Ivelisse recently spoke with WrestleZone editor-in-chief Bill Pritchard before she steps in the ring with Diamante at Ladies Night Out 7 on August 17 at The Booker T World Gym Arena in Texas City, Texas.
Ivelisse shared her thoughts on facing Diamante, who she says she is familiar with, but has never faced off with in the ring. Ivelisse says she’s excited for the match as many people are, also noting the similarities in their styles visually.
“Well, I mean, I remember her beginnings when she first started as Angel Rose, and then she had the opportunity to join LAX and adopt and morph into the same type of character. And that’s pretty cool. So it is the first time ever—from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s a match a lot of people have been wanting to see. And I’m pretty excited. This is, technically, the first time that I wrestle a girl with the same type of style, character, whatever—regardless, whether she chose to or not or whether [the gimmick] was given to her or not, it’s the first time that my character goes against her character, speaking in pro wrestling terms.
Me as a fan of pro wrestling, on that note, I’m pretty excited for that. I also feel that not only for that, but for personal reasons, myself, throughout my 15-year career, it was really hard to even be myself. That’s where I come from, and allow that to come out, throughout those years, it was hard to do that. Whatever shine or recognition that can be put, not just me, but also another female representing that as well, I feel—I’m pretty excited for it.”
Ladies Night Out 7 is co-promoted by Title Match Wrestling and Booker T’s Reality Of Wrestling. Ivelisse says despite the ‘Ladies’ concept being fairly new, she can see more women’s wrestling shows moving towards this format, where we see a mix of established names like herself and Mercedes Martinez, and up-and-coming names in the region. She says the best female talent in the world are starting to be seen on shows like this and she hopes she can bring the same high quality of work that she brought to Shine to Ladies Night Out.
Last Sunday, Trish Stratus had her final match at SummerSlam against Charlotte Flair. Ivelisse had the experience of having Trish as one of her Tough Enough trainers, and recalled how much of an influence Trish had on her own career.
“I would say that she had a big influence. Honestly, the one moment that always sticks out to me was—an inspiration moment might I say—was definitely when I saw her and Lita main event on RAW. It was the first time a woman main evented a show; that is always a go-to to me on one of the things that inspired me to start contributing towards that women’s ‘revolution.’ It really awesome to see her go back in there. She did great, so it’s pretty cool.”
Related: Ivelisse Talks Involvement In The AEW Battle Royal, Gaining Momentum & Goals In Wrestling
