During a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Leva Bates commented on her AEW hiring, why she was surprised, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On her audition video: “I was just kind of doing it for the fun of it. So yeah that was really just one of those, ‘Oh my god it really worked [situations]!’ I mean obviously I did have an intentions on wanting to be with AEW. Out of all of the companies that was my number one spot I really wanted to be at. It fits me and my personality and I feel like this company is where I belong so I took a chance. But yeah, no, there was no talk of me being within the company at all. It was one of those like, ‘Okay, I’ll just try it.’ And then I literally thought it was going to be like, ‘Oh, cool yeah a little bit of PR. I’m moving forward,’ and then when it actually panned through I was beyond shocked and over-ecstatic. It was definitely a moment where I didn’t expect when I got that call.”
On the crowd response to the gimmick: “It actually went through a roller coaster. People were super excited, especially at Double or Nothing [in a backstage segment] they were super happy about it. But then in the flesh they weren’t sure what to think of it because if you look at it I’m a super good guy and Peter is not. So it’s a very interesting dichotomy and I don’t think people gave, at the second, a chance to really let it build and grow. Because I felt like Peter and I are a wonderful, odd couple team. We gel really well with each other but we both have different personality traits. So I don’t think people knew how to handle it since everyone, especially at Daytona, everyone knows me as the super gamer girl, super nerd cosplayer so I’m coming out not necessarily in that form.”
On adding Easter Eggs to the gimmick: “So I’m the queen of adding Easter eggs, so I’m already doing that. If you look at the books I’m adding, I’ll have books that are either relevant to the show, to the opponent…. which kind of satiates that creative that need I had when I was doing cosplay. I’m going to still have those hidden little gems in there for people to be like, ‘Wait, I get that! Oh, I see that!’ But it’s not going to be putting it in your face because I definitely am enjoying and loving this character that I really want to sink my teeth into and the relationship between me and Peter, and us in AEW and our spot in AEW and what we could bring.”
