Steph de Lander looks back on her days as Persia Pirotta in WWE NXT.
De Lander signed with WWE in 2021. She debuted on WWE NXT as a close friend of Indi Hartwell. They were featured as a tag team, and they later feuded before the company cut De Lander in a wave of releases in April 2022.
Speaking with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard, De Lander was asked to reflect on how much of the Persia Pirotta character was her. She stated that none of it was.
“I mean, none of it was me,” Steph De Lander said. “Especially at that time, all of our words were written word for word for us and there wasn’t much. When you’re a low-level character on NXT, you don’t have creative control. Like that’s silly to think that you would, so I wouldn’t say any of that was me.”
Pushing The Limits With Persia Pirotta
Steph De Lander continued by describing how she felt more invested in the character when she got to push the limits. She made it clear that she was determined to make it as ridiculous as possible so they would generate more buzz.
“I would say the parts of it that were me were pushing the limits,” Steph De Lander said. “When we did things that were really risqué or when we did things that were pushing the limits or too sexual, all that kind of sh-t, that’s where I was really on board for it because I was like, ‘Look, if we’re gonna do this, if you’re making me make out with someone every week who’s not my boyfriend, then we need to have something to show for it.
“So let’s go balls to the wall. Let’s go as ridiculous and over the top as possible so at least it’ll gain traction and views and all of that, which it did. So that side of it, once we were given the story, then I was like, ‘Okay, let’s go 110%, like let’s commit to it.’ So that side as far as going really far, that was me. But I feel a lot more connected to what I’m doing now than I did back then.”
What She Learned From Her Time As Persia
Steph De Lander was also asked to describe what she took away from her experience as Persia Pirotta. She explained how it helped her see that sex sells and it draws attention.
“Yeah, definitely. I think I learned from that, which I think I already knew. But I think that experience really solidified for me ‘sex sells,'” De Lander said. “If that’s an element that you have as part of your character, it’s a great way to get views. It’s a great way to make money. It’s a great way to connect with a certain fanbase. That is what I took away from that. Everyone is interested by sexual content, whether it’s a child, an adult, a male, a female, a grandma, whatever it is.
“If you see something sexually provocative on television, it’s gonna turn people’s heads and it’s gonna capture their attention. Even if it’s for a second, even if they like it, they disagree with it. Whatever it is, it gets people talking, and I’ve realized that. So I definitely kind of kept in line with that with my new lipstick and my OnlyFans and some of my merch and all of that. Toeing that line, being a little bit cheeky, being a little bit inappropriate, but in a fun way. But that’s my personality anyways. That’s not something new. But yeah, that’s an element from Persia that I’ve definitely kept with Steph De Lander for sure.”
Playing things up came in handy for De Lander’s outside ventures too. She recently introduced a new lipstick through her DSL by SDL brand. The lip stain is called “GTA Stripper Red” and it’s supposed to invoke exactly what you picture when you hear it.
The full interview with Steph De Lander is available here:
