Paige Talks About Being A Pioneer Of Being A Women’s Wrestler In WWE & Helping The Talent On Smackdown

Smackdown Live General Manager Paige was on an episode of Busted Open Radio with Mark Henry and Dave LeGreca Tuesday morning to promote Smackdown 1000. The first NXT Women’s Champion talked about how her experience helped her change the women’s wrestling mindset in the FCW days and the advice she gives to the current crop of women’s talent on Smackdown.  Below are some quotes and the clip of the entire 15-minute interview below (transcription credit should go to Dominic DeAngelo of WrestleZone):

Paige on helping change the Diva ideals in FCW:

“I made a couple of girls cry when I first started. I was like ‘I’m so sorry this is how I wrestle! I apologize.’ But then I had to start doing like the bikini contest in FCW and then I had to put my foot down I was like ‘No, I’m here to wrestle. That’s what I want to do. I’m not here to flash my body, I’m not here to not be wearing wrestling boots.”

On mentoring current crop of Smackdown talent:

“Anytime they [Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose] have a match and stuff I pull them aside and say ‘you know what, this would look really good if you do it this way.” And it’s so great that they like listen to you. And the thing is with The IIconics as well. Like the girls always come up to me after every match and be like ‘well, what do you think?’ And I love it. I love it because I can’t compete in the ring anymore, so anything I can give back is amazing and then I can kind of like live vicariously through them too, I’m like ‘well let’s do this, this could be great.'”

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