Shayna Baszler On Why Ronda Rousey And The Four Horsewomen Were At The Mae Young Classic
A pioneer of women's mixed martial arts, Shayna Baszler is hoping to make a name for herself in pro wrestling when she competes in the upcoming Mae Young Classic. The "Queen Of Spades" spoke to TV Insider about the moment she got the call to join the 32-woman tournament.
"WWE is something I've had my eye on," Baszler said. "After the call, I said to myself, 'All right, it's time to get it in gear.' It fired me up to get into even better shape and get ready to go."
Baszler competed in MMA for 16 years. She then transitioned to wrestling and worked the independent circuit. Baszler has been trained by former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett and Billy Robinson, honing her kills in grappling and catch wrestling. She was also seen on Total Divas as a training partner for Nikki Bella at the WWE Performance Center.
Baszler is known in the MMA world as part of the "Four Horsewomen," which includes Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke. The four of them were in the front row during SummerSlam 2014. Baszler asked her "stablemates" for their support in the Mae Young Classic, and they obliged with no hesitation.
"We're such good friends and training partners and teammates," Baszler said. "I specifically called all three of them and said, 'Guys, this is the most important thing I've ever done in my combat sports career. I'd love for you guys to be there because you were there at the beginning of all of this, and I would like you to be there for this.' They were like, 'Yeah, you got it. We'll drop whatever we are doing. We're there.'"
Source: TV Insider