Reality of Wrestling star AQA talks training with Booker T and more!

PC: You got the opportunity to have a lengthy rivalry with Hyan that culminated in a Steel Cage Match where you hit a Shooting Star Press for the win. What was that feud and that final moment like? 

AQA: It was amazing. I learned so much from that rivalry. Honestly, the reason why you’re talking to me today is because of that rivalry. She pushed me so much. She understood, ‘okay, you’re new.’

‘Cause I think my third match with her, no it was my third match ever, but it was my first match with her. It was for the championship. She understood, ‘you’re young. You’re a rookie. You’re green. You need help.’ But she also understood, ‘you’re being put in this spot for a reason, and I’m gonna push you and I’m not gonna allow you to doubt yourself.’

And so it pushed me to help with my wrestling. It helped me with my promos. It helped me with my character, and it overall made me a better performer. Like, I’m still learning. I’ve still got a long way to go, but it taught me how to be in a feud with someone. It taught me how to get my timing right, when to say something back when someone say saying something. It was just great.

And the match itself, I think that was one of my most favorite moments. It was a very emotional moment for us both at the end of the day when we came back. When we came backstage after the match, we had a standing ovation. Everyone was clapping for us. It was just an emotional moment for me.

And for her, I think it was her last ROW match before she went to Japan. And then for me, it was just—I feel like at that moment I finally started to understand the things that I was being taught and the things I was being told by everyone in that one match. I learned how to play to the crowd, and I learned how to play with my character a little bit.

PC: Reality of Wrestling has hosted several Ladies Night Out events. What was the experience like being a part of those shows with so many female talents from all over the US? 

AQA: That has been fun too. I got to meet so many other different competitors. And the thing is, there’s not a lot of girls that were training at Reality of Wrestling at the time. When I first got there, everyone, they were leaving, or their careers were starting to take off. So they weren’t at Reality of Wrestling anymore.

And so when the Ladies Night Out [event] came, I got a different perspective. I got it from a female talent instead of a male talent. There was a time where, if I was going through something, they can relate because they’re like, ‘oh, this is what happened to me when I first started too. And then you learn different moves and things in a different way.

Even with—our last match was me, Hyan, Su Yung, and Tessa Blanchard. Like, just the way that she thinks and the way that Su things and the way they come up with things. It’s like, wow. That’s just such a different perspective from what I’m used to.

And then I get to meet the women I may compete against one day, and I get to see the women I already have competed against again. It’s just great. It’s just a really great culture and a really great thing to be around all that. That environment is great to be around.

PC: You got to be a part of a joint event back in January with ROW and RISE Wrestling, and you were offered a spot on the RISE and Shimmer rosters that night. Did you know that was going to happen? 

AQA: I didn’t know in that moment, but when I tried to walk away, Saraya Knight, she grabbed me. And she’s like, ‘stay, just stay in the ring with me.’ And I’m like, I know we gotta get out of here. The bell’s already rung. It’s a live show, so we probably need to hit our cues and get out. She kept pulling me every time I’d try to walk away, and then Booker’s music hit.

And something in my head was like, ‘something’s going on, but I’m not sure what it is. So it was one of those like 50/50 things going on. But when he announced—both RISE and Shimmer announced that they wanted me to be on their roster, it was just one of those mind-blowing moments. Because around that time, I had only been in… yeah, it was only a year I had been in [the business]. It was just surreal. Like, is this really happening to me right now?

But for them to say that they wanted me, and have that faith and trust in me when I had only been working maybe—I had maybe like 12 or 14 matches I think, up and to that point. So, it was just really great for me, and it gave me a boost of confidence. Not in a cocky way, but just in a way like, ‘okay, you made the right decision.’

Because I was doubting myself a lot going into that show. I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to make it, because I had to go back to Troy University to finish up the spring semester. So I was having doubts. I was like, ‘oh, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do this.’ And then that moment happened, and I was like, ‘okay, I know I’m doing the right thing.’

PC: Earlier this year you got to be a part of Shimmer Weekend just before WrestleMania 35. What was that experience like?

AQA: That was pretty wild. I did not know that the Chicago crowds were that wild. The Chicago crowds were amazing. And also, it was another learning experience. It was just a way I got to sit back and watch everyone do their own thing. I got to watch some of the girls in the back call their matches, see how their psychology is. And like one girl would do something, then she’d be like, ‘oh no, let’s do this because this is how it’ll work better.’ And then it would ring in my head like, ‘oh yeah, that does make more sense.’

Like, they were trying to tell stories. Like you know you watch other types of wrestling and it’s just like, spot here, spot here, spot there. But with the girls in RISE and Shimmer, they were all like trying to make a story. ‘When we do this, we need to play to the crowd. When this happens, you need to react this way.’ And just sitting there and listening to it, it was just amazing. I cannot tell you how much I learned, but I do have a notebook full of notes. I can tell you that.