Former NXT Diva Talks Signing With WWE, Eating Disorder, Going To Rehab, Training MMA, More
Buggy Nova (former WWE NXT Diva Skyler Moon) recently appeared on The Greg DeMarco Show and discussed her time at NXT, her eating disorder, checking herself into rehab and her future. Here are highlights from the interview:
How she's doing now: "I'm okay? I'm alive? I'm still in Tampa and I'm doing good!"
Her state of mind when she signed her WWE contract: "I was independent for once in my life and I was making my parents proud. Proving that wrestling wasn't a waste. The whole time I was doing it [before the WWE] making less than minimum wage. I was a starving artist. [I moved] across the country and paying my own bills?being a grown up! Training was my first NXT experience...meeting everyone, legends really-all this knowledge, decades of knowledge under one roof. I am happy to say that everyone was really awesome. We all got along for the most part?girls in a locker-room!"
Her character, "Skyler Moon:" "They let me be myself. They wanted me to be Buggy. They wanted me to be cooky & crazy and everything I wanted to be. ... I couldn't be Buggy Nova for trademark purposes; I had to change my name [to] Skyler Moon. I had some say in it, 50/50 say in it. ... I liked the "moon" idea as it kinda ties into Buggy Nova, like Nova?stars, moon. ? Skyler I came up with, actually. was my idea, I gave them a list of names and they liked that one.
Why she checked in to the rehab/treatment facility: "I mentioned before I have an eating disorder. I went to treatment because I was killing myself. ... Nothing else matters. ... My disease is dealing with food, or no food, or too much exercise. ... I was miserable and I was dying? It was either treatment or dead. ... I made the decision [to go]. I knew I couldn't give my best performance. ... I couldn't do this by myself. I needed help. I needed to put my life on hold, I needed to swallow my pride, throw my hands up in the air and say 'Hey, I need help with this, I don't know what else to do.' I had to check my ego at the door and allow other people to help me with my life. ... Rehab is awesome, and I wish I could give everyone who needed that opportunity, or wanted that opportunity, I wish I could give that to them. ... I don't know where I'd be without it."
What she's doing now as part of her daily routine: "Basically I'm just focusing on my recovery. Figuring out what's best for it, what I should do, what should I not do. I'm using this time to relearn how to live life. How to balance things out, just how to be real. ? A lot of discovery?without sounding like a hippie or a tree hugger!"
How she feels when people focus on her appearance: "I had more acceptance of myself. ... I'd take that compliment and I'd put in my pocket. ... I'd almost feed off of it. As long as someone was telling me I was pretty, I must be pretty. I must be doing something right. That's what my worth was. ... If I wasn't getting any of that, my worth meant nothing. I was not valuable in any sense. Now [with my treatment] I don't need that stuff to have self-worth. My self-worth comes from the inside. ... Doing good things for other people?that makes me feel good [now]. ... It's just a new perspective. ... I'm learning it for myself?not try to impress other people. Loving myself, and if you don't like me, you don't have to like me."
Spreading awareness for eating disorders: "When WWE offered me the contract one of my first thoughts was that I could bring more awareness to it. ... Have more opportunities to do more fundraising/awareness work. Eating disorders today is so taboo, no one wants to talk about it. Especially with guys. ... And there's options. It doesn't have to own you. ... My eating disorder owned my, it controlled my life, it told me what to do. In a short period of time, too. ... I just want people to talk about it, don't be ashamed about it. It's more common than you think. There is help out there. If I can help someone, then it's all worth it."
Training in MMA vs. wrestling: "I used to train in MMA for this company called Millennia. After I got released?they offered to sponsor me when I go back to California. The good thing about MMA is that it's very different from professional wrestling. ... I don't have to look a certain way, it's all about aggression. It's really aggressive and I like that idea."
Source: The Greg DeMarco Show