Impact Wrestling’s Sienna, who is the present GFW Women's Champion, has wrestled all over the world and was a part of Impact Wrestling’s historic live tapings in India recently. In this interview, she speaks about her experience wrestling in India, her future goals in Impact Wrestling and her journey in wrestling which has taken her to all corners of the world.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
RN: How has it been in India with Impact Wrestling?
Sienna: It’s been fun – a fun experience. The hardest thing so far has been jet lag. I’ve been to a lot of countries, but this has been the longest flight I’ve ever been on.
RN: Has there been any place in India that you have visited that you’ve enjoyed, or has it been a lot of travelling?
S: We did see the Gateway of India – we did that. We saw a few things around town and checked out a few places. I’m glad that we got to explore a little bit.
RN: Over the course of the two days [of taping] what was your impression of the crowd in the venue?
S: The crowd was really live. It was loud, they were very interactive, they seemed very passionate and excited for us to be here, and that was what I was hoping for. live. It was loud, they were very interactive, they seemed very passionate and excited for us to be here, and that was what I was hoping for.
RN: Did it come as a surprise to you – the type of reaction that you got?
S: I wouldn’t say surprised, but I was happy about it. I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but it was great to see.
RN: How has your experience in wrestling in India and in front of an Indian crowd been for you?
S: It’s been a lot of fun; it’s definitely been different than any experience I’ve ever had. This is the hottest country I’ve been to and humid, so that’s different, too. I know when I wrestled in Mexico, the big difference was the altitude, so it’s harder when you’re in the ring – that’s not something that you fully understand when you’re in the ring, and that’s too late.
So here [in India] we did not have that problem in the building, but getting to the venue and adjusting to the climate, and the food, and making sure you don’t get sick is an extra challenge on top of [facing] your opponent.
RN: Has there been any particular food that you’ve tried out here you liked a little more than the other?
S: Yes, but I cannot remember the names. But I’ve been eating mostly vegetarian and vegan since I’ve been here. I haven’t eaten any meat – chicken or anything; I do that back home, too, where I will have just vegetarian or vegan.
RN: What are your future goals that you have in Impact which you haven’t achieved and which you would love to achieve?
S: That’s a good question. I won the Knockouts Championship within the first few months that I was signed with the company. A lot of times people chase that for years, and that’s their goal. I want to bring the best wrestling to television, to this product. I know people think that there is this women’s revolution going on – and there is, to an extent – but I think there’s so much more to do, and I think that Impact has a little more... room to explore that than some other places do.
I think we have fewer limitations, fewer restrictions and they are definitely cool with us being ourselves. We have an opportunity to take this, the highest it could go; we can take this to the next level – not just for women’s wrestling, but all of wrestling. wrestling.
RN: Amongst the women, specifically, do you feel you’ve always had a creative freedom like you’ve mentioned; or has it been only in the last few years?
S: Impact Wrestling has definitely been supportive, and they’ve provided it. We filmed things that weren’t originally their idea, and we come up with it, and show them that it will work and they believe it. We showed them the vision, and they get behind it and trust you.
In general, I feel I’ve always had that. That’s always been the part that I loved about wrestling –the stories. A lot of the things that I did with Shine Wrestling – which is a promotion in Tampa, Florida – a lot of the storylines I’ve done there were me and my opponent brainstorming. A lot of the feuds that fans say are their favourites were me and my opponents or promoter brainstorming.
RN: What would you say is the difference between working in an all women's wrestling promotion like Shine Wrestling compared to Impact Wrestling, which is a mix of both?
S: I think being on TV is definitely the hardest. In independent wrestling, they tell you, “you have 10-15 minutes, do whatever you want.” It is open, that I know that I can do many things and no one is going to care. I think that Impact has fewer restrictions than a lot of places but the indies, especially the ones that I worked for had even less because it’s not on television, so they don’t have a network telling you, “you can’t do this”, to a certain extent.
Getting back to your question, sometimes I think that all women’s promotions are more difficult than other places because a lot of girls – not in Impact but wrestling in general – will rely on just being the girls on the show. So you’re already different than the rest of the card because you’re girls. A lot of times shows only have one women’s match, if any.match, if any.
Not many have more than one [match]. When you’re the only women's match, you have more room to do – even if you do the same thing that some guy did, it’s different because they’re girls and it’s different. In women’s promotions, you don’t have that as much; you’re all women here, you can’t rely on that, and you actually have to be good.
RN: So you have a bigger chip on your shoulder...
S: Yeah, not only a chip on your shoulders, but you can’t rely on the fact that because I’m a girl, I can’t use my looks or sex appeal for this match to be interesting. Everyone has that, so what’s going to make you stand out now, not just the fact that you're a woman.
RN: Over the past couple of days I’ve noticed that what stands out about you is your presence over others. What would you say about presence in pro wrestling – in men’s or women’s wrestling?
S: Firstly, thank you. Presence is everything [in pro wrestling]. Presence is going to make you or break you. I remember when I was training, my trainer told our class that you either have Firstly, thank you. Presence is everything [in pro wrestling]. Presence is going to make you or break you.
I remember when I was training, my trainer told our class that you either have a presence or don’t. I was devastated when he said that – because I never had my first match at that point – and I thought to myself, “what if I don’t have it? That’s just it? There’s nothing I can do about it?” And I don’t fully agree with that now that I’ve been around for a while.
I don’t fully agree that you can’t work on it, but I do understand what he meant by “either have it, or you don’t.” It’s that ‘it’ factor – I’m not saying I necessarily have that. But I think whatever you’re feeling when you’re walking out for your entrance, the fans are going to feel it. Even if you think you’re projecting confidence if you’re not confident – we’re all human – so we pick up on that and sense it.
Some people think that you can’t and are in their bubble of what they see and what they hear, but humans can feel it. If you walk out and are confident and exude that, people can pick up on that and that gives you presence.
RN: You wrestled in Japan before. Which were some of the places you wrestled there?
S: In Japan, I primarily worked for Diana, that’s where I lived for three months in their Dojo. I worked for the promotion Sendai Girls, Reina and Zero1.
RN: Who were your wrestling influences while growing up?
S: I had a lot of random favourites. It’s hard to say because who I liked as a kid doesn’t necessarily translate to who I am today now. You pick up a little something from everyone you enjoyed watching. But, I feel that now, a lot of who inspires me, especially watching back, is Stone Cold. I started joking that I was Stone Cold because I had a knee brace at one time and I told myself that now I needed to get another one; and started doing the middle fingers with my little finger.
RN: … was there any replacement for the beer?
S: No, beer (laughs). Maybe whisky. Actually, in Shine Wrestling in Tampa, I would do that. I’d grab a beer and imitate Stone Cold... it was just fun. If I was ever going to be a babyface, that’s the babyface I’d be. I wouldn’t change who I am – I would still be mean and still be ruthless and aggressive, but it would be with the fans instead of against them.
RN: Sienna thanks for the interview. It’s been a pleasure!
S: Thank You!
Send us news tips at [email protected]
