Lola Vice, real name Valerie Loureda, is the latest MMA fighter to make the switch to wrestling after competing for Bellator MMA, where she had a 4-1 pro record.
She signed with WWE last year, moved to NXT, and has since wrestled 32 matches as part of a team with Elektra Lopez. On this week’s NXT, she competed in a singles match against former NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez, which she lost.
Vice spoke with TMZ Sports about her journey before the fight. Here are the highlights:
Proving she can be a wrestler:
“Just so excited for the past year and a half that I signed you. I’ve been working really hard. I started from scratch. I’ve been proving to myself I’m a martial artist and entertainer. I know I am. And tonight, I kind of have to prove that to the world.”
Knowing WWE was for her:
“In that moment. I got goosebumps when I went to that WrestleMania, and I saw this for the first time and I spoke to Triple H and everyone, and I just knew it was for me. And I’m just so grateful for this opportunity. A lot of people would kill to be in the position I am right now, and I will never take that for granted. Tonight is a huge match against a former champion tag champion, iron challenge survivor champion. But I’m going to show her that I might be new to NXT, but I’ve been fighting my whole life.”
Her goal:
“I am going to be the best superstar in the history of the WWE, and I’ve been trusting the process and it’s very cliché to say, but you kind of have to do that here, and they really did a good job at making sure I’m prepared and this past year-and-a-half, I’ve been a little bit more low-key, not posting as much, kind of just training in silence. Starting from scratch, paying my dues.”
You can check out the interview below:
