Q & A: PORTIA PEREZ
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by Shiai Mata A young woman making quite a commotion in Ottawa, Canada is Portia Perez. Barely two years into her career, the teenager is already in the Canadian Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame for "contributing to the world of Canadian wrestling." Now, she speaks in an exclusive LadySports Online interview! Q: Welcome, Portia. How about giving the fans some of your stats? A: I was born on October the 26th, 1986. I stand 5'3" and weight 123 pounds. And I'm a brunette with brown eyes. Q: When did you begin wrestling? A: Just over two years ago, in December of 2003. Q: Who influenced you the most to become a wrestler? A: Shawn Michaels. I wanted to be like him when I was growing up, and I still love his work. Other than that, I'd say the junior heavyweight in general. I love high flying stuff and good chain wrestling. Q: What is so special about this sport to you? A: I really don't know what's so special. I've just always loved everything about it. Q: Would you say wrestling has changed your life? A: No, wrestling hasn't really changed my life, because wrestling IS my life, and it has been since I was about two years old. Q: What other sports and hobbies do you have an interest in? A: Wrestling takes up most of my time. I enjoy training, working out and studying tapes. Other than that, I really love rollercoasters, practicing aerial moves on my trampoline, and listening to hip hop. I've also been known to cook quite a bit. Q: If you have the power, what one thing would you do to make the sport better? A: I'd like to see women's wrestling be taken more seriously. Q: What are you favorite foods, music, clothes, and so forth? A: For food, I love anything Mexican, and I also love chocolate. Music, I love hip hop…people like 2 Pac, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo. I'm also a big fan of action movies, like "Mission Impossible" and "Goldeneye." Q: What would make you most happy in life? A: Eventually, I'd like to be thought of in this business as a good and respected worker. Q: Who are your fans, and what are they like? A: I have fans from all over the U.S., Canada, Europe, even Africa! They're great…they send me E-mails wishing me luck on my trips, and they send me pictures from my shows. It's great! My biggest fans are definitely my family, thought. They're very supportive, and go to as many shows as they can. They help me out any way they can, and it's really helped me get to where I am. Q: Describe a typical day of training for you. What do you focus on the most? A: Well, I work out during the day, before I go to training. I lift weights three days a week, and I also do a lot of Hindu squats, crunches, and jumping exercises. Wrestling training for me usually starts out with warming up with some of my ‘trademark-type moves'…Tilt-A-Whirl DDT's, Code Reds, Hurricaranas, Spinning Heel Kicks, that sort of thing. After that, I usually run cardio drills, and then drill with the newer guys, whoever happens to be working on that day. Then we often run tag or singles matches. Following that, what I work on depends a lot on my mood. Some days I feel like flying, some days I feel like chaining, and some days I feel like taking big bumps. Oftentimes I'll watch a tape or show and see a move or two that I want to try, or get an idea for something. It all depends on how my mind is working that day. Q: What moves are you best known for? A: I am best known for two things, my chaining and my flying. When I'm chaining, I tend to try to throw backflips and front handsprings in, things like that. I always try to combine chaining with flying a bit, to make it different. Other than that, I do a lot of Tilt-A-Whirl combinations. I'm always coming up with new ones…I try to do just about anything out of a Tilt-A-Whirl! I also do the other moves I mentioned earlier, plus Fisherman's Suplexes. My finisher is called "The Kosher Pickle," which is an Unprettier/Acid Drop combo. Q: What was the worst you have ever been injured in the ring? A: I busted my collarbone last year, although that may have been a trampoline injury more so than a wrestling one. My back has been injured and reinjured more times than I care to remember. Q: Where have you wrestled? A: I've wrestled in Canada and the United States, and I'm preparing to leave for a tour of Ireland and England for about three weeks. [Note: Portia finishes her UK tour on February 20] Q: What, if any, titles have you held? A: I've held only one title so far, the MEW Women's Championship in Ontario. Q: What comments or reactions do you get from others about being a wrestler? A: Generally, it's "Really? You wrestle? You don't look like a wrestler!" Followed by, "The fake kind?" And concluded with, "Well, I guess I better not mess with you…you'll kick my ass (wink wink, nudge nudge)." All of which then provokes a giant Portia eye roll. Q: What is your opinion about women participating in the sport today? A: I don't think there's any reason why we can't. A lot of women are just as good as, if not better than, a lot of the guys. As long as the women are just as serious and just as hardworking as the guys, I think we deserve to be treated just as well. Q: What is your most marked characteristic? A: I think I'm best known for my humor, both in and out of the ring. Q: What is your most memorable ring moment? A: Probably wrestling for IWA East Coast in Charleston. It was the most heat I've ever gotten…the crowd was just incredible. You could tell they were having a great time, which always makes me happy. Q: How would you describe yourself? A: I'm very focused and ambitious when it comes to wrestling. Other than that, I'm not very serious. I joke around a lot and like to have fun. I'm often very deep in thought about wrestling, life, funny lines to use in promos, whatever. I like to travel and be outside, and see different places. Q: What is your greatest regret? A: I regret not taking time off to heal my collarbone when I originally injured it, and not letting it heal properly when I finally did take a couple weeks off. It hasn't been the same since, and I doubt it ever will be. Q: What would you do if you couldn't be wrestling? A: I likely wouldn't exist without wrestling. Q: What is your personal motto? A: As David Bly has said, striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted.
Visit MsPerez at portiaperez.com |
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