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It’s been an eventful year for Stittsville’s Erica Wiebe. After winning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio — who can forget her tearful rendition of O Canada on the podium? — Wiebe has continued her training with the national team in Calgary.
But she’s dipped her toe into the pro wrestling circuit, too. In January she travelled to Delhi as captain of the ‘Mumbai Maharathi’ in the second season of the Indian Professional Wrestling League. And last week she was a guest at World Wrestling Entertainment’s massive training facility in Orlando, Florida. The Citizen caught up to Wiebe by phone from Calgary.
Q: What was the experience in India like?
A: It was very cool. They contacted me and wanted me to be a part of it. Being an Olympic champion, I was a coveted player. I won all five of my matches, but our team lost in the semi finals. That was disappointing. But it was an amazing experience. I was the only North American in the league.
Q: What was the atmosphere like?
A: It was incredible. There’d be 6,000 fans — screaming fans — every night. There were lights, there was smoke, there were drums. It was quite the spectacle. It was nothing like anything I’d experienced in my career in wrestling.
Q: Then you went to Las Vegas and Florida with the WWE. How did that come about?
A: The WWE and I have been in conversation since Rio, but it didn’t work out until this time. I went to the Mae Young Classic finale in Vegas and that’s kind of a development league that the WWE is doing to increase the depth and the quality of women’s wrestling.
Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Paul Levesque — or Triple H as he’s known in wrestling — are poised to take over the WWE business and they’re trying to create an organization that they and their two young daughters will be proud of. It’s 2017 and women are athletic and capable and they’re providing a platform where women can showcase these skills.
Q: You’re a pretty competitive person, just by your nature — you’re an Olympic champion. In the WWE your competitor isn’t a competitor at all, she’s your partner and everything is choreographed. Is that a difficult transition to make?
A: When you train, you train with a partner. You’re constantly getting that feedback. How did that feel? Am I doing this right? So working with someone else is something I do naturally. I’m very competitive, but I also have an open mind and I always want to learn. I want to improve and be the best. You’re doing all these moves and I wanted to learn them and master them. It was a really different experience. I was excited. It was something I’d never done before
Q: How did the athleticism of WWE wrestlers compare to your competitors at the Olympics?
A: There’s a whole spectrum of people who are interested in pursuing a WWE career. I love freestyle wrestling because there are so many different ways to win. You can be stronger or you can be more technical or you can be more tactical. I think that’s the case in professional wrestling, too. There’s so many different body types and so many different styles. It demonstrates that there are different ways to be celebrated.
Q: And a lot of pizazz and showmanship too. Does that appeal to you?
A: I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be excited about the opportunity to play around with a character and perform in front of thousands of people.
Q: Would you be good or evil?
A: I think all true WWE wrestlers have to play both. So I’d excited to be a hero or a villain, but also one of the champions.
Q: You’re starting a new job in Calgary with Deloitte. Tell us about that.
A: I’ve always been academic. I was looking for something that would keep me a little more grounded here in Calgary and balance the physicality of my sport with something a little more cerebral. I start next week as a consultant with Deloitte in their human capital group, translating what I’ve learned in the world of sport into the world of business and leadership and coaching, (dealing with) themes like resiliency and grit and even the ability to deal with failure. They’re themes that any business leaders face too.
Q: But you still have your eyes on Tokyo and the 2020 Summer games?
A: I was really frank with them about my requirement for training and my goals for the future and the next three years. They were 100 per cent supportive to provide a work environment that will work with my schedule.
Q: Has being a gold medallist changed you. Has your win helped raise the profile of women’s wrestling?
A: I’m still Erica and I’m far from perfect and I still have so much to learn. Wrestling can be a very humbling sport and that’s why I love it so much.
Any time you see free styling wrestling in the media it piques people’s interest. The great thing about social media is I get messages all the time from women across Canada saying, ‘I’m trying wrestling because of you Erica.’
查看原文...
But she’s dipped her toe into the pro wrestling circuit, too. In January she travelled to Delhi as captain of the ‘Mumbai Maharathi’ in the second season of the Indian Professional Wrestling League. And last week she was a guest at World Wrestling Entertainment’s massive training facility in Orlando, Florida. The Citizen caught up to Wiebe by phone from Calgary.
Q: What was the experience in India like?
A: It was very cool. They contacted me and wanted me to be a part of it. Being an Olympic champion, I was a coveted player. I won all five of my matches, but our team lost in the semi finals. That was disappointing. But it was an amazing experience. I was the only North American in the league.
Q: What was the atmosphere like?
A: It was incredible. There’d be 6,000 fans — screaming fans — every night. There were lights, there was smoke, there were drums. It was quite the spectacle. It was nothing like anything I’d experienced in my career in wrestling.
Q: Then you went to Las Vegas and Florida with the WWE. How did that come about?
A: The WWE and I have been in conversation since Rio, but it didn’t work out until this time. I went to the Mae Young Classic finale in Vegas and that’s kind of a development league that the WWE is doing to increase the depth and the quality of women’s wrestling.
Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Paul Levesque — or Triple H as he’s known in wrestling — are poised to take over the WWE business and they’re trying to create an organization that they and their two young daughters will be proud of. It’s 2017 and women are athletic and capable and they’re providing a platform where women can showcase these skills.
Q: You’re a pretty competitive person, just by your nature — you’re an Olympic champion. In the WWE your competitor isn’t a competitor at all, she’s your partner and everything is choreographed. Is that a difficult transition to make?
A: When you train, you train with a partner. You’re constantly getting that feedback. How did that feel? Am I doing this right? So working with someone else is something I do naturally. I’m very competitive, but I also have an open mind and I always want to learn. I want to improve and be the best. You’re doing all these moves and I wanted to learn them and master them. It was a really different experience. I was excited. It was something I’d never done before
Q: How did the athleticism of WWE wrestlers compare to your competitors at the Olympics?
A: There’s a whole spectrum of people who are interested in pursuing a WWE career. I love freestyle wrestling because there are so many different ways to win. You can be stronger or you can be more technical or you can be more tactical. I think that’s the case in professional wrestling, too. There’s so many different body types and so many different styles. It demonstrates that there are different ways to be celebrated.
Q: And a lot of pizazz and showmanship too. Does that appeal to you?
A: I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be excited about the opportunity to play around with a character and perform in front of thousands of people.
Q: Would you be good or evil?
A: I think all true WWE wrestlers have to play both. So I’d excited to be a hero or a villain, but also one of the champions.
Q: You’re starting a new job in Calgary with Deloitte. Tell us about that.
A: I’ve always been academic. I was looking for something that would keep me a little more grounded here in Calgary and balance the physicality of my sport with something a little more cerebral. I start next week as a consultant with Deloitte in their human capital group, translating what I’ve learned in the world of sport into the world of business and leadership and coaching, (dealing with) themes like resiliency and grit and even the ability to deal with failure. They’re themes that any business leaders face too.
Q: But you still have your eyes on Tokyo and the 2020 Summer games?
A: I was really frank with them about my requirement for training and my goals for the future and the next three years. They were 100 per cent supportive to provide a work environment that will work with my schedule.
Q: Has being a gold medallist changed you. Has your win helped raise the profile of women’s wrestling?
A: I’m still Erica and I’m far from perfect and I still have so much to learn. Wrestling can be a very humbling sport and that’s why I love it so much.
Any time you see free styling wrestling in the media it piques people’s interest. The great thing about social media is I get messages all the time from women across Canada saying, ‘I’m trying wrestling because of you Erica.’
查看原文...
