Jazzy Gabert Talks Getting Chewed Out Backstage By James Storm, Harsh Advice From Bully Ray, WWE
As previously noted, Jazzy Gabert was recently a guest on E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness. Among other things, Gabert talked about her 'Alpha Female' moniker, trying out for Impact Wrestling and WWE, and her run with Impact.
According to Jazzy, she based her 'Alpha Female' gimmick on advice she received from WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart in 2008.
"I met Bret Hart on a tour, that was like my first real professional tour where a lot of professional wrestlers were there just like Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Sandman, and Bret Hart," Gabert said. "And he [Hart] told me the only way to find a real good gimmick for yourself that works is A) you take your character and multiply it, like, 10-times, like, if you're funny, then, you be like the most funny wrestler ever. Or, you take something you want to be in the ring and I chose this one because I wanted to see someone in the ring, like a real strong, confident woman, not shaking her ass like the Divas back in the day. I didn't want to be something like that. That's how 'The Alpha Female' came up."
With respect to the 'Alpha Female' nickname itself, Jazzy said it came about from other female wrestlers saying she should not be jealous for missing a show.
"Back in the day, I had no gimmick," Jazzy admitted, "so they booked me [and] I was Jazzy. But one day, my boyfriend at the time, as I said, he was a professional wrestler. He went on a show and then he said, but it was not true, he said to the other girls, 'yeah, my girlfriend, she is at home and she's jealous.' And they said, '[gasp] Jazzy? Why is she jealous? She's the alpha female.' And that's how my name came up."
During the podcast, Jazzy said she went to a tryout at Impact, formerly TNA, and it was not very good. Apparently, Jazzy accidentally interrupted James Storm's rehearsal and would find herself feeling sorry about her damn luck.
"I went for a tryout at TNA and I was still Jazzy." Jazzy explained, "I had no real gimmick. I had like long black hair. And I went to the tryout and the tryout was really bad. Like, I don't know. Everything was not cool. Like, the wrestling in the ring was not good and I don't know. A lot of little mistakes happened. And Bully Ray was responsible for the tryout people, so I went over to him and I remember that he and what's his name, Storm? I think 'Cowboy' James Storm. Yeah. They were, like, arguing and had a big fight and I was like, 'I am going to wait till they are over and then I will jump in.' I waited and I thought they were over and they were not over, but I interrupted them by mistake and James Storm was yelling at me, and said I couldn't be work and I'd get nowhere, and '[who] the hell do you think you are?' Oh my gosh. It can't get any worse."
Jazzy claimed that she asked Bubba for advice and he insinuated that the stepdaughter of Masahiro Chono was not as attractive as the Knockouts.
"I spoke to Bully Ray and I was like, 'I know this was not my best. Can you give me some advice?' And then, he said to me, 'okay, Jazzy, do you really think you are as sexy as our Knockouts? Do you really think you have a chance?' And that really hit me like, 'wow'. Of course [it] was true. It was a little bit harsh, but in the end, I'm really happy that he said that to me because I went home crying, obviously because everything was so bad, and I shaved my head. I said, 'okay, I can't be a pretty as them, so let me be ugly.' And that's basically how 'The Alpha Female' started."
Jazzy shared that she was passed over by WWE in 2015 and contemplated retirement.
"In 2015, I had another tryout with WWE and, actually, it went really well. Like, I could do all the exercises and everything was cool. But again, I got a 'no' and then I wanted to retire, actually. Like, I was like, 'okay, this is it. Like, I'm not getting any younger and I don't know what to do anymore.' And then, my promoter called me, my manager called me, and he asked me if I wanted to try MMA. And I was like, 'okay, well, maybe this would give 'The Alpha Female', like, that next thing that's needed."
On the subject of Jazzy's Impact stint, 'The Berlin Bruiser' said her Impact Wrestling storylines left her kind of blue.
"I went to TNA, when was it? Oh yeah, it was 2013! I remember they were in Europe and they had some TV tapings and they were asking me if I wanted to be part of it. And, of course, I wanted [to be a part of it]. And they gave me this gimmick that I'm the bodyguard of Chris Sabin and he just broke up with his girlfriend, Velvet Sky, so we had this little storyline that he's attacking her, she's attacking him, I come in and be like the bodyguard, which was all cool and all fun. But there were some things that really annoyed me. The commentary, for example, said all the time stuff like that I'm his girlfriend, 'is this a man or is this a woman?', stuff like that. And I was like, 'I don't like that.' And so they were asking me. I had two offers on the table: I had Japan who asked me to stay for five years or they asked me if I want to go to TNA. So I [chose] Japan because, again, I was not really happy with the storyline."
TOMMAY! If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness