by Gerry Strauss
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Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of "Seven Deadly Questions", aka a way for me to sneakily plug my website (Gerrystrauss.com) while bothering some of the best in the business. You know, I sit at work, spending my hours checking out the latest news in the world of wrestling, and all I see are arguments: conflicts between promoters, conflicts between wrestlers and promoters... heck, even conflicts between websites. I miss the days when we could all unite under the common bond of our collective infatuation with the hottest women in wrestling. So, In the interest of regaining some semblance of peace, I sought out none other than Valentina to join us for the latest edition of "Seven Deadly Questions"... enjoy, and drop me an e-mail at Gerrystrauss@aol.com with any comment, questions, interview requests, or anything else.
1) Most people would never expect that you are a product of the infamous LIWF "Doghouse", former home of Homicide, Monsta Mack, Danny Maff, Low Ki, and countless others. Now that the roster of this training facility is starting to become more respected in the business as a whole, what with Low Ki becoming an international superstar and Homicide finally breaking out, how does that affect you? Do you still keep in touch with your Doghouse alumni? Do you find that people expect anything special from you workrate wise based on your training origins?
I think it is great that the wrestling world is finally starting to accept the Doghouse. I remember a couple of years ago people would badmouth it, saying "you wouldn't go anywhere wrestling there," but obviously a lot of us have proved that statement wrong. It affects me in a positive way because it gives my training credibility. When people book me to wrestle a match, they expect it to be good knowing that I was trained under Homicide's wing. He is definitely the best trainer anyone could ask for. Unfortunately, I don't really keep in touch with a lot of the guys from the Doghouse because I live in Tennessee now, and don't get to see them.
2) A couple months ago, you were given an on-air role on NWA:TNA as a
member of "Bitchslap", a group of seemingly pissed-off females.
After the group's initial appearances, none of you have been seen on TNA
since? What happened, and what is the status of Bitchslap?
Well, we had been involved with an angle with the TNA dancers, and week
after week would attack them. It was basically an ongoing catfight that
would never happen because the security would break us up. The angle really
couldn't go anywhere because the dancers weren't trained wrestlers, so
it just faded away. I'm not sure when, or if any one of us will be used
again, but Bitchslap is definitely DEAD.
3) XPW is an inevitable issue when looking at your past. How did you
first end up there? Describe your time there, and your experiences with,
and opinions of, Rob Black, Shane Douglas, Lizzy Borden, etc. Why do you
think you were let go?
It's actually pretty weird how I ended up there. I had been online one
day talking with a fan who kept telling me that I should go work for XPW
when they came into town. He kept telling me they were interested in me,
so I decided to drop them an email to see if it was true or not. This
same fan had been emailing them telling them to use me on their show.
It was actually a good thing that he did that, because they saw my website
and promo video and liked it a lot, and started to use me on their shows.
I was only in XPW for a short time, but I enjoyed most of my time there
and liked everyone in the lockerroom. A lot of people ask me how Rob Black
treated me, and if he ever asked me to work for his porn company, and
the answer is NO. He never once asked me to do anything of that nature.
Shane Douglas was a great help to me because he would give me pointers
and so forth on what I could do better, or would point out exactly what
I did right. Lizzy Borden was sweet to me and I liked her a lot because
she was always goofy and funny. I don't think Rob and Lizzy should go
to jail for shipping out porn movies. People do far more worse things
than that and get away with it. I was let go from XPW because of things
that were out of my control...differences in the office.
4) Many former XPW wrestlers and employees have dealt with a degree of blackballing from the rest of the wrestling community, even after its apparent demise. Do you feel like some have shunned you simply because you worked for XPW?
I personally don't feel I have ever been blackballed because I worked for XPW...unless there is something I don't know about, haha.
5) A year or two ago, you were one of the more popular females on the East coast indy scene, specifically the NY/PA/NJ area. These days, your appearances here are few and far between, and you are instead concentrating your efforts in more southern, mostly Georgia. Why the geographic change? Compare and contrast your experiences in the various regions you have worked.
The reason I have focused on working down south is because that's where I live now. I wanted to get away from the East coast indy scene. In my opinion, a lot of the wrestlers and promoters that I have dealt with on the East coast were inconsiderate, pompous and just plain out unfriendly. Down south is a completely different world. In general the workers are a lot nicer, but they are a little bit behind the times. The fans believe that wrestling is real. A babyface worker is God to them, and the heel is Satan. The lack of barricades can become scary at times, especially when they pull out knives and surround the heel workers.
6) In past interviews, you have openly lambasted various women's wrestling promotions that you have worked for in the past, such as WEW and DWOW (Formerly GLOOW).You even said that you "think that the style they promote is garbage and a disgrace to women's wrestling. Even though my matches with Trinity H. Campbell and Alexis Laree were the only REAL and NON-PORNOGRAPHIC matches on the show, I regret working for them." (Credit: 1stsourcewrestling.com). What were your experiences like in this type of environment? Personally, speaking, where do you draw the line as to what is acceptable or not acceptable for you to participate in?
I hated working for WEW and GLOOW. I didn't like being in a lockerroom full of girls performing oral sex on each other, while running around with a 2 foot dildo. None of the girls were rude to me, but it was just a very uncomfortable environment. I would never participate in the type of matches WEW and GLOOW promote. I don't wrestle in bra and panties matches, or anything of that sort...but would consider it for WWE or TNA.
7) Judging from past interviews, you seem to have a fair amount of pride in your wrestling training and ability. That being said, would you hypothetically consider a nonphysical role in the WWE or TNA in the future if asked, such as an interviewer or dancer (like the TNA girls)?
I would consider being an interviewer if that's what it takes for me to make it to the big leagues. However, wrestling is what I love to do and would much rather prefer doing that for a living. I would not consider being a dancer for TNA though. I have worked too hard to become just T and A.
Thanx you for taking the time to read this interview. I hope you enjoyed it. Please be sure to check out my websites at www.myvalentina.com and www.hollywoodincdotcom.com . There are tons of pictures and video clips for your pleasure. Don't forget to sign the guestbook!
