The main event of last week's St. Patrick's Day Slam episode of AEW Dynamite saw Thunder Rosa win the AEW Women's World Title from Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. in a Steel Cage Match. The new AEW Women's World Champion recently spoke with NBC Sports Boston’s Ten Count on what kind of a champion she wants to be and how she wants to achieve it.
Thunder Rosa said:
“Fighting Champion, if possible.” “I mean, when I defended the NWA Women’s Title during COVID times, I was defending. I think it is very important to bring something different to the table, and me as Thunder Rosa, I can’t stay still. I would love to do that. I would love to, if it’s a possibility, to take it to Japan, defend it in Japan. If there’s another possibility to go to my homeland, Mexico, I would love to defend it in Mexico.”
“I think it will be really awesome. I’ve said it before, Kenny Omega was able to do that. I think there is a time for us to, as women, to be able to do something like that, you know? Be a fighting a champion, that will be my dream, honestly. I always dream to bring, especially this title, the AEW Women’s Title to many different places where they haven’t been seen.”
Thunder Rosa also talked about how the wrestling fans is still going to have an opinion in regards to women's wrestling and how they will criticize the women wrestlers no matter what they do as they have been programmed a certain way for decades as well as how people used to make fun of them all the time and that includes being a Mexican just like WWE Champion Brock Lesnar did of her culture when he made fun of Eddie Guerrero, but that she is trying to change that little by little.
Thunder Rosa said:
“Everybody’s going to criticize no matter what.” “Even on Wednesday, people were criticizing. ‘Why are you guys, why? It’s so much blood. Why is it so much, why are you so violent? Why is this? Why is that?’ It’s like, people are programmed a certain way and they have been programmed for professional wrestling for decades to be a certain way because of how things have been handled before.”
“I can tell you, I read about me bringing the Mariachi and I remember Brock Lesnar making fun of Eddie Guerrero with that. And that hurts because they were making fun of my culture before. And on Wednesday, I represented our culture properly; with honor and with respect. Because people were, ‘oh, Mariachi, fun. Like, let’s make fun of Mexicans.’”
“It’s the same with women. People used to make fun of us all the time. We used to be the popcorn match all the time because that was how people have been programmed for so long. Not anymore. We’re working really, really hard guys. You guys can criticize us all you want, but we’re working really hard in every single company, I feel, because we’re changing things little by little.”
“And I tell you, by taking that to a next level, I run a women’s promotion on purpose. So people can see we’re not a popcorn match. Every single match is a banger, you know? And I have one exhibition match and that’s a men’s match on purpose, you know? So like I said, give us time, it’s going to happen.”
Thunder Rosa then spoke about how there is still a lot of work to be done for the women’s division in AEW and for her own wrestling promotion as well as how these things take time and it won't be perfect all the time, but she thinks they are on the right path to do it and she intends to be more outspoken in terms of what they like to see.
Thunder Rosa said:
“I always said that there is work to do, right?” “I personally have taken that into another level. You know that I run Mission Pro Wrestling, so I always try to bring ideas or new talent to the table. A lot of the girls that have worked at AEW have worked in my promotion before. I think we’re on the right path. Revolution, we had three women’s matches instead of one, so that’s a big deal. We main-evented on Wednesday. Yeah, people were complaining that we should have had five more minutes, but things are not going to be perfect all the time. It takes a while.”
“And I think we are on the right path to do it and there’s a lot more than one storyline right now, for women. And I don’t think people are saying anything about that. I always thought that there are growing pains before things start working the way they should be working, right? But I think we all working very hard to sharpen our skills. That is in the ring, on our promos, on our presentation. So, like I said, as a champion, I will be a little bit more outspoken in terms of what we like to see, for all the ladies in the locker room.”
You can check out Thunder Rosa's comments in the video below. H/T to Wrestling Inc. for transcribing the above quotes.
