Willow Nightingale Comments On Women Bleeding In Wrestling
To paraphrase the Bard, if you tickle women, do they not laugh? If you poison them, do they not die? If you put them in a no-disqualification street fight, do they not bleed? Actually, some in the wrestling business say they should not bleed. But All Elite Wrestling's Willow Nightingale doesn't take those opinions seriously.
Nightingale recently appeared on "Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show" and discussed her infamous street fight, which saw Nightingale and tag partner Ruby Soho defeat Jericho Appreciation Society's Anna Jay and Tay Melo on the January 13 episode of "AEW Rampage." During the ultra-violent match, Soho's face was the proverbial crimson mask. Guerrero was quick to praise Nightingale's previous comments about how women "bleed every single month" for shutting down the controversy around the bloody women's match.
"That's just really the truth of the matter," Nightingale said, noting that the stress of professional wrestling can be even more burdensome when she has to wrestle while menstruating. "Now my hormones are in a frenzy, I am physically uncomfortable, I am worried about bleeding through on live TV, and it's all these extra things, and that's just something that's kinda hidden away." Nightingale referred to the monthly stressor as "a very real part of our lives" when addressing her critics.
"The whole blood thing, some people were like, 'you don't need it,' and yeah, it's not one-hundred percent [necessary]," Nightingale said, "it's a choice." A choice that a number of male wrestlers make regularly. Nightingale explained that while wrestling requires athleticism, it's also an art form that requires the individuals to make artistic choices.
"At this point in the storyline, in this kind of match that we were put in, this is the way that we wanted to paint our canvas, this is the way we wanted to tell our story and create our art," Nightingale said. "These were our choices and we're all happy with them."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.