Shotzi On Life After WWE, Shaving Her Head On TV, Return From Injury, Horror Movies, Scarlett

On her time in WWE coming to an end:

"My situation is different than others, because I had my injury for like nine months that I was gone from that. Then I was at NXT for a small stint, and then I wasn't on TV for a little bit. So I was ready for it. I feel like I had already done the grieving process, and I was already out of the locker room for a little bit. So it didn't come as a shock to me. I was just like, Okay, now I get to work." 

On expecting the call:

"I don't know. Honestly, I felt like I had a good run at NXT, and I was hopeful that there would be something for me at SmackDown. I kept getting little glimpses of 'Okay, we're gonna run with this storyline,' or this or this. It wasn't until around Mania that I started to think maybe they're not gonna re-sign me, because it was just like storylines getting cut week after week. Then I was just like, Okay, I see where this might be going."

On a storyline that was cut:

"I mean, they had teased that I would start something with Chelsea, but it just never happened. They called me into SmackDown a few times, and then every time I would come in, it was cut."

On what’s next:

"I just want to wrestle again, because I was gone so long for my ACL injury, and then I was off TV for a little bit. So I'm just so excited to get back into it. I miss it so much. I might have already made my debut by the time this airs." 

On her social media promo:

"I had a lot of coworkers message me saying that it was like the greatest promo that they've ever seen me cut. A lot of people thought I was released, and that was me saying that I was released, but I hadn't gotten the call yet. [It came] maybe, like, two days later, maybe." 

Because of the promo?

"No, because they were making their cuts the next day and then it just lumped me in with that. So, yeah, I don't think that that promo stirred the pot. I mean, it could have. I'll never know."

On the segment that meant the most to her in WWE:

"The first thing that comes to mind is shaving my head on TV for my sister. That was something that just meant a lot to me. I didn't get a ton of storylines in my time there, but that was the one that was just personal and for my family."

On how the segment was pitched:

"So I went to Hunter. I went straight to him, and I was just like, 'Hey, my sister's going through this, and I really want to support her in a big way. I just want her to see this and know that I'm connected.'" 

On her green hair:

"So my hair was red before this, like bright red, Eva Marie red. At the time, Eva Marie was there, and she had red hair. I was going in for tryouts, and I would run into her, and I'm like I should probably dye my hair. I should probably stay away from her look, because that's her thing. So I was like, I'll do green, no one really does green. So, yeah, that was kind of the backstory behind that. Also I love monsters, like Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein, all that stuff, it's such a monster color."

On her first tattoo:

"My dad took me to get my first tattoo when I was 15, and it was the drama masks, the happy and sad, because I was super into theater, that was my first love, I wanted to be on Broadway. It took my mom some convincing to let me get a tattoo that young, but my dad was like, hell yeah! If your mom says yes, let's go. I still have it. It's here on my shoulder."

On coming up with the name Shotzi:

"So I was in this musical when I was a junior in high school called Starmites, and I played Shotzi, who's this evil Banshee, alien lady. And yeah, it just kind of stuck. Everyone called me Shotzi after I played that role, and I just took it with me. So I've been Shotzi since I was 16."

On returning to Hood Slam:

"I think I'm just excited more than anything. I know the Hood Slam crowd is crazy. It's just a wild party, and it always sells out, so I know they're going to be hyped. I don't know if they'll know who I am, just because most of the Hood Slam crowd is just like college kids partying. It's not truly wrestling fans, but I hope that some will remember me. It's been like five years since I've been at Hood Slam." 

On hosting Halloween Havoc:

"It's crazy, because I didn't even know that Halloween Havoc was coming back. I thought to myself, because I'm a huge Elvira fan, and she would show up at Halloween Havoc a bunch. I was like if I could just host a Halloween Havoc like Elvira, that would be chef's kiss, that would just make my life, that's all I need, and for it to happen in my first year at WWE was just crazy." 

On the tank:

"So I found this Mini Tank at Walmart, and I bought it for the Indies. I used it only on a couple of shows, because obviously I can't travel with that tank, I don't have the buses that WWE does. So for local shows, I would come out in the tank. There were actually some indie promotions that were like, we bought one for our show, and they would bring me in, and I'd have a little tank there, but I sent Hunter a video of my little mini Walmart tank, and he was like, ‘Can you get it to Full Sail tomorrow?’ And I was like, Oh, yes. And I ordered an Uber XL to get this Mini Tank over to Full Sail."

On whether the tank will make an appearance post-WWE?

"I'm still trying to get that tank back. Because Okay, so my little tank, they actually cut in half to make the bigger tank that you see on TV. So half of that is mine, which is the point that I made. I was like, 'Can I have half of the tank, or maybe all of it?' So, I mean, I'm willing to drive to Connecticut and get it out of the warehouse, if I have to."

On her NXT injury:

"It was just kind of a freak accident. It's not that far of a drop, and it was a move that I had done like a million times, and I just landed funky. I heard the pop. I felt it. It was painful to where your ears ring. But I think adrenaline kicked in a few seconds after that, and then I thought I was good, even though I heard the pop and it hurt really bad, I don't know, I think when adrenaline kicked in, I was just like, 'Wait, no, I'm fine. I can go. Please, let me go.' But I had already told the ref that I heard the pop, and when he heard me say that, he was like, 'Yeah, we can't let you continue.' I was like, 'No, I'm really good, please let me just wrestle.'"

On her return from injury:

"At the time I came back, I kind of thought okay, I'll probably be a surprise for Rumble. It was like December, so I figured, okay, they're probably gonna wait for Rumble, and I just didn't want to wait that long. I was like I've already been sitting at home for 10 months. I don't want to wait any longer. So that's when I asked if I could do some stuff at NXT. They were immediately like, yeah, absolutely, and I think I started that week." 

On missed dream matches:

"Asuka was always a dream match of mine. I got to wrestle her on a bunch of live events, but never one on one on TV. So I would have loved to do something with her. Alexa Bliss I was always a huge fan of. I loved tagging with Charlotte. But I mean, more recently forming the group with Gigi and Tatum. I really loved working with those girls and I thought we would be the new chick DX. I was really in love with us."

On her wedding and wrestling that night:

"That is something that I'm so grateful for that WWE let me do. So I got married in Vegas, and this was completely unplanned. We had been engaged for a few months, and we were planning a big wedding, and I got booked on a Vegas live event after the holidays. I turned to my husband, and I was like, 'What if we just eloped in Vegas?' He was like, 'Yes! Absolutely, let's do that.' I'm so glad we did it, because it was so stress-free and so much fun. And then when we decided that we were gonna do that, I hit up Road Dogg. And I was like, 'Hey, I'm getting married before the Vegas live event. Can I wrestle in my wedding dress and can we make it a whole thing?' He was like, Absolutely. Road Dogg is so down for the fun stuff. So yeah, he was game on. That's probably my favorite WWE memory."

On hitting Baron Corbin with the tank:

"It actually took 30 takes. Corbin wanted it to be good. He was on a mission. So I was just like aiming, so ridiculous. It took so long. So he had to do that whole promo, and then boom. Then if it missed, then do that whole promo again and hit him. But even the last take he was not satisfied with. He just sold it really well. But I really appreciate that he cared so much that we got him in the balls that well."

What is Shotzi grateful for?

"My community, my health and my creativity." 

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