Trinity officially made her debut with Impact Wrestling on Thursday night’s episode of IMPACT! on AXS TV.
Speaking to Forbes, the former Naomi opined on her time in Impact Wrestling so far, Jade Cargill reaching out to her for advice, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On her first impression of Impact Wrestling since joining: “Very, very impressed, very welcoming and just the way that I was treated coming in and the way the talent it’s handled. The way you can have a lot of say so, and a lot of control, how open they are to just the talent’s creativity and ideas. That was really, really cool to see.”
On who she’s looking to work with: “Every last one of them. Every last one of them. Miss Giselle Shaw got a little attitude problem, and I don’t mind checking her. Definitely Deonna [Purrazzo], I think she’s an incredible champion. Jordynne Grace, she’s just so like—just freaking strong and badass. I feel that everyone has such a different style, and I’ll be able to learn differently in different ways, working with all of the different styles and talent and women there. And I think they’re gonna bring me up a lot in my matches and help me to become a better in-ring competitor. I really believe that. And I’m just really excited for this journey. The sky is the limit right now. And we’ll see. I’m very excited. I’m anxious, I’m nervous, but in a good way. In all the right ways, you know? They have a lot of faith in me and that makes me want to really give it my all and show up for them.”
On competing in her first match in a year: “I was a nervous, nervous wreck (laughs), but having my girls there talking to me. Bayley couldn’t be there, but just having conversations with her on FaceTime, having Tamina there, Mercedes of course. They really helped me get through that first one.
“The first one was the most nerve-wracking because I felt that I was setting the tone. And so my sisters—just having that support there and reassurance it was cool. And that day, that weekend, those moments will like stick with me forever. And then have Kalisto come in to support me and then CM Punk showed up, that was cool. I got to talk to him briefly and he was there to watch and support. So all that just meant so much to me. The doubt that I had and the fear; having all of them there for me just made me be like ‘forget all of that. They’re here for you and they’re here for a reason.’ It’s because they support and believe in me. So show up. Don’t be scared and go out there and do it. And that’s what I did and I’m so happy I did.”
On her friendship with Mercedes Mone: “Yeah, we’ve always been close and had a great working relationship, but definitely have drawn closer over the years and definitely even closer with this experience because really we just had each other through this whole ordeal. And I truly, deeply, deeply love her with all of my heart. She is one of the most loving, caring, giving people. And she’s just had my back through this entire thing and it’s just very unfortunate. The narratives and the picture that’s been painted towards her and about her. And that’s something I really, really hate. But she’s strong. She’s a very strong, bright, smart woman and she’s still so young. She’s only 30.
“She’s this little tiny woman, still very young, still has so much to prove and in her career. But I just, I admire her strength. And just to be so young and to know who you are, and what you want and where you wanna go and where you wanna be and to not apologize for that. I really love that about her. And I’m gonna always be here for her. Always. And vice versa.”
On the biggest misconceptions about her and Mone in terms of online criticism: “I don’t ever wanna come off as angry, as bitter and mad. I don’t feel any of that, you know? I mean, it was just a bad situation, crazy, crazy, crazy situation with a lot of layers to it. But I love WWE. I’m thankful for all the amazing years that I’ve been there, what they’ve given me, what they’ve given to my family, what career I’ve had. I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now without that foundation and what I’ve been able to do with them and being there. But sometimes there’s hiccups with the business and there’s issues and problems and everything just came to a head, and sadly we had to deal with it publicly. I wish it was something that could have just been handled and taken care of privately. But I definitely think a lot will good will come from the situation and has been coming out of it. I do feel good with where I am right now.”
On how she took control of her mental health amid the criticism: “Definitely, definitely support. Having a good support system around me. Just talking through it with my parents, my husband, and really just taking a step back and taking the time to figure out what I wanted and what was best. And having Mercedes there going through it with me. I didn’t feel so alone, you know? Timing is everything. It just took time. I just needed time.
“Also when all that happened, I had an injury. So also like leaving my job and then dealing with an injury and then being just so much, all the hatred that was being spewed towards me, just dealing with all of that at one time. It was a lot. But I think definitely the injury added even more stress on top of me. Like, not knowing if my body, my shoulder was gonna be able to function again. I had shoulder surgery shortly after that and had been working through a torn labrum. So I had been wrestling on that for quite some time. But then that was very scary, just going through the rehab and all of that by myself. And not knowing if I was even gonna be able to hold up and wrestle again. It was a lot.”
On her relationship with Jade Cargill: “When everything happened, Jade was the first person to just reach out to me. I don’t remember specifically, but the gist of it was ‘I know it feels like your whole world is crumbling apart right now, but you’re gonna be okay and I’m here for you.’ And that’s really what just really touched me, and that that meant everything to me. That someone I don’t even share locker room with thought enough for me to just reach out and say that. So that kind of developed our relationship and friendship. And I have family in Atlanta. She’s up in Atlanta, so that’s kind of how all that began. She’s just really so cool, so nice, so sweet. Very passionate about wrestling as well. And yeah, we’ve had some cool hangout moments and definitely will have more. I think she’s dope and I’m inspired by her journey and what she’s doing as well. So yeah, Jade, I consider her to be a friend.”