She pushed it and broke through those ceilings. And Mae Young, along with a lot of other women, they sacrificed so much and everything that they have done has made me sitting here be possible because of what they endured and what they didn’t accept and because of all of the hardships that they went through. They did all of that and now I get to be here when there is this amazing women’s revolution and when we do get to be part of those main events that they didn’t get to. It’s amazing to see that process and be a part of it now and know that they paved the way for us and we, being here, get to blaze the path for the future women.

On the topic of Triple H’s outlook for her WWE career, Catanzaro said that Triple H’s belief of her becoming a big heel star is something she considers to be a very interesting idea for her career.

I remember that quote from Paul as well. Before I arrived here and I didn’t know much about it, people asked me if I would be a babyface and I was like “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be a face because I’m nice and Paul said to me, “I think I’m nice, but I made a lot of my career by being a heel”.

I think it would be really fun [to be a heel]. Honestly, for me, I feel like there’s so many times that you have those moments where that heel wants to come out of you in normal life, but you decide to be a good person so you don’t let it come out. I feel like I have those moments a lot, and I’ll know these are my two choices. I could flip out on this person or I could be the bigger person and walk away. Walking away is what I usually try and choose, but I think it would be fun to be in a situation where I could choose the other one and to be a little bit “heelish.”