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INSTINCT CULTURE BY DENISE SALCEDO INTERVIEWS FORMER WWE SUPERSTAR MELINA PEREZĀ
PRESS RELEASE- Los Angeles
INSTINCT CULTURE BY DENISE SALCEDO
Instinct Culture by Denise Salcedo had an in-depth interview with former WWE Superstar Melina Perez. During this conversation Melina opens up about her time in WWE, and the real feelings and emotions she went through from feeling that the people/fans disliked her to feeling isolated. She also shares her thoughts on the Womenās Evolution, whether or not she would return to WWE, thoughts on the future of the NWA, the Speaking Out Movement and more.
Below are some key highlights and quotes from the interview.
Melina Perez Opens Up About The Rumors That Circulated Around Her, How Kayfabe Caused Her To Feel Isolated and DepressedĀ
It was a weird time for me where saying my name was never a good thing. Itās also associated with the heel character and the rumors and all this stuff…because I was such a private person, people wanted to know about me, they were intrigued, but they didnāt see anything except the character. So rumors get created and all this stuff and I was raised to never talk about your personal life, and itās okay as long you know the truth which are all great things to say andĀ to believe in but the reality is if you donāt educate people on who you are they are left to believe whatever they want to believe. And 15 years later, I hope people see who I actually am as a person. But itās been tough. It was hard for me to show people who I was, I was raised like a ānormal life,ā family and friends, and to go from that to being the most hated person it was like, ‘where can I connect?’ I wanna hug people, I wanted my fans to be family and hug them and thank them but you have kayfabe and kayfabe is like no you canāt be nice to people and it was so isolating that it just became depressing for me. I couldnāt talk to anybody, I couldnāt show love. And I was just Melina the heel character. And sometimes my co-workers believed it too because I never talked, I was shyā¦. I couldnāt tell my family because I didnāt want them to worry, so in my mind it was all about the work, focus on the workā¦
Melina Perez Says That Throughout Her Career She Thought Everyone Hated Her And That She Wanted To Do More Charity Work In WWE But Her Heel Persona Got In The WayĀ
From the experience I had then, I thought āOh, my god everyone hates me,ā the depression happened more so because when I was a little kid I wanted to be a doctor, my heart was like I want to save the world, I want to help people…but when I felt like nothing I was doing was right, thatās the way I felt, I thought everybody hated me, that I wasnāt touching people lives, I wasnāt making a difference in this world. I wanted to be a part of charities, when I saw people doing all the charity stuff in WWE, I wanted to be a part of that but because I was a heel I couldnāt so it felt like I wasnāt doing anything… Years after when I started doing appearances everybody started telling me about how I touched their lifeā¦ and the stories I would hear were more about the strength that she {Melina character} had, the ability to stand up for what she believes in as well as the fashion and what not. It was just amazing and beautiful to see that. I thought okay, higher power God, whatever is out there, thank you for this because this is what I needed to know, what I needed to hear. Because when I got that championship I didnāt believe I was supposed{to have it}, I didnāt want it, I didnāt want it. Itās like I didnāt pay my dues yet, I didnāt have matches I wanted to yet, I am not on the level I believe I should be to have this honor. And then when they gave it to me anyway, I thought, I donāt deserve it but I am gonna fight and work my hardest to be able to live up to this standard.
Melina Perez Says She Knew She Would Never See A Change In The Womenās Division During Her Time w/ The CompanyĀ Ā
I feel we {WWE Divas} did a great job in the ring, of course there were moments when we did like a bra and panties match. I did one pudding match but that was one or two times out of a span of 6 years or 7 years and everybody wants to think that those 7 years were nothing but bra and panties matches when they werenāt. And everytime we {the women} got the opportunity to go out there and try our hardest, even if it was for 2 minutes, we did it…and everytime we went out there it was in hopes that one day weāll get an opportunity, we were trying to prove to them that we deserve an opportunity to do moreā¦ But I knew in my heart that I was never gonna see {the change}, I knew I was never gonna see it during my time but that didnāt mean that I wasnāt gonna try every single time I am there. It has to start somewhereā¦
Melina Perez Says If The Opportunity Came Along She Would Work With WWE AgainĀ
I always say everything will happen if itās meant to happen. If an opportunity shows up, of course, like who wouldn’t? But if thereās never an opportunity I am okay with that too, I am thankful for what Iāve been able to do, because I didnāt even think I would be able to do that. I never in my wildest dreams, ever thought that I would be on TV or that I would have a video game or an action figure, or be in magazines in England, Australia, Mexico and different parts of other countriesā¦ I never thought I could do that, that that would be me. So all this, I am happy, I am very grateful.
Melina Perez On The Future of The NWAĀ
…With one person{reference to David Lagana}, it doesnāt have to hit the whole entire company. Whatever everybody chooses, I stand behind it and I understand but I have faith and I know what NWA is capable of. I know that the fans will be supportive, that the wrestlers will be supportive. And as long as we all have each other thatās all that mattersā¦.
Interview Links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01hgbLA2VmkXUlT7AMYBK3
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/instinct-culture-by-denise-salcedo/id1524662392
Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/denise-salcedo
Social Media Links
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/denisesalcedo
Website: https://instinctculture.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_denisesalcedo