Why wrestling?

It might come as a shock to some of you, but I am OBSESSED with professional wrestling.
Some of you might be thinking: ‘Wait? Like WWF style wrestling?’
Yes. That’s right, I love it all: the spandex tights, the steel chairs, the over the top storylines; I love it all!
Your next question might be: ‘Why?!'
That answer is pretty complicated (and long).
I did not grow up watching wrestling. As a kid I grew up watching age-appropriate TV shows and Disney movies. Wrestling was taboo in the Solis-Waller household.
It was by accident that I watched my first wrestling match. A middle school aged me had been channel surfing when I stumbled across the most bizarre thing I had ever seen.
An adult male was walking down a ramp towards a wrestling ring, he was covered in gold. He was wearing a blond wig and his skin was painted gold. It was so odd, and over the top, and theatrical.
I was fascinated.
I remember my mom walking in, and I quickly changed the channel so I wouldn’t get in trouble. A few minutes later she briefly walked out of the room, and I switched back just in time to see the man named Goldust blow gold powder into his opponents face, and win the match. My mom walked back into the room, and I changed the channel again.
It wasn’t till a few years later that I stumbled upon wrestling again.

One Thursday night in 2000 I was once again channel surfing, when a handsome and charismatic Samoan man named the Rock was duking it out with a muscular man named Triple H. As I watched the two grapple it out that same feeling of fascination overcame me, but this time it was combined with a jolt of adrenaline. I was hooked.
My parent’s did not approve of my new favorite form of entertainment, and so I would watch it in hiding, on the lowest volume setting; sometimes the channel would be on mute. But I didn’t care, I just loved to watch.
Pretty soon I became a fan of a number of wrestlers; the most influential were Y2J Chris Jericho (who fought Mickey Rourke at Wrestlemania this year) and The Hardy Boys & Lita.

Lita embodied everything I wanted to be. She was tough, often taking on some of the male wrestlers, she was unique thanks to her red hair and devil may care attitude, and she was sexy as hell. She was my role model and when I saw her on television I’d think ‘I want to be like her someday’.
At the time I befriended some kids at school who took their fascination to a new level. They were not only watching wrestling, they were out there performing wrestling. That’s how I became involved with backyard wrestlers. Almost everyday I’d stay out late with my neighbor and he’d teach me all the wrestling moves he knew. It was not long until I could perform the twist of fate, the Walls of Jericho, and a DDT and even accidentally invented my own move (sorry about the whiplash Edward!). We even had a match in front of some of our friends at UCLA, which ended as soon as we hit a double suplex.

It was AWESOME.
During my early college years I still watched wrestling, but was focused on school. My dad always said that nothing should interfere with my education. But no matter how many times I repeated my father’s words, I could not shake that nagging feeling; the one that I had (and continue to have) whenever I daydreamed about becoming a pro-wrestler.
So, while at Brigham Young University I finally took the steps to become involved in the wrestling industry, and met with the amazing people at American Xtreme Wrestling. In just one night they taught me how to properly take a bump. They also taught me about locker-room etiquette. I got to see how a wrestling promotion works. Sadly, I had to move back to LA before anything could really happen with those guys.
Now, it’s my responsibility to learn prepare myself for the ring. My body is a temple and I’m going to work on not only perfecting it, but also protecting it by getting proper training. I have contacted a few wrestling schools, and think I found the perfect promotion. As soon as my finances are settled I’ll begin training.
Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted.

Molti Bacci,
Jenni