On this week’s “The Sessions,” AJ Mendez spoke about getting connected to WOW Wrestling, her thoughts on Serena Deeb, giving her notice to Vince McMahon, and what she feels she brings to WOW.
AJ talking about how she got connected with WOW Wrestling:
“It came about because the last two or three years I’ve been working on getting into film and television writing, which is my initial focus in school,” she said.
“I went to NYU film school for writing and production. I couldn’t afford school, got kicked out, and ended up going to my passion, my love, which was wrestling. When I retired from that, I started a production company.”
“Through that process of being a producer and a writer and a wrestler, it seemed like the perfect fit when WOW was looking for that person, which was a woman who knew wrestling and also knew how to write and produce.”
“I talked to Jeanie Buss who’s the owner of the Lakers. She explained that she was the owner of WOW and the executive producer. She was very open-hearted and open-minded for me to share this title with her and for me to bring my expertise in both areas. It felt like the most perfect fit of what I do now versus where I’ve been.”
“I’ve never forgotten where I came from. I’m just not bumping. So it was the easiest way to combine those two loves and see what the next generation is doing.”
AJ talking about Serena Deeb:
“I’ve been watching some AEW. I’ve got to say, I love so many people on the roster. I think the best wrestler they have is Serena Deeb,” AJ revealed.
“Serena and I go way back. I was in FCW and I was the first indie female they had signed in like a decade or something. It was this huge deal. I only had two years of experience. When she came in, it was like I was drowning and this wonderful person came in to save me. She was an indie wrestler that had a lot of experience. She was so good and she taught me so much in a very short period of time and then got injured, and then I had to step up and be the locker room leader.”
“All I did was just mimic what she taught me. It made me a better wrestler. I honestly credit her teaching me and then passing that torch to me for me becoming a good wrestler, and everything else that happened afterwards success wise. So she’s the beginning of a chapter for me and to see her shine now is amazing.”
On her giving her notice to Vince McMahon:
“He was very kind. He was like, ‘The door’s always open if you want to come back.'”
“I know it’s different for some people, but to me it was so important to go out on top on my own terms. You go back and there’s a lot of people who get buried there at the end. It just felt like it was the right time and the right way. I couldn’t do anything else. There wasn’t anything else I wanted in my career. I feel like I checked everything off.”
AJ on what she feels she is bringing to WOW:
“I feel where I’ve put my biggest fingerprint on the program is the inclusivity factor and bringing stuff up to date, like modern wrestling, but also just like modern television,” Mendez said.
“We all want to feel represented and how we don’t want to be caricatures of a culture, or a type of woman, or a job. You want it to be more relatable but still keep that vision that David McLane has of this sort of GLOW spin off. So it’s still fun. It’s still wholesome in a way that families can watch together, but in a way that feels a little bit more modern.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit “The Sessions with Renée Paquette” with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
