Aida Marie makes an unforgettable entrance
Two years ago a young lady of Puerto Rican descent began training at WUW in Brooklyn. She has since broken on to the wrestling scene and is one of the hardest working indy girls on the East Coast. She has expanded from new York and New Jersey to Pennsylvania where she won the S.W.O. championship. One belt was not enough and she has collected three more. I think you will enjoy getting inside the mind of the petite heel -- the Psycho Siren -- as she sat down to speak with me.
DF: How did a petite, Puerto Rican girl like you become interested in professional wrestling?
Aida: My family has always been big into wrestling, when I was really little I was scared of it (especially since I am coulrophobic and back then there was a pretty popular character who dressed like a clown) but following the 1995 Royal Rumble that my brother and cousin made me watch I became hooked. Since then I have been watching it like a maniac and I love it.
DF: When did you begin training? Who have been your primary trainers? What was the most difficult part of training physical or mental?
Aida: I started training in 2009 with the WUW. The people who trained me varied from day to day since people came in when it fit their schedules best. Everybody in that school helped me out training-wise though. As far as what is the most difficult, I would say the mental aspect because bruises and cuts go away pretty quickly but in order to prosper one has to unlock one's mind to the wildest possibilities and that can take a whole lot of time, depending.
DF: How did your family respond when they heard you wanted to wrestle? What about your friends?
Aida: My family immediately gave me support, my parents were worried naturally but after they saw how much I wanted it, they got on board although my mom still asks me every two seconds if something hurt whenever she sees a match of mine and she curses at my opponents, a lot. As far as my friends go, they support me too, most find it cool and crazy at the same time.
Aida Marie delivers a blow to Annie Social
DF: What technique do you aspire to? Do all small wrestlers have to be high-flyers, like Rey Mysterio?
Aida: I don't think all small wrestlers have to be high-flyers at all, anybody can work any way they want if they push themselves hard enough to learn the style. I want to learn as much about everything as I can, I research matches and try my best to train once or twice a week depending on my schedule, trying to piece together my style and what I feel comfortable doing bit by bit.
DF: What male and female wrestler do you most admire and why?
Aida: I admire anybody and everybody who puts their bodies on the line and truly gives their hearts in the ring. Growing up I looked up to Akira Hokuto, Madusa, Luna, Sherri Martel, Malia Hosaka as far as women go. As for the men, I admired Bret and Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Andre, Macho Man and a bunch of others.
DF: You remind me of Rosita in some ways – size, cultural background, some aspects of your wrestling style. Do you have any thoughts about TNA’s Mexican American stable?
Aida: I think they should have called it something along the lines of the Hispanic Revolution since not all members are Mexican but overall I think strong stables can be and have proven in the past to be a good thing for wrestling. If it's worked right, it can be cool.
Aida Marie works on Mia Yim
DF: Very few wrestlers that I have ever met work as hard as you do. You are booked 2-3 times every weekend it seems. That speaks to your ability to market yourself and promoters’ respect for you. How do you do it?
Aida: I use different forms of contact, e-mail and Facebook mainly. I feel like since I have a personal disadvantage in regards to talking with people for the first time in person that I have to make it up in business presentation so I use a resume.
DF: I would think that all that work would cause so much wear and tear on your body that you would be injured all the time? How do you stay so fit and healthy? Are you often “playing with pain”?
Aida: When I am not traveling or working I am working out, whether it be mind or body (or video games) I always push myself and always keep myself going no matter what. I work out every weekday and keep junk food to a minimum although due to my addiction I have to have chocolate every day but aside from that I do what I can to be strict about things. As far as pain goes, I have one nagging issue but I am also working on strengthening that so it doesn't become too much of a problem.
DF: What promotions do you most enjoy working for? Why?
Aida: I love working with pretty much every company, I am always timid the first time I go somewhere but for me it's all about the thrill of the match when I am at all these different places so it's always a fun time for me.
Aida stomps on her opponent
DF: What are your favorite rivalries in the ring? What do you think is the best match you ever had?
Aida: I'm the type who loves hard hitting matches where two (or however many people are involved) just beat each other down (safely of course, hard but safe is my thing) so whenever I get that I am pretty happy. I feel like I have learned something from every match I've been in but at the same time I am really critical of myself so it's hard for me to think of a favorite as I always am looking to the next venture and the next lesson I have to learn in order to become my very best.
DF: Who is your dream opponent? What is the indy promotion that you most want to work with?
Aida: This may sound cheesy but I feel like everybody I get to work with is like a dream because my dream was and still is to wrestle so any opportunities I get, I am truly thankful for. If I had to name someone, I would say Amazing Kong, Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Nattie Neidhart, Sara Del Rey, Sexy Star, Black Rose, Tara, Faby Apache, Rain, and if they weren't retired I would so want to work Megumi Kudo and Madusa since they both played huge roles in my love for women's wrestling growing. There are tons of women I would love to face in the ring.
DF: What was it like to win the SWO belt? How many times have you successfully defended that title?
Aida: Winning the SWO women's title was a neat experience for me. It was the first time my friend Samantha got to see me wrestle live and since she is one of my closest homies, it was cool for me to be able to share that moment with her. I really enjoyed that match as a whole, Gabby Gilbert (who was still Roxie Cotton at the time) is great to work with and everything flowed pretty well. Since I won that back in March I have defended it twice at SWO Tapings and four times at live SWO events.
DF: You have won other title belts as well: the DWF (Devastation Wrestling Federation) Women's Champion, June 4th, 2011, and the NEWF (New Era Wrestling Federation) Skorned Championship September 10th, 2011. There are many wrestlers who have been in the business longer than you and they have never won a belt (Mia Yim comes to mind). What is the key to your success?
Aida: I just work as hard as I can and continue pushing myself. Every title I've won I've cherished and been grateful, that is something that will never stop. This is what I've wanted for a very long time so all the chances I've been given, I have busted by tail to rock them out as best as I possibly can.
Aida Marie dazed on the mat
DF: I believe you have wrestled in Puerto Rico. What other international destinations do you hope to visit as a wrestler?
Aida: I did wrestle in Puerto Rico back in May and am happy to be heading back there in October to once again wrestle in front of my family and make them all proud! As far as other locations go, I want to wrestle everywhere possible -- like Mexico, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany -- see sights I never thought I would see and do what I love in front of as many fans as I can. Since I know how much of a thrill I get when I see shows live and I want to give that gift right back when I go out there to wrestle.
DF: The Psycho Siren is a wild ring name! It has the suggestion of attraction (Siren) and also unpredictable danger (Psycho). Are you a heel or a face?
Aida: Thank you very much, I like The Psycho Siren a lot and I feel it describes me perfectly in the ring. Most of the time I am a heel, sadistic and sweet in a very creepy, crazy way. When I work face I am the same way except I am nice to fans and play an underdog Psychotic Siren who is crazy, creepy, weird, and cute.
Aida Marie with one of her three title belts
DF: You have some of the most unique gear of any wrestler working today. How did you get the idea for your gear? What does it tell us about you?
Aida: Thank you for the neat words! I try my best to look cool and feel comfy. My original concept for my gear was for me to present myself as seductive with a lemon twist. I have the neat and random outfit combos that captures people's attention but at the same time I'm not putting my body all out there. I want people to be like wow she's pretty and then once I start kicking tail that "wow she's pretty" turns into "wow she's pretty and talented too." Funny enough my mother also helped me out with my look and still does whenever I have trouble picking out things.
DF: I see you are traveling to Tennessee for MLW tapings. How did that opportunity come about? Some wrestlers do not like working in a closed room without a live audience. How do you think you will feel about working a custom match?
Aida: Well I worked tapings like that one time before with NEFW back in July so when I head to MLW now I should feel pretty comfortable with it. It was strange to me at first though because I am pretty loud in the ring and always try to get that reaction so when there was none, at first I was thrown off but I got in the rhythm pretty quickly, so it's cool with me. As far as the opportunity, I sent my stuff to them and things picked up from there; talks were done and they gave me the opportunity which I'm really thankful for and I'm looking forward to it, big time!
DF: Where do you see yourself five years from now? What can we expect from Aida Marie in the future?
Aida: Let's see, five years from now I'll be 27 so hopefully I will still be rocking out as best as I can, growing more every day and putting smiles on people's faces! As far as expectations, what you can expect from me is that no matter how I feel, what I am going through or where I am at mentally that I will always give my best and do all I can to make you smile whether I am good, bad or something in between.
Aida unloads a stiff kick to the leg
DF: Thanks, Aida for speaking with me. You're definitely a wrestler to watch in the months and years ahead! What would you like to say to your fans before we say good bye? Best of luck with your busy schedule and your upcoming ESWA title shot on September 24!
Aida: What I would like to say to my fans is thank you, thank you for your constant support. Growing up from the weird awkward girl who loved wrestling with an insane passion to the awesomely awkward woman I am now who still loves wrestling with an even bigger passion. It means the world that I can dazzle you the way that I first was dazzled when I started watching wrestling as a kid. My fire comes from you, whether I get cheered or booed (mostly booed) I feel thankful that I can bring you that emotion and provide you with the entertainment that I've adored for so long. I love each and every one of you dearly and appreciate you coming along on this crazy ride with me and I hope you continue to do so! Thank you for the luck when it comes to the 24th, I'll do my best to rock out and come out of that match as the ESWA Women's Champion! So with that said, I'll cap this off with a grand little saying from a pretty cool doctor that my dorky self loves, "Allons-y!!"
Aida delivering wicked kicks to Mia Yim
Damn! She's fiesty!
