Former WWE star Candice Michelle appeared on TMZ’s Inside the Ring to discuss various topics, including her work with Elayna Black.
Michelle said, “She’s been amazing to work with. She’s obviously experienced [and] talented. And one of the things that I don’t think a lot of people always get but she gets is, when you come from WWE and you think TNA is less — it’s not. It’s just different. It’s different opportunities, you know? Maybe you get to rebrand, maybe you get to change from a heel to a face. Maybe you get to be more of a leader, maybe you get to get somebody else over. And she gets that. Like, she didn’t come in here with a s**tty attitude. She came in here willing to work when she works with the top girls and the new girls. I’ve had matches where she’s done both, and she’s been awesome. So, I really like having her there and I think she’s really going to rise and kind of continue to build her brand even more.”
On advice she has for released WWE talent heading to other companies:
“I think first, being grateful. Because back when I was wrestling, if you got released you didn’t have many other options. And nowadays, there are a lot of options. So you know, applause to the wrestling business that now there’s three national wrestling companies, including TNA, where you can go and have a job. And explore what rebranding looks like, or your character in a different way, or like me, coming back as an agent. You know, what an incredible opportunity.
On advice she received from John Cena:
“What I see sometimes is people have their egos, right? John Cena taught me something really valuable about wrestling. He said, ‘Wrestling is like a circle. And you can’t always be on top and you’re not always on the bottom.’ But some people want to white knuckle the top, you know? They’re like, ‘No, I’m the champion forever!’ And I’m like, ‘No, we’re not going to cheer for you forever, so scooch down the circle.’ But then they don’t realize when they’re at the bottom, like you learn the most. You grow the most, you fight the most, and it’s a beautiful cycle, but if the ego gets involved, I see those people as well. And for me, it’s not really about changing, it’s about healing. It’s like, something personal is happening. Sometimes they want help and sometimes they don’t.”
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(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
