Saturday 23rd July

''Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. My guest today is... I want to say Lex, but-''

''But nobody will know who the hell you're talking about.''

''Right! So, uh, you'll probably all know her better as WWE Diva; Sierra.''

''Urgh! I hate the that word, 'Diva'... it feels like a sideshow term to me. I don't see myself as that, I see myself as a wrestler.''

''I totally get it and, no offence meant to anyone, you are a better wrestler than a lot of the men out there.''

''Thank you.''

''So back when you started out in the WWE, it was before the whole 'PG era' came into it, how much do you think has changed for the women since then?''

''It was 2004 when I started out and back then, it wasn't uncommon to have the women and the guys mix it up in the ring. There were a lot of intergender tag matches, the 'Battle of the Sexes' match between Lita, Trish, Jericho and Christian-''

''And you did a lot of stuff with the guys too?''

''I did, yeah. I was lucky enough to be involved with the whole 'Evolution' storyline and got to work quite a bit with those guys. I got to take the Pedigree from Triple H and I even had a few chops to the chest from Flair, they hurt like a bitch!''

''I bet! Especially since... well, you know...''

''I've got boobs?''

''Yeah.''

''Yeah, I was bruised for a while after. I guess I'm pretty lucky that I never got implants put in, they would've exploded or something...''

''That's a great visual!"

''I know, right! So, yeah... I did a lot of stuff with Edge and Lita too, that was fun. And Umaga, I had a match against him. If you could even call it a match, it lasted like two minutes...''

''Didn't you briefly join DX at one point?''

''Yes! I'd almost forgotten about that! I think that was back in 2006. For Triple H and Shawn to even let me have the smallest part in that... it was amazing.''

''Did you get nervous at all? Working with big names like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair?''

"Honestly? I used to be terrified, it was a lot of pressure for them to have that kind of trust in me. Before each big match, or promo, I used to feel like I was either going to puke or piss myself.''

''...Classy...''

''What were we talking about? Oh, yeah... with the PG thing now, it's all changed. I mean, I do like that the women aren't sexualized so much. There's no bra and panties matches or paddle on a pole matches...''

''Wasn't your début a bra and panties match?''

''Yes, trust you to remember that! I used to hate them... You men will never understand the torture we women go through for those matches, if you did, you sure as hell wouldn't enjoy watching them.''

''Torture?''

''Tape! The amount of tape we have to use to make sure nothing pops out where it's not supposed to is unreal... There were times where I thought, fuck it, I'd rather have a nip slip than put myself through this.''

''I honestly don't think anyone would have minded!''

''Probably not... but, yeah... the women also don't really get to mix it up with the guys like we used to... that's the kind of thing that's missing today.''

''So you enjoyed working matches with men?''

"I think you get more of an opportunity to showcase what you can really do. Some girls can't base for certain things. Some girls won't catch you on certain dives. Men, you can give it you all and they rarely complain about it, some girls will bitch about breaking a nail. I, personally, love men versus women matches because it's wrestler versus wrestler. It's to see who the best wrestler out of the two is. I don't see why people dislike the concept so much. I mean, I'm not saying that Kelly Kelly should be wrestling Kane or whatever. I just think there's certain women wrestlers who can handle an intergender match and still have it be wrestler versus wrestler, you know?''

''Do you think, more recently, that there's more of a focus on looks rather than in-ring abilities when it comes to the women's division?''

''Yes... but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just a part of show business and sports entertainment. I was there when they had the first ever Diva Search and, at the time, we were all really dubious about it. Maria Kanellis was part of that and she was with the company for over six years. She wasn't the greatest in the ring but she worked her ass off and people loved her. Candice Michelle; she was completely inexperienced at first but she was really eager to learn. She was the first former Diva Search contestant to win the Championship. Eve Torres; she had no wrestling experience either but after winning the 2007 Diva Search, she worked hard and really improved herself... Michelle McCool's awesome... and Alicia Fox! She got signed to the WWE after being seen in a fashion catalogue by John Laurinaitis! I love her. I honestly think she's one of the most underrated women on the roster, I'd love to work with her when I go back... Hell, Trish even started out as a fitness model and look at everything she accomplished... They all proved that they deserved to be there. On the other hand, if someone wasn't willing to learn and just wanted to get by on their looks, that would piss me off.''

''All good points. God, I'd forgotten that you'd been around for so long!"

''I know, me too sometimes! Oh, and Stacy Keibler! I almost forgot about her, sorry Stace! She started out as one of the Nitro Girls, you know, just there to look all pretty. Then she came over to the WWE after they took over WCW. She was such a lovely person and she worked so hard to improve her in-ring abilities; she was always asking all the girls for help. There was this one time where she was supposed to win the Women's Championship but she actually turned it down, because she wanted to give other people who deserved it a chance. I've got a lot of respect for Stacy.''

''I think, along with Lita, you were one of the few women in the company that people could really relate to. I mean, you're obviously a beautiful girl, but you never emphasized it. You're outfits were never overly revealing and you were never caked in make-up like some of the others were. Was that a conscious decision on your part?''

''Yeah, totally. I was so young when I first started out too, I was just hell bent on proving to everyone what an athlete I was in the ring. I didn't care about my make-up as much and my outfits weren't as sparkly...I just wanted my match to be amazing. Lita and Trish were always the same. I remember when they were doing their main event match on Raw and I was standing with them while they got ready in the locker room. All the girls were around, putting on spray tan and everything was sparkly and shiny... They both looked at each other and Trish said, 'I think I wore this outfit for the past three days for the house shows.' I mean, you'd think that they'd care and be like, 'Got to wear something special for the main event,' but they didn't. It was just about what they were going to do in the ring. We were a lot alike in that respect, which is probably why so many people enjoyed our matches.''

''So, there's obviously a lot more pressure on women in this industry to look good. Was there ever any pressure for you to get breast implants? I mean, we know a lot of women in the past have had them done...''

''Not really, I mean, nobody ever came up to me and told me that I needed a bigger rack. If they had, I think I probably would have punched them in the face!"

''Sounds about right!"

''And as for the pressure to look 'perfect' all the time, I made sure to never let myself feel that way. I am who I am, flaws and all. I'm not apologetic for who I am, and I'm not going to be. It's just not me.''

''Were you ever asked to do Playboy?''

''A couple of times. Personally, I think there are some things that should be left to the imagination. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but it's not for me. I'd rather be remembered for what I do in the ring than showing off my goodies.''

''You were good friends with all the women? No backstage dramas or fights?''

''I mean, obviously there are going to be people that you don't get along with, in all walks of life. But other than one or two people, who I won't name, I was pretty good friends with most of the women there. I think when you're working with a friend in the ring, it makes such a difference. Trish, Lita, Molly Holly, Victoria, Mickie... They all helped me in their own way and I loved working with all of them.''

''Did you get any resentment from anyone backstage? You got in there and got a top spot really quickly.''

''Uh... not really, no. I was very fortunate with that. People could see that I was busting a gut and putting all my effort into my matches. It was almost hard to enjoy, because of all the other people I knew who were working so hard, but weren't acknowledged for it... I pissed off the agents a few times though, mainly by doing moves that they didn't approve beforehand...''

''Oooh, do tell!"

''I was feuding with Mickie a lot right before I got injured, and there was a fatal-four-way for the title at Judgment Day in 2008. Me, Mickie, Melina and Beth Phoenix. We were planning the match and going through our spots and stuff and I suggested that we do a DDT on the barricade. Mickie agreed and we kind of decided to hide it from everyone except the four of us. We did check with our agent first, to make sure it was okay. I think it was Fit, and it's no secret that he was always fighting for the girls there. We didn't really practice it, we just stood on the barricade to make sure we could stand safely and get our balance... So we're in the match, Beth and Melina are laid out around the ring while we do the bump on the outside. It looks sick, pops off... The next day, one of the agents came up to us and was like: 'I can't believe you did that! You have no idea! We were all backstage, scared to death!' We were like: 'What? We know how to safely bump. We wouldn't do anything that would put either one of us at risk. We're totally fine! If the men can do it, why can't we do it?' He said: 'It looked too good! You can't go out there throwing punches like that, or taking bumps like that - that looks better than some of the guys! You can't do that!' He was totally laying into us. Chris Jericho, hears all of this going on and comes over. He said: 'Look, if the guys can't follow what the girls are doing, then the guys need to step it up! I thought it was awesome. They did great. And it's not their problem that it looked that great!' It was awesome, to have one of the top guys there willing to stick up for us like that.''

''That's pretty stupid that they were calling you out on that, and kudos to Chris for speaking up for you guys. Speaking of Mr. Jericho, you guys are pretty good friends, aren't you?''

''Yeah, we are close... he keeps trying to get rid of me but it's not happening... He was the first person I met and he took me under his wing, showed me the ropes, so to speak.''

''Kind of like me and Punk did when we first met you?''

''Yeah! God, I was a total dork back then...''

''I hate to break it to you, but you still are! When did we first meet, was it 2001? 2002?''

''2002.''

''Okay, so, 2002. We're doing a Ring of Honor show at the old ECW arena in Philly. Me and Punk were practicing in the ring and we spot Lex, sat over near the ring, watching us. Punk being Punk, tells me she's hot so we should go over and talk to her. We head over and his opening line is; haven't I seen you someplace before?''

''So smooth...''

''And without missing a beat, she says; yeah, that's probably why I don't go there anymore.''

''It was the start of a beautiful friendship.''

''It really was... we spent practically the next year and a half together until you got called up to the WWE.''

''I had some of the best times of my life at Ring of Honor and with you two, you helped me so much.''

''You wrestled against some of the guys there didn't you?''

''Yeah, the bookers had seen some off my stuff from Mexico where I exclusively wrestled against the men, because there were no women. They thought it would be good idea, so they put me against a few of the guys that were willing to put me over; Matt Stryker, The American Dragon, Chris Spradlin...''

''You had a great match against Punk too.''

''I did... I totally kicked his ass and constantly remind him of that whenever he pisses me off.''

''And, am I right in thinking it was a match against Mickie that got you scouted by the WWE?''

''Yeah. She was wrestling as Alexis Laree back then. We had a match in July 2003 and there was a talent scout in the audience, which we didn't know at the time. We must have impressed because we both got signed and went down to OVW together.''

''You two are pretty tight then?''

''Yeah, she's awesome.''

''Tell me about growing up and how you first got into wrestling.''

''My dad was a wrestler. He was best friends with Eddie Guerrero when he was growing up and they both started out together. I was always at the shows when I was a kid and my love of it came from watching them. I think I was like, ten, when my dad had to retire after injuring his leg and we moved up to Canada, where my mom was from. I tried to convince him that I was set on becoming a wrestler but it took a while for him to take me seriously. Eventually he did and set up a ring in our backyard to start training me.''

''Was it, like, a full-sized ring?''

''No, it was only a small one. I think it was 16x16, just a little smaller than the ones at Ring of Honor. It was a complete heap of shit, but it worked... Anyway, he passed away a couple of years later... Me and my mom... I never really bonded with her like I did with my dad, we weren't close at all. After the funeral, she went out and destroyed the ring.''

''Destroyed it?''

''I swear it looked like she'd taken a fucking wrecking ball to it... We got into the biggest argument... Long story short, she gave me enough money for a flight, kicked me out, and I headed back down to Texas.''

''Let me get this straight; your Father dies, she takes away the ring you shared with him then kicks you out?''

''Pretty much, yeah.''

''And you were how old?''

''Twelve.''

''God, what a bitch... Have you spoke to her since?''

''Nope... but it's cool... I'm over it.''

''So what happened when you went to Texas, where did you go?''

''Well, Eddie was with the WWE by that point and Vickie and the girls had moved to Florida. So, Mando, Eddie's brother, took me in and agreed to carry on with my training. Little known fact, Mando used to work as a trainer at GLOW and was actually the one who trained Ivory.''

''Small world, huh? When did you go down to Mexico?''

''Just after I turned fifteen. Mando pulled some strings with some people he knew in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, which is one of the most prominent independent promotions in Mexico. There wasn't a big women's division down there at the time, so they just decided to put me in a mask as pass me off as a dude.''

''What about, you know, boobs?''

''I was a bit of a late bloomer... when I finally did, I had to strap them up.''

''Where did you live while you were down there?''

''Luckily, my dad had made some pretty good friends down there and one of them agreed to take me in. José Luis Rodríguez Arellano, also known as Dos Caras.''

''That name sounds familiar...''

''He's Alberto Del Rio's father.''

''Really? So you grew up with Alberto Del Rio?''

''Kind of... he was twenty-three at the time, so he was out doing his own thing while I did mine. His mom was amazing, usually she was surrounded by men so she loved having a girl around the house.''

''It's weird that I never knew that...''

''I guess you don't know me as well as you thought you did.''

''Obviously not! So, we've talked about everything except for the elephant in the room... your injury... I know sometimes when people suffer a traumatic injury they black out and don't remember anything. Do you remember what happened that night?''

''I really wish I didn't and it was all a big blank but yeah, I remember pretty much everything.''

''So, you were in the ring with Mickie about to do your finisher from the top rope and you fall...''

''Yeah... I really can't explain why it happened... I think the bottom of my boot got caught on the top turnbuckle, I'm not entirely sure without watching it back.''

''You haven't watched it since?''

''Fuck no. Living it once was bad enough, I don't need to watch it too.''

''What was going through your mind?''

''As I was falling, all that was going through my mind was that I needed to try and not land on my head. Which, obviously, didn't work out too well for me. I must have blacked out for, like, a second after I hit the steps because I don't really remember hitting them. I just remember laying face down on the mat, looking over to see my wrists completely bent in and not being able to move.''

''I remember watching at home and I was freaking the fuck out. As soon as you hit the steps the camera cut away to the crowd who were all silent. The announcers weren't saying anything other than that you were being seen to by the doctors. I seriously thought you'd died or something, especially when I couldn't get in touch with Punk.''

''Yeah, when the crowd went quiet it was super weird... apparently, it was the same backstage. Everybody was watching the monitors wondering what the fuck was going on.''

''I can imagine. Save for the Owen Hart accident, nothing like that had really happened before... Were you in a lot of pain?''

''Not as much as you would think. My shoulders hurt and my face and chest felt like they were on fire...''

''What happened after they got you backstage?''

''Everyone was crowded around, asking what had happened and if I was alright. I was like, do I fucking look alright to you? I still couldn't feel anything so I just kept my eyes closed and tried to stop myself from getting hysterical.''

''Who went to the hospital with you?''

''Chris... he was supposed to have a match right after me but Stephanie changed it and sent him with me instead. I can remember her screaming and swearing about the ambulance not being there yet. So, I finally get to the hospital and they had to completely stabilize me before the doctor told Chris that he needs to call my family because they didn't think I'd make it through the night.''

''What the fuck, really?!"

''Yeah, I know. He didn't tell me this at the time, obviously... He called Mando and Vickie, who were the closest to family I have. They flew in right away, Stephanie arranged everything, she was brilliant...''

''What exactly did you do to your neck? Obviously, you broke it, but it must have been really severe for them to think you could die.''

''I broke my C1, C2 and then I herniated my C5 and C6. C1 is, like, a ring at the top of your skull... it controls all of your range of motion. They said, normally what happens is that bone will snap inward and it'll sever all the nerves there which controls your breathing, controls the blood pumping to your brain, everything... somehow, by some miracle, mine went in, hit my spinal cord and bounced back out.''

''And they told you that you wouldn't be able to move again?''

''Yeah... but three days later, I did. I could move my hands, I didn't have a lot of feeling in them but I could move them. Then, I started to feel my feet and everything started to come back. A physical therapist came in to work with me and she helped me get out of bed, but it was too painful to walk. A few days later, I had resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably never get into the ring again. Then, in walked Lita.''

''Lita came to see you?''

''I know, I was surprised too. We were friends but we had sort of lost touch when she retired. She gave me this huge pep talk, basically told me to stop feeling sorry for myself and man the fuck up.''

''Nice.''

''It's what I needed. After she'd left, I got up and managed to walk down the hall to the bathroom, all by myself.''

''How are you feeling now?''

''Health wise, I'm 100 percent. I'm still doing some rehab on my neck, you know, to try to keep it as strong as possible. After the surgery I spent a lot of time sat at home in my neck brace, not able to do anything so I gained a bit of weight. As soon as I could, I went back to working out and now, physically, I think I'm in the best shape of my life.''

''When do you think you'll be back?''

''Honestly, I think it'll be a while until I'm back in the ring full-time. I've only just managed to get over the fear of going up to the top rope again... so, mentally, there's still a lot of things to work on.''

''You're down in Florida now aren't you? Training at the developmental facility?''

''Yeah, I'm working at FCW until I'm ready to go back to the main roster.''

''What's it like down there?''

''It's an amazing place. Everyone's been so supportive and welcoming.''

''Any future stars down there we need to look out for?''

''There's so many, I'm not going to give any names because I'm bound to forget someone and they'll be pissed at me.''

''Just a few standouts...''

''Okay; Johnny Curtis, who I believe you have doing a podcast with you in a couple of weeks?''

''I do, stay tuned people!''

''Um, Leo Kruger, Damien Sandow, Big E Langston, Brad Maddox, Bo Rotunda, Husky Harris, Leakee, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose...''

''What about women?''

''AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Naomi, Raquel Diaz.''

''Eddie Guerrero's daughter?''

''One and the same. She's amazing, her old man would be so proud... There's a lot of talented people down there. Honestly, I don't know why some of them haven't been called up to the main roster yet.''

''I'm sure they will, good things happen to those who wait, as they say... Now, I have one more thing to ask you, and it's extremely important...''

''Okay...''

''Who do you like better; me or Punk?''

''Oooh! You can't ask me that, that's not fair!"

''Answer it!"

''Okay, I'm basing my answer purely on who gives the best lap dance... Colt!"

''Yes! I finally beat Punk at something!''

''You are way too happy about this...''

''I know. And on that note, thank you to my lovely guest for today, Sierra! Make sure to follow her on Twtter!"