Impact Wrestling star Laurel Van Ness (Chelsea Green) recently spoke with Tiffy Thompson for VICE; you can read a few highlights below:
Laurel Van Ness comments on coming up with her on-air character:
I remember being told; if you’re a bad guy, find something that people hate about you. Maybe you have a voice that people get really annoyed with. Whatever it might be. On the other hand, if you’re a good guy, you’re trying to get the crowd behind you. Try to play the underdog.
I found that when I went to the ring as a bad guy, people hated that I took care of myself. That I went to the gym, that I had hair extensions, that I put makeup on. They hated that I was a girly-girl. I thought, OK, I’m going to crank that up to 110 percent and make people really annoyed. So I go out there and talk about the way I look, or the way I dress compared to what they’re wearing. That really annoys people.
As you progress in your career, your character progresses and evolves. I started with an idea, and it’s evolved into this rich, money-hungry, daddy’s girl character. With Impact now, they wanted my character to get married and be left at the altar, so I’ve changed it to a jilted bride.
Laurel Van Ness comments on bonding with her co-workers:
Yeah. In a way, it’s like a sisterhood. We all wanna look out for each other. You should have everyone’s best interests at heart. Although we’re competing for the same spots, we also need to make each other look good, and support each other. Because we get in the ring together, you have to trust these girls. A lot of us are friends. I’d say I’m friends with 90% of the girls I meet. I have to trust these girls with essentially my body and my life.
It’s like any normal job. There are people you butt heads with. The main thing is that while you might have difference of opinion, when you get into the ring you take care of each other and you don’t try to hurt the other person. As silly as that sounds, because what we’re doing is beating each other up.
LVN comments on the wrestling industry’s embrace of women’s wrestling:
Three years ago is when I saw the fans really turn and take on a love for women’s wrestling. Women were doing amazing things back then, but they weren’t as recognized as they are now. In the past three years, they’ve had the Divas Revolution—which is a step in the right direction for women. We’re being noticed, we’re main event-ing, we’re doing the ladders and chairs and cage matches—things they really didn’t want us to do before. There are so many eyes on female wrestlers—that’s what we needed. That mainstream focus.
Now we have the show Total Divas—even though it’s a reality show, it’s still focused on women in this industry. A lot of girls watch it and think; I’ve never thought of it like that. I never thought female wrestlers could be cool and strong and beautiful. They’ve never seen that side of us.
