Lana is a popular figure in the women roster of the WWE. She arrived in the company in a managerial role only for Rusev. It was back in 2014 when the duo arrived on the mainstay scene as dominant heels. Over the years, fans loved the Russian character played by Lana. They wanted more of this beauty inside the ring. This converted her into an in-ring athlete.
She herself was also keen to learn wrestling skills for a long time. Possessing an acrobatic background, athletics were inbuilt for her. Plus, it’s hard to stay away from in-ring competition when you have Bella Twins, Natalya, Paige as close friends. All of these names are wrestling veterans who are also big inspirations for Lana.
It was last year when Lana debuted as an in-ring performer on Smackdown Live. She competed in a championship match at Money in the Bank PPV which itself is a record. Very few names have received such an opportunity in their opening match. Recently Lana opened up on her in-ring stint while speaking to Newsweek.
Speaking of wrestling, she liked the adrenaline rush so much being inside the ring. But you have to believe it’s a contact sport where you can be hit in the face at any moment. A superstar always has to be ready to digest that. But Lana also confirmed that it’s not a pleasant moment when someone hit you in the face. Here are her comments regarding a recent match with Zelina Vega, (courtesy wrestlingINC.com)
“Zelina used the codebreaker knee on me and I started bleeding. I thought I broke my nose or busted my teeth. Then she kneed me to the face again. It was definitely not by any means pleasant, and I’m really glad when I came backstage that I was alive still. It’s a contact sport, it’s very physical and intense. When you walk out there, you have to know anything can happen and to keep your hands up.”
Lana seemed excited to be a part of the Evolution PPV. She is hoping to get a wrestling capacity on the show. It is highly unlikely that she might end up getting a chance considering numerous legends will be returning. WWE officials still consider herself to be a rookie superstar and hence might not choose him to appear at Evolution.
But the Ravishing Russian still did not lose hope. When asked by the interviewer, she revealed that a dream match is in her mind. There are names like Trish Stratus, Lita or Molly Holly whom he admired as wrestlers. But Stephanie McMahon was the biggest of them while growing up. She inspired Lana the most and she hoped to get to wrestling The Boss someday if not at Evolution.
Check out further comments from Lana,
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Stephanie McMahon. Growing up, I wanted to be in WWE because of watching characters like Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman. They just are such incredible storytellers, such incredible, compelling characters. When I look at Stephanie McMahon’s entire career, I’m always blown away at how she just moves your soul. Literally, my heart is moved by her. Either I hate her, or love her, or love to hate her. I probably won’t face off with her at Evolution, but just, in general, she is one of my dream opponents.”
