WEBVTT 00:00:09.470 --> 00:00:13.289 Hello and welcome to another edition of Good 00:00:13.289 --> 00:00:18.070 News York. I am not here with Matt today. Matt, 00:00:18.070 --> 00:00:19.449 I don't know what Matt's doing. I think he's 00:00:19.449 --> 00:00:21.910 out ice fishing. Who knows what he's doing. I 00:00:21.910 --> 00:00:24.489 am alone in the studio, kind of. I have a very, 00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:26.710 very special guest. First, I want to mention 00:00:26.710 --> 00:00:28.769 Good News York brought to you by Ads on the Go. 00:00:29.010 --> 00:00:34.259 Get ads on the go. And you can follow us on all 00:00:34.259 --> 00:00:36.799 socials at Good News York, GoodNewsYork .com. 00:00:37.020 --> 00:00:38.899 New episode every Monday through Thursday at 00:00:38.899 --> 00:00:41.159 5 p .m. And you can follow me on all socials 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.619 at MikeBTV. But who cares about me? I am so excited. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.219 As you can see, I've got the WWE belts here. 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:52.159 No, clearly I did not win a belt in the WWE and 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:55.079 I basically stole them from my kid's toy box. 00:00:55.299 --> 00:00:58.640 And there's a good reason. I am joined today 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.060 by someone who was long considered one of the 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:03.780 most talented women in the independent ranks. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:07.700 She first turned heads in WWE during the inaugural 00:01:07.700 --> 00:01:11.120 Mae Young Classic in 2017, and her true breakout 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.500 moment, however, came in the following year's 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:16.799 classic when Meechan's gutsy performance in the 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:18.859 quarterfinals earned chance of support from the 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:21.700 WWE Universe, and their pleas did not go unanswered 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:27.239 as WWE's COO Triple H offered her an NXT contract 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:29.579 right on the spot after the match, and she will 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:31.879 be featured as one of the WWE superstars at the 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:34.959 WWE Live Holiday Tour right here in Syracuse 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.239 at the Upstate Medical Arena at the On Center 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:42.359 on New Year's Day 1126. The self -proclaimed 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:47.620 Blasian baddie, Mechen. Mechen! Hello! How are 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:50.920 you? I'm good. How are you? That was a crazy 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.579 intro. I appreciate that. You know what about 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:56.659 four sentences in I went this is a crazy intro, 00:01:56.659 --> 00:01:59.920 but I feel like it's but you've done so much. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:03.480 Your story is so great. I thought you deserved 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:09.419 an intro like that. Listen, you you have done 00:02:09.419 --> 00:02:12.099 so much in your career. I think you've wrestled 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:15.360 in probably every circuit you could wrestle in. 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:18.780 But I want to start. all the way on the West 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:21.379 Coast, you were raised in LA and you went to 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:24.060 high school and college in Virginia. And during 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:25.699 which that's when you started, I think at the 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:28.580 age of 18, your professional wrestling training. 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.860 So how did professional wrestling even come across 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:36.460 your radar? And like what made you want to chase 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:38.680 that dream and that career? I know you played 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:40.460 volleyball in college and you're an athlete, 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:42.919 but when was the moment that you thought, this 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:46.189 is where I want to go? The funny thing is I've 00:02:46.189 --> 00:02:51.050 always been a tomboy so I was out I don't know 00:02:51.050 --> 00:02:53.569 since I was seven or eight out we lived in a 00:02:53.569 --> 00:02:55.189 cul -de -sac so I would play with the neighborhood 00:02:55.189 --> 00:02:58.370 kids play football street hockey all the things 00:02:58.370 --> 00:03:03.210 and as I got older I Wanted to play football, 00:03:03.389 --> 00:03:07.289 but I feel old to say this but back in my day 00:03:07.289 --> 00:03:10.210 They wouldn't let the girls play football with 00:03:10.210 --> 00:03:15.030 the guys and So my dad watched wrestling and 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:18.629 I remember watching with him and seeing Lita 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:21.229 in China wrestle the guys and I was like, oh 00:03:21.229 --> 00:03:24.469 my gosh, I can I want to do that. That looks 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:29.770 like so much fun. And growing up, I grew up on 00:03:29.770 --> 00:03:33.750 the attitude era. So a lot of the times the divas 00:03:33.750 --> 00:03:37.280 at the point at that point was mainly just doing 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:41.240 like showcase matches, not very long matches. 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:44.460 So then when I did see Lita and China getting 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:47.800 in with the guys and just wrestling them like 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:49.680 one of the guys, I knew that's exactly what I 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.780 wanted to do. So that little seed has been planted 00:03:52.780 --> 00:03:57.699 since I was like maybe 10. Of course, I told 00:03:57.699 --> 00:03:59.949 my parents I'm going to do that one day. And 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:02.349 they're just like, yeah, OK, sure. Whatever you 00:04:02.349 --> 00:04:07.430 say. And once I turned 18, I asked them if I 00:04:07.430 --> 00:04:09.750 could start wrestling. Of course, they said no. 00:04:10.189 --> 00:04:13.930 So I went and signed myself up for training. 00:04:14.569 --> 00:04:16.810 I found the school that Mickey James started 00:04:16.810 --> 00:04:20.310 at in Virginia. So I started training there. 00:04:21.370 --> 00:04:24.870 I was balancing that in college at the same time. 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:27.430 And so I got a scholarship for volleyball in 00:04:27.430 --> 00:04:30.509 college. So I would do, during the volleyball 00:04:30.509 --> 00:04:34.170 season, I would focus just on volleyball. And 00:04:34.170 --> 00:04:36.850 then once that season was over, I would drive 00:04:36.850 --> 00:04:41.889 two hours to go train, maybe twice, three times 00:04:41.889 --> 00:04:44.910 a week, and then drive two hours back to campus. 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:49.860 My parents were still against me wrestling, because 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:53.439 they still had the mindset of what wrestling 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.439 was like growing up. So they thought I was just 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:59.360 going to be doing jelly matches, things like 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:04.600 that. And so my dad pretty much just said, you 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:09.060 can do whatever you want. I will do whatever 00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:11.480 you want to do, as long as you finish college 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:16.279 first. Challenge accepted. So I pretty much kept 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:20.360 up with my college with the volleyball. And once 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:24.660 I graduated, then I dove straight into wrestling 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.579 pretty much full time. I was still living in 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:30.060 Virginia, but I was doing a lot of loops going 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:34.899 to Philly and New York, New Jersey, Detroit. 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:38.620 So I was just driving to all these places during 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:41.699 the weekend and then working a nine to five. 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:46.680 during the week. And pretty much just started 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:49.819 from the bottom and kept chipping away at every 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:53.879 goal. So it was at first, because at that time 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.319 it was still, you know, supermodels getting signed 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:01.079 to WWE. And I'm just like, I don't think WWE 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:04.040 is in the cards for me. So let me set a goal 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:08.540 to do a tour in Japan. I do that. Okay, let me 00:06:08.540 --> 00:06:13.290 see if I can. do anything with TV like TNA back 00:06:13.290 --> 00:06:18.149 in the day. Okay, I did that. Okay. Let me see 00:06:18.149 --> 00:06:23.529 if I can do extra work for WWE to see if that's 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.689 a thing. Did that. So every, I would just go 00:06:26.689 --> 00:06:30.029 from like one goal to the next until finally 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:31.990 the big goal was, okay, you know what? I've done 00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:35.410 everything that I wanted to. Let me see if I 00:06:35.410 --> 00:06:40.769 can get signed to WWE. I did several, I did several 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:44.269 tryouts and was told not right now every time. 00:06:44.970 --> 00:06:47.870 Um, so I was like, okay, I guess I'll just be 00:06:47.870 --> 00:06:51.170 doing extra work for WWE. And it's cool. I got 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:54.589 to work for WWE a little bit and I'm okay with 00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:58.850 that. And then kept doing extra work. They invited 00:06:58.850 --> 00:07:01.529 me to the May young, um, did the first one had 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:04.490 a blast. And then the second one comes around 00:07:04.490 --> 00:07:09.029 and, um, In my head, I think I just had it where 00:07:09.029 --> 00:07:11.069 I'm like, I'll just, you know, I've done everything 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:14.509 that I wanted to. I'm happy with where I'm at. 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:18.350 It's, I mean, if I ever got to WWE on a, on a 00:07:18.350 --> 00:07:22.589 contract, that'd be great, but I, I've done, 00:07:22.709 --> 00:07:24.509 I've done everything that I wanted to outside 00:07:24.509 --> 00:07:28.050 of that. So I'm just going to go have fun, wrestle 00:07:28.050 --> 00:07:32.129 my friends, have a moment in WWE and then go 00:07:32.129 --> 00:07:38.240 back to work on Monday. And so the second Mayong, 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:46.620 when the crowd chanted, I remember with the cruiserweight 00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:49.000 tournament, I remember when that happened to 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.100 Cedric. I was like, oh, that's so cool. And Cedric 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:55.560 is my boy. So I'm like, oh, that's so cool. Like 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:57.279 me and my friend, we get the same reaction. That's 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:01.079 awesome. That's cool. And then the... Injury 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:04.060 happened with Teagan. So me, Candice, a lot of 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:05.779 us was helping Teagan just getting her stuff 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:09.540 together. So I didn't even know Triple H went 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:13.660 out to, you know, talk to the crowd or anything 00:08:13.660 --> 00:08:17.339 like that. So when he agreed to sign me, I wasn't 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:19.300 there and I didn't hear about it until cameras 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:22.560 were in my face and somebody came up to me and 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.519 in my head, I'm just like, well. I don't know 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:28.180 what I did, but I'm about to get kicked out. 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:31.240 Let me get my bags and I guess this is it for 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:34.320 me in WWE. And that's when Hunter comes out of 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:36.879 nowhere and he's like, he tells me what happened 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:42.110 when he went out. And for - maybe two minutes 00:08:42.110 --> 00:08:46.990 I legit thought I was dreaming or like it wasn't 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:51.929 real. It was so surreal to me. So it's something, 00:08:52.370 --> 00:08:54.090 it's a memory I'm gonna have for the rest of 00:08:54.090 --> 00:08:55.870 my life and it's something that I'm going to 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:59.250 cherish because I always tell everybody, if it 00:08:59.250 --> 00:09:02.389 wasn't for the fans, I wouldn't be able to be 00:09:02.389 --> 00:09:04.710 doing this now. I wouldn't be able to live my 00:09:04.710 --> 00:09:08.250 dream and accomplish the goal that I set out 00:09:08.250 --> 00:09:13.289 since I was 10. Um, so I always am very thankful 00:09:13.289 --> 00:09:16.590 and grateful for the fans. Meacham, that's, that's 00:09:16.590 --> 00:09:19.710 an amazing story. And, you know, you couldn't 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.009 see, obviously, I just got goosebumps because, 00:09:22.230 --> 00:09:25.389 you know, when you're watching WWE, you don't 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:29.450 know where the line crosses, where is this completely 00:09:29.450 --> 00:09:31.590 scripted or is this a real moment? Because you 00:09:31.590 --> 00:09:35.149 do see a lot of emotions and injuries with performers 00:09:35.149 --> 00:09:40.710 and athletes on the show. So you, Basically telling 00:09:40.710 --> 00:09:43.610 us that you had no idea about the the triple 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:45.370 H thing makes it even more special I mean that 00:09:45.370 --> 00:09:47.629 is that's an incredible moment that not a lot 00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:50.250 of other wrestlers can say happen to them Sometimes 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:53.970 they find out by a phone call or you know in 00:09:53.970 --> 00:09:57.470 in the creative meeting, so that's a that's awesome 00:09:57.470 --> 00:10:00.870 I do want to talk about the women's division 00:10:00.870 --> 00:10:04.220 because you know my daughter Well, she she always 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:05.940 said dad. I want to play football I said honey 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:08.960 you can you can play football, you know, and 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:13.059 so it's it's role models like you That show her, 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:15.820 you know, she can do anything she wants But I 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:17.299 want to touch before we get into the women's 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:19.080 division I do want to touch on you know You talked 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:20.940 about a little bit you've gone on record saying 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:23.620 that your father was was very strict during your 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:26.559 childhood due to his career He served in the 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.519 military before a career as an FBI special agent 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.960 working in units for gangs and missing exploited 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:37.320 children in cyber operations. That is wildly 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.480 impressive. I'm the son of a cop, just a police 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:43.820 officer. And that was intimidating for me and 00:10:43.820 --> 00:10:46.679 my friends sometimes. I can't imagine what that 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:49.460 was like. Did his strict nature play a part in 00:10:49.460 --> 00:10:51.580 your development as an athlete and a wrestler? 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:55.929 Very much so, very much so. Because even before 00:10:55.929 --> 00:10:59.970 volleyball, you know, I did taekwondo, I did 00:10:59.970 --> 00:11:02.490 several instruments and every single time it 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:06.299 was No matter what do your hardest and never 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:10.480 quit so that was something like it was very Militant 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.519 as well in a positive way so always waking up 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:16.259 early making sure that the house was clean making 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.940 sure After school homework is done before anything 00:11:18.940 --> 00:11:21.860 else like no screens until all the homework was 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:27.500 done no boys Had to be home when the streetlights 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:31.840 came on like it was very strict, but I think 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:37.799 because of that Now it's easy for me to, you 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:42.059 know, a lot of people, I don't use one alarm, 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:44.200 that's enough for me to get up and get my day 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:46.820 started. Everything I do, I have an itinerary 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:48.899 for once I wake up, I have an itinerary for the 00:11:48.899 --> 00:11:51.539 day to get everything that I need done early. 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:53.759 So I have the rest of the day to just relax. 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:57.580 But it also motivates me. Okay, I gotta, you 00:11:57.580 --> 00:12:01.220 know, even though. I am with WWE. I'm living 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:04.500 my dream at home. I'm still working. So I have 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:06.259 to go to the gym. Okay. I got to make sure that 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:09.740 I eat this, um, make sure that, you know, bills 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:14.580 are paid, make sure pretty much it. My dad has 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:18.860 helped me become the professional that I am now. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:23.259 And to have that mentality of never quitting, 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:29.049 even if they say no. To still pursue after the 00:12:29.049 --> 00:12:32.970 dream no matter what anybody says So I do think 00:12:32.970 --> 00:12:37.450 my dad and growing up the way that we did There 00:12:37.450 --> 00:12:39.389 are good parts and bad parts, but I appreciate 00:12:39.389 --> 00:12:42.850 every part because it shaped me to be who I am 00:12:42.850 --> 00:12:45.870 So well so well said now I have a daughter and 00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:48.070 I'm nowhere near the badass your dad is I mean 00:12:48.070 --> 00:12:50.389 were you ever able to have a boyfriend was it 00:12:50.389 --> 00:12:53.889 even Or were they just like terrified? Oh my 00:12:53.889 --> 00:12:58.840 gosh. Let me just tell you The scene in Bad Boys? 00:12:59.419 --> 00:13:02.259 Yes, that's the best scene. When they enter the 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:05.519 door? That has happened. No way. It was just, 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.860 how old was I? Oh my gosh, sorry daddy for telling 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:14.899 on you, but I think I was like maybe 10, 11, 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.429 and our next door neighbor. at a crush on my 00:13:18.429 --> 00:13:20.509 next door neighbor. He was the same age as me 00:13:20.509 --> 00:13:23.590 and he was having a birthday party. So he wanted 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:25.850 me and my sister to go to his birthday party. 00:13:25.909 --> 00:13:29.070 So he came to knock, he knocked on the door to 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:31.450 ask my dad if it was okay, if we could just go 00:13:31.450 --> 00:13:34.330 to his birthday party. My dad opened the door 00:13:34.330 --> 00:13:38.600 just like bad boys and. I don't remember if I 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.639 ever went to that birthday party. I think that's 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:43.500 probably, that's probably where you blacked out 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:46.080 at that point. That's amazing. I love your father. 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:49.360 My daughter happens to be 11 as well. So I, I'm 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.399 right there. I, I would do the same thing. Um, 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:54.200 you have, you, you just talked about it too. 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:56.559 You have an extensive background in Mai Tai and 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.460 Taekwondo. When did that kind of, on the timeline, 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:03.220 where did that come about and, or when did that 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.940 come about? And do you, incorporate into your 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:10.519 pro wrestling career? So I did taekwondo when 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:14.039 I was very, very little. My dad, growing up in 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:18.580 LA, my dad wanted me and my sister to at least 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:23.080 know something, just in case. I remember now 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:24.759 that I'm older, and me and my dad talk about 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.340 it all the time, when I was younger, it was all 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:31.080 confusing. But now being older, I understood 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.179 that because of my dad's status and his position, 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:39.139 me and my sister were targets just in case if 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:42.460 anybody that he locked up got out, if they got 00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:47.019 to us, they got to him. So he was very nervous 00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:54.840 about us being by ourselves or like, pretty much, 00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:58.559 yeah, just not having him around. just in case 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:00.379 we got kidnapped, because he's dealt with a lot 00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:03.539 of kidnapping cases as well. So he wanted us 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:05.480 to make sure that we at least knew something. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:12.879 So we were put into Taekwondo very young. I got 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.620 to second degree black belt. And then that's 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:19.039 when I started, I was old enough to start doing, 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:23.500 like playing basketball and football and all 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.299 the sports with the kids outside in the streets. 00:15:27.190 --> 00:15:31.409 And then I didn't get into Muay Thai until I 00:15:31.409 --> 00:15:36.289 moved to Orlando, which was about like 2013. 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:40.450 So I did Muay Thai for a couple years just for 00:15:40.450 --> 00:15:43.610 fun. I never wanted to compete or anything. I 00:15:43.610 --> 00:15:46.750 just wanted to do it for fun. So I do incorporate 00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:52.649 a lot of leg movements, kicks, more of that style 00:15:52.649 --> 00:15:57.279 in my independence. in my current repertoire 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:01.120 now. Because I trained pretty much, I trained 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:06.519 in Japan, I trained, I did a little UK tour, 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:10.159 like I trained in the UK, like I did a lot of 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:14.139 other, I like to learn different styles, so I'm 00:16:14.139 --> 00:16:16.299 kind of hybrid now, whether, you know, if I'm 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:19.379 wrestling. Nya, okay, I could pull out my high 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:22.539 flying and quick moves, or if I'm wrestling Candice, 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:25.940 then I'm gonna pull out my power moves. And then 00:16:25.940 --> 00:16:27.840 if I'm wrestling the Joshis, I'm gonna pull out 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:33.519 my kicks. So I'm able to change up my style depending 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:36.259 on who my opponent is. Yeah, and I'm assuming 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:38.679 it probably helps on the defense as well, on 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.860 how you can take a fall, on blocking, things 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:44.899 of that nature as well, right? Oh yeah, Tech 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:48.259 Mundo from the jump taught me how to take a slam 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:50.580 for sure. Yeah, and by the way, thank you for 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.960 saying Muay Thai. Because like a typical upstate 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.620 New York white man, I was like, oh, it's my tie. 00:16:56.740 --> 00:16:58.659 Like the drink. I didn't know it was my toy. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:04.640 My tie. Wildly impressive. So listen, the women's 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:07.599 division has become such a huge part of the WWE 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:10.359 and it's grown so much over specifically like 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:13.000 the last decade. But when you were starting out 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:14.720 back in your day, as you said, which, by the 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.160 way, is my day, too, I feel I feel you there. 00:17:17.619 --> 00:17:20.039 It had not even come close to what it was today. 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:23.349 So it was. it was harder for females, you know, 00:17:23.529 --> 00:17:26.589 to have that path to the dream that you share 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:30.369 with them. So what gave you the confidence that 00:17:30.369 --> 00:17:32.549 you could make it a career without it kind of 00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:35.150 seeming like an option at the time? And do you 00:17:35.150 --> 00:17:37.250 think the growth of the women's division was 00:17:37.250 --> 00:17:40.710 the reason you were able to do that? Like, do 00:17:40.710 --> 00:17:43.049 you think, and do you think it'll ever merge 00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:44.950 the men and women's together, like you said when 00:17:44.950 --> 00:17:50.660 you saw men and women fighting? So. I remember 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:57.079 watching Gail Kim. And at the time, there wasn't 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:02.240 a mixed female wrestler. So I always attached 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:07.180 to Gail Kim and Jazz. And seeing them both, I 00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:13.200 always believe that Gail began wrestling in the 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:17.200 wrong generation because seeing both of them 00:18:17.369 --> 00:18:20.609 I attached to them because they were wrestlers. 00:18:20.869 --> 00:18:23.609 They were not, and they could be sexy if they 00:18:23.609 --> 00:18:27.309 wanted to, but they were wrestlers. And that's 00:18:27.309 --> 00:18:31.549 what I wanted to be because I'm no Playboy model. 00:18:31.970 --> 00:18:35.150 I'm no cover girl or anything like that. So it 00:18:35.150 --> 00:18:40.490 was just cool to see athletes being showcased 00:18:40.490 --> 00:18:46.019 without having to be only highlighted sexually. 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:51.539 So I think from the transition from back then 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:55.400 to now, it's very, very cool to see that now 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:57.579 it's a lot of my friends that I've wrestled in 00:18:57.579 --> 00:19:00.720 the independence with. And a lot of us, I remember 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.240 at Shimmer, we would be talking about like, oh, 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:05.420 it'd be so cool if we can make it into WWE one 00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:09.299 day. And to see that we're living that it's just 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:12.160 so cool to reminisce on because it's like, dang. 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:18.069 back in early 2000s or late 90s like we we would 00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:23.630 have never have made it because we weren't you 00:19:23.630 --> 00:19:29.390 know we weren't the types of women they would 00:19:29.390 --> 00:19:34.630 usually go for um and and the the one or two 00:19:34.630 --> 00:19:39.779 that they did like gail to me gail looks Perfect, 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:45.240 she looks perfect. But to see her, I could see 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:47.640 the uncomfortability on her whenever they would 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:50.180 have her do like a bikini contest or something. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:55.920 And I knew that she was an athlete. And so I 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:59.380 just feel lucky to be in this generation now 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:02.039 where a lot of the people that I'm in WWE with, 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:04.599 I have a long history with in the independence. 00:20:05.769 --> 00:20:08.490 and even the new generation coming in just telling 00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:11.789 them what it was like and the etiquette and the 00:20:11.789 --> 00:20:16.009 respect aspect of it all and just how lucky we 00:20:16.009 --> 00:20:18.690 all are because of the sacrifices that people 00:20:18.690 --> 00:20:23.329 like Jazz and Gail and Lita and all of them have 00:20:23.329 --> 00:20:29.309 made for for us because I don't think like AJ, 00:20:29.450 --> 00:20:31.549 she came from the independence and I remember 00:20:31.549 --> 00:20:34.390 talking to her about a month ago and it was my 00:20:34.390 --> 00:20:38.509 first time. We always missed paths. Like right 00:20:38.509 --> 00:20:42.130 when she was done with an indie company, like 00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:44.789 I came in and then she got signed right after 00:20:44.789 --> 00:20:47.009 she worked for this company and I came in. So 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:48.869 like I always missed her. So I finally got to 00:20:48.869 --> 00:20:50.490 talk to her about a month ago and I told her 00:20:50.490 --> 00:20:53.450 that she was like, she was the great. in indie 00:20:53.450 --> 00:20:56.670 dream because she was the one from the independence 00:20:56.670 --> 00:20:59.529 that got signed and then there was bailey who 00:20:59.529 --> 00:21:03.710 um got signed and i i spent some indie time with 00:21:03.710 --> 00:21:07.289 her as well and it's like this is cool to see 00:21:07.289 --> 00:21:09.869 that now we have a chance like now they're hiring 00:21:09.869 --> 00:21:13.569 independent girls we have a chance oh it's amazing 00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:17.549 yeah and you know what i love too is and It's 00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:20.410 not like the WWE said, we should probably get 00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:22.690 with the times and start a women's division and 00:21:22.690 --> 00:21:25.269 we'll just do a couple matches. I feel like they 00:21:25.269 --> 00:21:28.869 really do put in the same amount of energy into 00:21:28.869 --> 00:21:31.190 the writing and the performance as they do in 00:21:31.190 --> 00:21:32.990 the men's division. And I think that's why it's 00:21:32.990 --> 00:21:36.369 been able to flourish. And by the way, speaking 00:21:36.369 --> 00:21:38.769 of Bailey, I love her because I took my four 00:21:38.769 --> 00:21:40.529 year old son to his first show. We went to a 00:21:40.529 --> 00:21:43.539 house show here locally and she. She grabbed 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:46.480 him and gave him a high five and said, make sure 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.759 this isn't your last show. And he never forgot 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:53.359 that. But anyway, it's amazing. She's amazing. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:59.819 You were talking about Jazz and Gail and Lita, 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:02.539 which leads me to I wanted to ask this. Did you 00:22:02.539 --> 00:22:06.000 have a specific female or even male idol that 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.680 inspired you to chase this dream in the beginning, 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:09.680 like the one moment where you were like, I want 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.640 to be that person? Mm -hmm. I remember seeing 00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:17.859 China first first seeing her I've never seen 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:20.559 a woman like that before and I was like, oh my 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.720 gosh That's what that is goals right there. I 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:25.579 like because I always growing up I always made 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:29.319 I was made fun of because I was very um, how 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:32.680 do you say like Top heavy my shoulders were always 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:37.119 wide and So it was cool to see another woman 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:39.640 with muscles like oh my gosh, and that looks 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:43.380 amazing So seeing China wrestle the guys Lita 00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:48.420 wrestle the guys and then The rock stone -cold 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:51.960 mankind seeing mankind doing the hardcore stuff. 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:56.440 I think they all layered in with like one It 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:58.980 made me dive straight into the deep end of loving 00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:02.319 WWE just because of the stories and the characters. 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:06.279 But seeing the women, like Chyna and Lita, actually 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:10.119 wrestling the guys, I'm like, oh yeah, this is 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:13.740 exactly what I wanna do. That's amazing. I actually 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:16.480 remember, so I'm a little bit older than you. 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:20.769 I remember, did you ever see Luna Vachon? What 00:23:20.769 --> 00:23:23.369 always I loved about her, she stuck out to me 00:23:23.369 --> 00:23:26.150 and I was a little kid. But she had the shaved 00:23:26.150 --> 00:23:28.750 head with the veins that they painted on. And 00:23:28.750 --> 00:23:31.029 to go back to what you were saying earlier, you're 00:23:31.029 --> 00:23:32.289 right. Because before that, it was like there 00:23:32.289 --> 00:23:34.950 was Miss Elizabeth. And the storyline was always 00:23:34.950 --> 00:23:37.490 that she was Macho Man's girlfriend. And it was 00:23:37.490 --> 00:23:40.450 a love story. Luna Vachon, I remember personally 00:23:40.450 --> 00:23:42.990 as the first time where I was like, whoa, she's 00:23:42.990 --> 00:23:46.529 just a badass. There's no love here. This is 00:23:46.529 --> 00:23:50.329 just about battle. So I know what you mean when 00:23:50.329 --> 00:23:51.970 you when you see that and you go oh my gosh like 00:23:51.970 --> 00:23:54.869 I A female that's badass. I want to I want to 00:23:54.869 --> 00:23:58.390 be her um So a couple more questions. I want 00:23:58.390 --> 00:23:59.829 to be you know, obviously I want to be respectful 00:23:59.829 --> 00:24:04.539 of your time I'm having too much fun. In 2016, 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:06.400 I want to switch to this because I think this 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:08.220 is this really stood out to me and it's so important 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:11.259 for people to hear and see. In 2016, you began 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.440 publicly participating in awareness and advocacy 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:16.140 after revealing that, you know, you were a survivor 00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:18.799 of domestic abuse. And this includes painting 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:23.000 your left finger now on your ring on your ring 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.400 finger for Safe Horizons campaign. It's a hashtag. 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:29.569 Put the nail in it. And your advocacy led to 00:24:29.569 --> 00:24:32.789 you being named one of BBC's 100 women in 2016, 00:24:32.930 --> 00:24:36.130 which I think is incredible. And that may even 00:24:36.130 --> 00:24:37.670 be more impressive than any of the wrestling 00:24:37.670 --> 00:24:39.990 accolades. Can you talk a little bit about your 00:24:39.990 --> 00:24:41.910 advocacy and the Put the Nail in It campaign 00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:51.710 and what it means to you? During that time, I've 00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:54.549 never been in that situation before and I didn't 00:24:54.549 --> 00:25:00.769 know as a female wrestler, the concern that I 00:25:00.769 --> 00:25:02.910 have is, and especially in the independence, 00:25:03.009 --> 00:25:06.750 I did a lot of intergender matches as well. So 00:25:06.750 --> 00:25:13.490 I was questioning if this is what I signed up 00:25:13.490 --> 00:25:19.069 for, or if this, how am I gonna go about, one, 00:25:19.109 --> 00:25:25.220 getting out of a situation, but two, I, Didn't 00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:31.259 want to be silenced and I knew What what motivated 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:35.200 me to talk about it was I would talk to my other 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:40.680 female Wrestling friends that also do intergender 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:44.579 wrestling to ask them like hey like if this happens 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:47.900 in the ring, but then if it happens at home like 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:52.579 What is that and they would explain to me? you 00:25:52.579 --> 00:25:55.019 know that's abuse and that they've been through 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:57.880 it too and it was just every single one of my 00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:00.200 girlfriends they're like oh yeah that happened 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:01.900 to me it's just you know i don't i don't want 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:04.700 to talk about it or um no one's ever going to 00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:07.799 believe us because you know we have muscles or 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:10.599 we wrestle men and all this other stuff and i'm 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:12.980 noticing a trend where it's a lot of my girlfriends 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:15.240 are like oh yeah that happened to me too and 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:20.400 i'm like this is not this is not okay so um I 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:23.559 wanted to talk about it. I didn't know how. And 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:26.759 my good friend now, Brian, who worked at Safe 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:29.940 Horizon at the time, started seeing, like reading 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:34.500 in between the lines of my prize for help. So 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:38.740 he reached out to me and was very professional 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:43.339 and pretty much gave me the guidelines on how 00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:46.799 to get out, how to heal, how to talk about things 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:51.990 publicly. So he's I have a soft spot for Safe 00:26:51.990 --> 00:26:54.250 Horizon and Bride because he was the one to reach 00:26:54.250 --> 00:26:58.269 out to me and notice, he noticed the little things 00:26:58.269 --> 00:27:03.029 that I was tweeting and talking about and reached 00:27:03.029 --> 00:27:05.390 out. And I felt comfortable enough to talk to 00:27:05.390 --> 00:27:09.309 him about everything. And to this day, he's one 00:27:09.309 --> 00:27:11.670 of my closest friends. He's wrestling now, which 00:27:11.670 --> 00:27:15.269 is awesome. But it was just, it was something 00:27:15.269 --> 00:27:18.960 that I felt that I needed to talk about because 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:23.680 it was just way too common in wrestling and um 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:29.079 it's difficult to navigate and being someone 00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:32.279 that did intergender wrestling it's like how 00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:35.440 am I supposed to talk about um the difference 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:39.039 between intergender wrestling and abuse at home 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:41.940 and the main thing which Brian like reiterated 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:45.599 is consent like anytime I set foot in the ring 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:49.099 I'm consenting to wrestling. I'm not consenting 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:52.940 to being choked in my in in the kitchen, you 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:57.579 know um, so that I think it was I was motivated 00:27:57.579 --> 00:28:01.000 by hearing everybody else's story and wanting 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:06.420 to Be the first step forward into my other friends 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:09.140 being able to heal and if they wanted to talk 00:28:09.140 --> 00:28:11.079 about it they're welcome to talk about it, too, 00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:14.519 but I wanted to let those that's too scared to 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:18.960 talk or um don't know how to talk to let them 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:21.119 know that they're not alone and that it's okay 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:24.980 to talk about it and do what they can to get 00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:29.220 out and there is help available um you you gave 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:31.440 that was important for me you gave me goosebumps 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:36.819 again um i mean that's real life stuff and i 00:28:36.819 --> 00:28:39.839 think and obviously i'm not diminishing any of 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:42.440 your career accolades but i think you and i both 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:45.859 know that Self -fulfillment wise, I would imagine 00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:48.019 that must be so fulfilling for you to be able 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:51.079 to have a platform to do this. And thank God 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:53.539 for your colleagues that kind of showed you like, 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.700 hey, you're not alone. Maybe you wouldn't have 00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:58.920 been able to speak out because you would have 00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:00.579 been too afraid. And they showed you like, hey, 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:02.779 I've been through it too. And now you're paying 00:29:02.779 --> 00:29:05.880 it forward and showing other women that it's 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:08.920 okay. And I just want to thank you for that personally, 00:29:08.940 --> 00:29:12.430 because I think it's amazing. And if you weren't 00:29:12.430 --> 00:29:14.690 amazing enough, by the way, this was like a little, 00:29:14.690 --> 00:29:17.410 I don't know, tidbit got thrown in at the end. 00:29:18.029 --> 00:29:22.549 You are proficient in sign language. I probably 00:29:22.549 --> 00:29:25.150 not now. I haven't done it in a while, so probably 00:29:25.150 --> 00:29:27.490 not now. OK, because it says you've worked as 00:29:27.490 --> 00:29:29.490 a captionist for the deaf and hard of hearing. 00:29:29.549 --> 00:29:32.430 And I think you were inspired by a former partner 00:29:32.430 --> 00:29:35.069 of yours that that was hearing impaired or deaf. 00:29:35.730 --> 00:29:37.569 Can you talk a little bit about that? I think 00:29:37.569 --> 00:29:42.069 that's awesome. Thank you. Yeah, I dated somebody 00:29:42.069 --> 00:29:44.289 from Gallaudet University, which is a deaf and 00:29:44.289 --> 00:29:48.890 hard of hearing school in DC. My school played 00:29:48.890 --> 00:29:52.109 his school for volleyball and that's how we met. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:55.019 was at the volleyball games and I knew no sign 00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:58.240 language so for the first couple months it was 00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:00.940 just like writing notes to each other and then 00:30:00.940 --> 00:30:03.039 he started teaching me sign language and then 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:05.140 I picked up on it and I spent a lot of time at 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:08.000 Gallaudet as well so I was able to really be 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:15.900 immersed into that lifestyle. So it helped me 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:20.579 really understand and I picked up on ASL super, 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:23.099 super quick just because I had to because I had 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:26.000 several friends there. I had my ex -boyfriend 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:29.640 at the time there. So to me, I'm like, I would 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:32.440 rather learn your language than having to make 00:30:32.440 --> 00:30:35.420 you write notes all the time. Like, let me learn 00:30:35.420 --> 00:30:37.920 so it will be easier to communicate for everybody. 00:30:39.329 --> 00:30:42.490 So it's really cool. I still love getting you 00:30:42.490 --> 00:30:45.490 debt. I love that there is a school for the deaf 00:30:45.490 --> 00:30:48.829 and hard of hearing in DC. And I'm glad that 00:30:48.829 --> 00:30:51.990 I got to learn ASL and be a part of that culture. 00:30:52.569 --> 00:30:54.529 So you've got big muscles, but you have an even 00:30:54.529 --> 00:30:56.650 bigger heart. That's just amazing. I was going 00:30:56.650 --> 00:30:59.569 to ask you to sign something like a promo, like 00:30:59.569 --> 00:31:02.680 Mike. You're the coolest host ever, but you're 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:04.960 a little out of practice. So I won't make you 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:08.759 do that. Okay, cool I'm like I can spell Mike, 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:17.980 okay Just a couple more questions something that 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:19.460 just came up while you were talking I want to 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:23.039 ask about You know, there is an element of acting 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:26.779 in in the WWE Was that something that came natural 00:31:26.779 --> 00:31:31.299 to you? Did you have to train or just kind of 00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:36.700 happened? So I'm a horrible actress and I think 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:39.220 that's the hardest part for me is the promos 00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:42.440 and the talking just because I can, listen, you 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:46.200 tell me to fall on concrete. I can do that second 00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:48.319 nature. But the minute you put a mic in my hand, 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:52.920 like I grew up with stage fright. I always. got 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:56.559 nervous doing presentations in school and stuff. 00:31:57.480 --> 00:32:00.480 So I'm working, I've been working on it and trying 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:04.259 to get better. There's still a long way for me 00:32:04.259 --> 00:32:11.119 to get better at, but I, yeah, that's the hardest 00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:14.259 part for me. All right. Well, thank you, Mechen. 00:32:15.099 --> 00:32:18.759 On January 1st, that's New Year's Day, 2026. 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:22.180 You can see Meachin and the rest of the WWE superstars 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:24.759 right here in Syracuse for the WWE live holiday 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:27.559 tour at the Upstate Medical Arena at the On Center. 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:30.900 Meachin, thank you for your time. Good News York, 00:32:31.019 --> 00:32:32.640 sponsored by ads on the go, get ads on the go 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:35.119 dot com. We air a new episode every Monday through 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:37.259 Thursday at five p .m. Eastern on all our socials 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:39.380 at Good News York and Good News York dot com. 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.960 And you can follow me on all your socials at 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:46.589 Mike B TV and once a week, of course. My side 00:32:46.589 --> 00:32:48.529 quest of Good News York is Good News York Sports, 00:32:48.690 --> 00:32:51.609 GNY Sports airing once a week. And coming up 00:32:51.609 --> 00:32:54.430 this week, going to be interviewing Rob Ferguson, 00:32:54.569 --> 00:32:57.609 head coach of Cornell Women's Soccer. So looking 00:32:57.609 --> 00:33:00.910 forward to that. From all of us to you, goodbye 00:33:00.910 --> 00:33:01.829 from Good News York.