During a recent appearance on the “Bell to Belles” podcast, former WWE Superstar Mercedes Martinez commented on Doudrop’s recent work on RAW, why age and looks shouldn’t matter for women’s wrestlers, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the recent work of Doudrop: “There are so many females out there that can give the audience something different. The thing that I see on my TV now is Piper Niven, or ‘Doudrop’. You know, she’s a phenomenal wrestler! Have you seen her work? She is fantastic! I am glad to see her on TV, and she is putting in the work up there. She’s doing what she has to do to stay on TV, right? That’s how I look at it. As long as she’s enjoying it and stuff, it’s fine. I just think they should have kept her as Piper, and I get it, name changes, new characters, it’s part of the business. I get it. She is one of those that has a different appeal. Everyone has something for the fans. She has something that she’s giving to the fans, something different, and that’s where she is.”
On going beyond just physical looks for women wrestlers: “Everyone has something, and if they can just look beyond looks and sex appeal and just look at the wrestlers, everyone has got something. Everyone looks– they stick to a cookie-cutter, and not just WWE, every business. Every company: independents, national level, overseas, it doesn’t matter. You have to have that variety because then people can gravitate towards something, like, you know, if you’re sitting in a crowd, not everyone is the same. I’m not going to like what you like, and what I watch on wrestling, you may not like. And what you see in wrestling, I may not like, but we like the product. There’s got to be something for everybody, you’ve got to give them something. I think we still have a long way to go and I think it starts, pretty much, with putting those females in the power positions so we can change the landscape, and change it a little bit more. There’s just so many gaps, whether it’s the quality of wrestling, the timeframes, I think that’s a big issue. They don’t think we can deliver but we can. The ageism– age should never be a factor. If you can go, you can go, and if you can wrestle and you’re not injured, you’re fine.”
On how age or looks shouldn’t matter if you’re bringing in the crowds and money: “If you have the appeal and the crowd loves you or hates, and you’re bringing in the crowds, and bringing in the money, and, just, it shouldn’t matter. It really shouldn’t matter, like, yeah, I’m 40 years old and about to turn 41, but I can still go with the best of them and put out banger matches. My body feels great, as long as you take care of your body because you know this is your job. If you know this is your job, you treat it as a job. You fuel your body, you work out, you make sure you do what you’ve got to do for that longevity, you know? You take care of yourself, and as long as you do that, you can still go. When you can’t go, your body will tell you, but no company should tell you you cannot go because of your age.”
