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Wrestling Veteran SoCal Val has revealed that Stephanie McMahon is one of the biggest inspirations behind her character.
The former announcer has been a part of the pro wrestling business for over 12 years. She is well known for her time with TNA, where she spent almost eight years in two stints.
Speaking to Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, SoCal Val revealed that her famous gimmick of a wealthy, petulant, ruthless villain was based on Stephanie McMahon, whom she admired a lot during her early days:
"Stephanie McMahon was the one for me. I was just like, 'wow! everyone hates her.' She was this villainous character and then I thought she dresses so well and she's very girly and she's kind of the boss. She's controversial and sassy and gets her own way and is spoiled. I just love that character so I kind of really fashioned SoCal Val around Stephanie McMahon. You sort of take different parts of other characters if you like and and roll them into your own character. But she, I would say above all else, was my personal favorite." (3:48-4:17)
Check out the complete interview below:
SoCal Val loved the love triangle storyline involving Stephanie McMahon, Kurt Angle and Triple H
The Love Triangle Storyline between Kurt Angle, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H was one of the most talked-about storylines from the attitude era.
Hunter and Kurt had a tremendous chemistry when they stepped inside the ring with each other, and with Vince McMahon's daughter added to the mix, it was one of the most enthralling feuds of the era.
SoCal revealed in the same interview that although she was not a wrestling fan growing up, the storyline between the trio attracted her to the business as she loved soap operas. She described herself as very girly growing up:
"I'm very, very girly," said SoCal. "Not that wrestling is totally just for boys, but it's a very male-dominated kind of thing and it's more sporty than I was ever used to. I was home-schooled, I never played sports, I don't watch sports. I have females in my family who weren't really interested in sports, they were more creative. We grew up around dance studios and things like that, so never got into sports."
Val went on to reveal that her sister introduced her to wrestling, which captured her imagination:
"So the fact that my sister was watching it, I was like, 'What is this? I don't get it' and then I got drawn into it because of the storylines and the soap operas. I loved the Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Stephanie McMahon storyline because it was like a love triangle. So for that reason, I got really interested," she added. (from 3:15 to 3:47)
SoCal Val was last seen inside the squared circle in January 2015, when she returned to take part in TNA's tour of the United Kingdom, resuming her former duties as a ring announcer.
Her last match came in 2012 when she took on Traci Brooks in a singles match.
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