Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Monday, March 24, 2008 at 3:05 AM EST

Interview Recap: Maria speaks on being a Playboy cover girl, her career thus far and Wrestlemania 24

Interview conducted by Ryan Rider and Steve Rockamaniac of http://www.MainEventRadio.com

Interview Audio can be downloaded at http://www.maineventradio.com/audio.htm

Q : What’s it like being a Playboy cover girl and what made you decide to bare it all?

A: It’s absolutely incredible, It’s glamorous, It’s sexy, It’s Fun, It’s Humbling to be on the cover of Playboy, there is only 12 a year so that’s extremely exciting, The WWE has done so well with the girls in the past who have done Playboy, so to be a part of that is amazing, it really is.

Q : Of course you started with the WWE back in 2004 as part of the diva search contest, but were you a wrestling fan growing up, and what made decide to enter into that competition?

A: Yes I was a wrestling fan growing up, I used to watch it with my father and my brother, we would watch a show, it was something we would do all together, I had gotten out of it in high school, but I got back into it when I was in college, and one week while I was watching Monday Night Raw, they showed a commercial for the Diva Search and I just said hey im gonna enter and see what I can do, I love The Rock, I thought his interviews and the things that he did were just amazing and knew that I wanted to be part of that company, so I entered the diva search and didn’t hear anything, then the next week, I saw my picture on Raw, and I was screaming and hollering it was absolutely amazing.

Q: When you ended up being eliminated from the diva search was it at all discouraging for you to continue persuing a career in pro wrestling or were you determined to make your way to the top?

A: What’s funny about that is, I’ve been told no so many times in life that its one of my favorite words because I like to prove people wrong, Being eliminated was just great motivation for me, I was told No I would never model, no you’ll never do something on TV, no this no that, and when they eliminated me, I called every single week to the WWE and said let me try and do this, and I got a call back from talent relations and they said what do you think about going to Ohio and learning how to wrestle and I responded Ill start driving now! And it’s been an amazing ride.

Q: So what was the actual wrestling training like?

A: The first two weeks that I went down to OVW was in December 2004, I went down there and there was two guys who were training and one was good cop, and one was bad cop, and it was very hard, taking a billion bumps, doing squats, I think the first day we did like 900 squats or something, and it was hard, but im glad it was hard, It takes a long time to learn how to wrestle, some people are quicker at picking it up at others and some people just keep working at it, and the more experience you have and the more your in the ring, the more you learn, and lately ive been feeling more and more confident because ive had that opportunity to get in the ring.

Q: Was there any animosity towards you at the beginning from the other woman wrestlers?

A: You know, we came in from the diva search, me, Christy Hemme, Candice Michelle,Michelle Mc Cool, Joy was there at the time, Amy was there, Carmella, there was a bunch of us, and we hadnt’t don’t the training that the others girls had done, we hadn’t learned that you shake everybody’s hand, so it was a learning process, but im happy for it, and it’s the same thing that the girls get coming in today, so im glad wrestling is the way it is today because it makes you more of a family.

Q: With you getting the chance to be in the ring more often you have been involved with Santino Marella, what has it been like working with him?

A: He is a very funny man, but at the same time, he has been kinda messing things up for me lately, he got involved in one match and ended up tearing up my (playboy) cover and Melina got one over on me, he didn’t like that I was doing Playboy, so he put his face all over my cover and that was supposed to be my night, and he wanted to ruin it, but he didn’t end up ruining it, and now its gonna be Bunnymania at Wrestlemania, and Im wondering what he is gonna try at Wrestlemania.

Q: That’s right, Wrestlemania is now only a week away, so what can we expect from your in ring Wrestlemania debut in the playboy bunny match?

A: Well its gonna be a very interesting night, as of right now, Candice Michelle re-broke her clavicle on Monday, and I don’t whats gonna happen with that, she was my tag team partner, and as of right now she has been saying Im gonna do it, no matter what, im gonna be in the ring, but I don’t know how much she can be, and I don’t know how she is gonna be feeling when she gets out there, so it’s my first time ever wrestling at Wrestlemania, so im gonna put all the stops out, Passion is my motivation, and that night im gonna be extremely passionate, especially if im down one partner.

Q: You must be a little nervous heading into your in ring debut at Wrestlemania

A: I don’t really get nervous, I get excited, I get overwhelmed, but I don’t get nervous, but we’ll see what that night has.

Q: People listening to this interview might not know, but you actually doing a photoshoot at the same time that your doing interviews, it must be second nature for you now to be photographed doing all the WWE photo shoots, as well as your modeling career and of course being in Playboy this month, is it easy for you to handle a schedule when you often have to do 2 things at the same time?

A: We’ll it certainly provides for some fun, we get to kill two birds with one stone while still making my flight out tonight, but the WWE definitely makes you think, and makes you work, I never know, when I go to Monday Night Raw if im gonna be walking out with Santino, or if im gonna be in a match, or if im gonna be cutting a promo, or if im gonna be in pudding or jello or what’s gonna happen that night, so we kinda have to learn how to deal with multiple different things at the same time, but ive been doing photo shoots since I was 14, so that part of it is fun, and its always been entertaining, I love different types of clothes and photoshoots have become second nature for me.

Q: I remember a little over a year ago, on Raw you had a match with Umaga where he obviously got the better of you, what was that one like?

A: Oh my gosh! It was scary and very frightening, that’s a big dude, and when he hit me in the corner, I think every single bone in my body cracked!

Q: What’s it been like working for Vince McMahon?

A: He is the absolute best boss in the world because he will not ask you to do anything he wouldn’t do himself, and that’s very hard to compete with. If he asks you to jump off the top rope, or jump off some scaffold, it’s nothing he wouldn’t do himself and because of that he is a great boss.

Q: With it being that time of the year where we all like to look back at Wrestlemania’s history and our all time favorite moments, I was wondering what would be your favourite Wrestlemania moment of all time?

A: I loved The Rock vs Stone Cold from 1999, I LOVED that match, and it definitely sticks out in my mind, im probably too young to remember the older Wrestlemania’s.

Q: You come off as very intelligent and well spoken here in conversation, so how did the ditzy character come about?

A: Well I think it just plays off the fact that everyone has their ditzy moments, everybody has their moments of innocence or forgetfulness, and that is where the character came from, and that was great for me, especially coming in the way I did, as I didn’t have any experience interviewing people, so if I messed up I had a way out to explain it without it looking bad.

Q: Being the superstar that you are, you must have had some encounters with some crazy male fans, any stories that stick out?

A: There was one guy after the Playboy photo shoot, he followed me through the airport, and im totally cool with signing stuff, Ill sign whatever you want, Im super excited that people want me to sign something, I think that’s the coolest thing in the world, but when a guy is like following me through the entire airport, and it was so creepy and not only that but I was lugging all this luggage, he could of at least came and helped me if he was gonna follow me! Finally I was like dude if you want me to sign something ill sign whatever you want but stop following me its really creepy!

Q: What was your experience like with travelling over to Iraq as part of the tribute to the troops?

A: It was a great experience, going to Iraq, and visting the troops, was probably one of most rewarding things ive ever done. They are so dedicated to what there doing, and not only are American troops over there but there is people from all over the globe and to see all the camaraderie too was very cool, plus they haven’t smelled a girl in a long time, so when they get to stand next to us, there so excited, and it’s great to give back even a little something.

Q: When you in ring career comes to an end, would you like to follow in the footsteps of previous wrestlers who have made the leap to the acting field and possibly be featured in some films or tv shows?

A: Definitely. I take acting classes so I would love to do movies, I love the show LOST, and even if I was some wild animal running through the jungle id do that! Ive been picketing for it, I definitely have….
I was watching Dancing With The Stars the other night and I was like it would be so much fun to do another one with one of the (wrestling) girls, it would be great.
I design my own clothes, I definitely want to branch out and create my own label one day, Im also getting involved in a couple of other projects that I want to keep hush hush for right now, but there is definitely a lot of things I want to do outside of the world of pro wrestling.

Q: Getting back to Wrestlemania, What match besides your own are you most looking forward to?

A: Definitely Money Mayweather vs The Big Show

Q: What’s your pick for that one?

A: I have to say Show, he outweighs Mayweather by 400 pounds, and as long as Show can get his hands on him, its gonna be over from there I think.

Q: What is the feeling like in the locker room in the days and weeks leading up to a big show like Wrestlemania? What does it mean to you when you know your about to perform in front of a crowd of 70,000 people in Orlando and millions around the world on PPV, In other words is there a special buzz that takes over when you know that Wrestlemania is right around the corner.

A: Definitely, Everything means more. The stories, The gym, eating right, or the interviews that you do or whatever it is, it all means more, and you know that at Wrestlemania your gonna pull out all the stops, it doesn’t matter how high the jump is, or how hard you get hit, or whatever concerns you have going into it, you throw it all to the wind, Wrestlemania is the biggest event for the WWE, and for the entire world, its absolutely huge, and when you leading up to something like that, your mind does not go very far from it, and that’s all ive thought about, is what I can do at Wrestlemania, to make it really meaning full, and to make it special, and to remember it for the rest of my life, because this one is my first one, and you never forget your first!

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