Former WWE Women’s Champion Victoria recalls being kicked out of the locker room

It wasn't easy being a newcomer in the WWE locker room back in the day. Just ask former Women's Champion Victoria.

Victoria signed with the company back in 2002 and became one of the most well-known Divas on the roster at the time. However, it didn't start off in the best way.

The former WWE Women's Champion recently sat down with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston to discuss a wide variety of subjects. During the interview, Victoria revealed that she was kicked out of the locker room when she first got there because they didn't know she was a contracted talent:

"They didn’t know I was going to wrestling school," Victoria said. "When I went to the locker room – you know, I came back to the locker room after I was working in the ring, just grappling and stuff like that and introducing myself. I came back and my stuff was outside of the room. I was like, ‘Oh.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And someone said, ‘You know, this is for contracted girls only,’ and I go, 'Oh, okay.' I didn’t make eye contact, and I just took my bag. I go, ‘Okay, okay. I just signed a three-year deal, but that’s okay,’ and I got dressed in the janitors closet." [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]

The Miz was also kicked out of the WWE locker room early in his career

Before The Miz became a main event star, he was kicked out of the locker room too. The Miz told the story to The Baltimore Sun that he was kicked out for eating a piece of chicken over another wrestler's bag:

"I got kicked out for eating a piece of chicken over a guy's bag in the locker room, and I got kicked out for six months," The Miz said. "I had to find a place to shower, to use the restroom, to change. I've had it pretty rough in the WWE just because I'm an outsider, and WWE is kind of like a close-knit family or like a fraternity. Once you're an outsider trying to lurk in, they will haze you and haze you and try to see if you're up for the task or if you're just going to quit. I'm not a quitter. I'm more of a person that says bring it on."

It's clear that locker rooms in professional wrestling are much more welcoming now than they were back in the day. While some older wrestlers have taken issue with that, it has created a much more positive atmosphere for today's talent.