Former MMA fighter & Mae Young Classic competitor Zeda, was recently interviewed by the South China Morning Post. During the interview, Zeda went in-depth about her journey to the WWE & what it was like to finally make her appearance in the Mae Young Classic tournament.
Check out what she had to say:
Her Journey To The WWE:
“I’ve always been unsure of where I was supposed to be. I didn’t fit in because of the fact I was Chinese but I wasn’t American enough to fit in either. I was just floating in the middle. It was a complete accident. I never planned on getting into MMA, I just wasn’t living in the safest place at the time, I did it for protection and it worked out. I’ve been really lucky to have learned from those guys and be with those coaches. It helped my skill level within MMA, which helped me to think on a more technical level. MMA is the only sport I had ever really done, it if wasn’t for that, it would have taken a lot longer to learn something completely foreign like professional wrestling. Some of the moves are very similar, there are certain moves I feel like I’ve been able to pick up, also some I’m able to put a twist on with my own style because of that background.”
The Mae Young Classic:
“It flew by really fast. It feels like we were preparing for a month and a half and before you know it, we’re rushing through getting everything done; all the media stuff, all within a few days. I was standing in the back, my music comes on and I’m like: ‘OK, time to go’. I guess I was just expecting myself to be nervous, but that just never happened. Before I could even process what was going on, the match was over, it just ended and I was like, ‘Wow, that was a lot of fun’. Shayna had more experience than me, her MMA background and my MMA background really meshed well, it was a really well-planned first match. I was able to do what I’m familiar with rather than trying to do pro wrestling stuff I’m still not too familiar with yet. I’m happy I got the opportunity. Although some performers say they hate doing television, I feel like I enjoy it more than live shows because I enjoy that anxious feeling you get when you’re preparing for something so big. I want to be able to be on NXT television on a regular basis and be on there longer. That would be the next short term goal.”
