Uncensored and Uncut with NWA World Womens Champ Tasha Simone

Q: First off Tasha thanks for taking time out to sit down with me. Tell me what the 3 time NWA Womens Champ has been up to lately?

Thank you for having me, but seriously dude, I’m the NWA Women’s World Champ and it has taken you almost seven months into my third title reign to interview me. There may be a piledriver in your near future.

As to what I have been up to lately… Quite frankly I am offended by the lack of competition we currently host in the NWA Women’s Division, so I have been begging for an opponent to step up and challenge me, because I am currently being subjected to destroying male opponents. I accept all challengers. I am, afterall, a fighting champion. This belt means nothing if it isn’t defended, and I am the first woman in many years to consistently defend it at least once every 30 days, and will continue to do so against anyone who thinks they are tough enough to take my belt.

In the meantime, until a worthy opponent steps up to the plate, I not only manage the careers of my pet wolves, Arrick “The Dragon” Andrews, The NWA Top Rope Tennessee Heavyweight Champ, and “The Real Deal” Derek Neal; these men are also the current NWA Top Rope Southern Tag Champs, collectively, the three of us are known as Simply Perfection. I have guided both of these men to title matches with the likes of Shaun Tempers and Kevin Douglas, and I will continue to guide their careers to the top of the NWA ladder, both as singles competitors and as a tag team as well.

I spend my non ring time, training at the gym, working as an agent for Andrews and Neal, making the best ring gear that money can buy, and of course cohosting the To Be Determined show, which is an internet radio show every Wednesday night on www.TNT-radio.net, and of course I do other radio programs when invited. I use my airtime to educate young wrestlers and fans alike on the history of our craft. Afterall, if we aren’t aware of our history, we can never move forward. I encourage everyone to tune in to TBD on Wednesday nights at 9:00PM CST, for a much needed eduation, however, listeners need to be advised, my warning label reads: HIGHLY VOLATILE WHEN EXPOSED TO THOSE FLUENT IN STUPIDITY.
Q: Is there anyone man or woman out there that you would like to lock horns with

I would love to challenge the World Jr Champ Kevin Douglas. I respect him as a fellow wrestler, and I think we would have a fantastic match. As to women, the only women out there I would love to sink my teeth into a match with, that I truly have respect for as competitors, here in the states, is Sara Del Ray and Mercedes Martinez. I have seen the skill of both ladies and I feel either pairing would be match of the year quality for sure.
Q: You were trained by “Gentleman” Chris Adams. Describe what that was like and what kind of trainer and person was he.

Let me make very clear to everyone, I will not defend nor will I judge Chris Adams’s character as a person. Chris was good to me, he treated me with respect and he trained me to be a respectful wrestler, well versed in many styles. I am very comfortable saying Chris Adams was my friend. The demons he had were his to bear, not mine, and the loss of his life was a tragedy, albeit, somewhat of his own making.

Chris, along with James Beard took me and molded me into the machine I am now, and they did so by beating my ass every single training session, tying me up in hold after hold, and making sure I respected my craft. Neither man looked at me as a woman while I was being trained. I trained with men, I was never babied, and I was held to a higher level of expectation than my male counter parts. I certainly wasn’t trained like a “girl”, and I believe as I was taught: There are males and females who put on gear and climb in the ring, but real wrestlers are gender neutral. When I step through the ropes you can be guaranteed of a few things due to my training. 1) I won’t be choreographing my match, because I know how to wrestle. 2) I am not a diva and you won’t be seeing bra and panty bullshit from me. 3) When you leave the venue, there will be no doubt in your mind why I am feared by many and respected by all, and most definitely why my hispanic fans call me Reyna del Piledriver.

I also want to add, although Chris Adams and James Beard get the formal credit for my training, it would be rude and completely disrespectful to give a very loud mention to several other veterans who assisted in molding me into the wrestler I now am. The list of vets who taught me so much includes “Flamboyant” Eric Embry, “Iceman” King Parsons, General Skandar Akbar, Bronko Lubich, Bull Pain, and so many more. I would like to pass this advice to any young wrestler who truly respects wrestling: Respect your elders, if they are willing to take the time to talk to you and give you advice, don’t look at them as bitter, look at them as those who have paved the way to get in the ring. When they offer advice, it is because they see potential in you, and you need to keep your mouth shut, listen and then say thank you, because they could just as easily not give you the time of day.

Q: I recently did an interview with a guy you helped train in “The Mempho Mofo” Mark Bravura. How was Mofo to train?

You have to understand, I am a “wrestling mom” to many of the guys in the locker room. I am very proud to call Mark one of my wrestling children. He was a complete joy to train. No matter what I did to him, he never complained, and I gave him plenty of reasons to complain, including tapping him out frequently and if memory serves me correctly, he even passed out due to certain holds occassionally. I must stress again, he NEVER complained, he only asked what he could do to get better.
Did you know right away he had that so called it factor?

When training someone, there are certain key factors to knowing if they belong in the ring or not. Mark exhibited all of those factors from the first time he shook my hand; hunger and desire to learn and improve, no fear of hearing constructive criticism and most importantly respect.
Who are some of the other notable stars you have trained? I believe the most notable for the current wrestling fan base would be Kevin Fertig, aka Mordecai/Kevin Thorne. I can not take credit for all of his training, but I can certainly take credit for a great deal of it. Another name, fans may be familiar with is former NWA Women’s Champ, Christie Ricci, trained by LeiLani Kai originally, but then polished and seasoned a great deal by me. Former NWA Women’s Champ Tiffany Roxx has also learned a bit from me in recent months as well.

Q: You have always been adamant about being a pro wrestler first and foremost. What is your opinion on the state of todays wrestling?

Apparently you want to see my controversial side.

Let me start by saying, pro wrestling is too accessible these days. Anyone with a credit card and internet access can purchase a ring, gear, even a belt, it does not make them an instant wrestler. Furthermore, wrestling training centers are like the fast food industry, you can find a training center on every corner, it doesn’t mean that it is reputable though.

Now then, to the actual state of wrestling…

The state of wrestling in general and women’s wrestling in particular is very heart breaking, and at times causes seriously large amounts of vomit to rise to my mouth. In this Vince McMahon era of “Sports Entertainment”, and yard tard hell, so many who climb in the ring want to be entertainers, few want to be wrestlers. Very few men and women are taught true wrestling skills and they are kicked out in a cookie cutter type assembly line, all looking the same with the same choreographed, robotic matches week after week, obviously rehearsed for hours because they were never taught what is on the marquis: WRESTLING. It is heartbreaking to say the United States is a country that does not respect wrestling as a sport at all, and we have our selves to blame for not staying true to our sport. I can tell you it is always refreshing to go to countries such as Mexico where wrestlers are still given the respect they deserve.

Wrestlers and fans alike need to remember there is a huge difference in being a wrestler with a gimmick and having a to have a gimmick because you can’t wrestle. I speak with fans via email, twitter and facebook daily and I can tell you there are many fans tired of the soap opera crap they are fed on television, they want to see real wrestling like they grew up with, men such as Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Bruiser Brody, getting in the ring beating the hell out of each other, someone they could both admire and fear at the same time.
What do you think it would take to get back to the way wrestling used to be in the days of Mid Atlantic wrestling?

How long do you have? I am about to climb on my soapbox now….

My male counterparts need to quit being spot monkeys and get back to some crowbar potato wrestling, and my the females need to learn to wrestle or stay the hell out of my ring. Promoters need to stop booking yard tards, and five dollar wrestlers, they need to check the credentials of the so called talent they book and quit cheating their fans, and offending the few quality wrestlers they have in the locker room. If promoters aren’t drawing houses, they should look to their locker room first. If the men and women that compromise your roster, look just like the 20 fans that buy a ticket, ding, ding, ding… there is part of your problem. Furthermore, wrestlers need to learn their craft, go to the gym, learn ring and locker room etiquette, get real gear, don’t insult our wrestling forefathers by wearing jeans and tshirts to the ring because you are either too cheap to buy gear, too lazy to go to the gym and work the fat off, or both.

Q: What is your opinion on the so called Divas or Knockouts in WWE and TNA?

A woman who feels being called a Diva or a Knockout is respectful then you don’t belong in the business. No matter what anyone says, we will always be women in a man’s world, and we have the choice to earn respect, or continue to be treated as untalented fluff, which by the way, is exactly what the majority of females working for WWE and TNA are. There is no shame in a woman wanting to be a swimsuit model, or wanting to pose in Playboy if that is how they find their self worth, however, there is no place for that in a wrestling ring. With a couple of exceptions, were any of these females put in a match with a well trained woman, in a match that was not heavily scripted and choreographed, well controlled, and rehearsed matches they would be injured, quickly and in some cases without remorse. The majority of these women are not contracted for their in ring skill, but rather because creative needed play toys. To top it off, they use the women who are talented, and have healthy body images and use to them to push the models and playmates up the ladder. Those women, in my opinion are sellouts. Yes, they have nice fat checks deposited into their bank accounts, but what they are sacrificing is worth so much more. They are sacrificing their craft, which so many men and women over the years have, bled, sweat, and cried for, for a pay check, and when they are no longer on television, the will be subjected to being “indy” wrestlers, basically continuing to whore themselves out for the almighty dollar or even worse, raping stupid promoters for a high price tag, they can’t possibly draw a house to cover.

On a bit more feminist side, the body image WWE and TNA try to project from their women’s division is unrealistic. I detest seeing fat people who are simply fat due to laziness, but I also detest seeing women who are underweight because of an image ignorant men are pushing on them. A woman looks much more attractive when she is healthy and physically fit, because she goes to the gym and lives a healthy lifestyle, than when she has to starve herself to fit into an unrealistic image created by men. Whether any of us want to be role models or not, we need to remember, there are young people who look to us to set an example. We need to realize, we need to teach our young women they do not have to starve themselves to be considered attractive, but we also need to help them understand obesity leads to other health problems.

Q: Lastly what advice would you give to someone looking to break into pro wrestlinge go.

Professional Wrestling owes you nothing as a wrestler, we as wrestlers, owe the business our respect, dedication, blood, sweat and tears. We have to uphold the standards the vets before us set as they were paving the road we now walk.

If you want to be an entertainer, go to Hollywood and become a member of the SAG, but if you want to be a wrestler, prepare your body by going to the gym, be in the best physical shape possible and find a reputable trainer. Do not just walk into a “wrestling school” and throw them your money. Look at their product, do some research before giving your money away, and if they tell you that you will have your first match in a month or two, run the other way. Wrestling is not easy, if it was, everyone would be wrestling, and no one would be left to purchase tickets. If you try and don’t succeed, there is no shame in just being a fan. We need great fans just like we need great wrestlers.
If you are that guy or gal though… You know that guy or gal that just wants the fast track into the ring so you can pretend you are a wrestler when in fact you are just a mark… then remember, somewhere down the line, you will run into me, I am very protective of this business I love and have given so much to, and I will be forced to show in a very painful manner, the door right out of my ring.

Love, Peace and Pain,

Tasha Simone, 3 Time NWA Women’s World Champ