Thunder Rosa Wants Indies To Offer Women Separate Locker Rooms

During the latest episode of the Under The Ring podcast Thunder Rosa reflected on her journey in professional wrestling.

During her rise, the AEW star felt like she had nobody to mentor and guide her. This is one of the reasons she created Mission Pro Wrestling, as Rosa wants to help others.

"When I first started in the business, I don't think there was a woman that took the time to really guide me and help me to be able to achieve my goals. There were some like here, bits and pieces some people helped me," she said. "And I am very appreciative of that, and you guys know who you are. But I always felt that there was never a space for me because of who I was. Where I came from, because of my age, because of x,y, and z.

"At the time when I created Mission Pro Wrestling, there was a lot of liberties taken on us. I went through a lot, and I never spoke about it. But, I felt like it was a need for me to open a space for women that kind of looked like me. That I felt like they were never given an opportunity."

Thunder Rosa then went into more detail about creating a place where wrestlers can have mentors. She also pushed the focus on making sure any issues between the talent are dealt with professionally within her promotion.

"We wanted to make sure that we were creating real mentorship," she said. "A place where women came as professionals, and they handled themselves as professionals. If there was any issues in-between each other, they could talk about it instead of going behind their back, and doing a bunch of stuff.

"There is a huge change, for me, because of all the things that I experienced personally, the new generation needed to see that things could be done that way. You can be professional, you can be someone that can be respected, and you can make it in the business as a performer, without sacrificing your honor and your beliefs."

Thunder Rosa revealed that a veteran recently praised her for advocating for the locker room recently. She wants talent to feel safe when they are coming to work, which Rosa believes they have fostered.

"This last Saturday, we had the only female-run show at WrestleCon that ran an all-female show. We were super organized, it just felt so good," she said. "And one of the veterans that came and visited it was like, 'I really like the locker room, because it was relaxed, everybody was there. And when some issues arose, it wasn't brushed under the rug, you guys took care of it.'

"That's the most important part is for you to feel safe. I think sometimes it's just feeling safe and comfortable coming to work. That's one of the things that we would say we have been able to foster at Mission Pro Wrestling. The women that work there, they feel safe."

Another issue that Thunder Rosa finds in the wrestling business is female wrestlers having to change with the men. This is something she sees on the independent scene. Nowadays, Thunder is happy to tell a promoter that isn't acceptable, as she wants that to change.

"When I go to a locker room, and there's not a space for us to change, especially on the independent scene, I don't care anymore," she said. "I'll be like, 'I need a room for my five, six girls. They need to be changed in a place where they can take their clothes off, and they don't feel like everybody is watching, and they don't need to be putting a towel on.' We have the right to do that, it's 2022.

"A lot of independent shows because of the space, the women have to change with men. A lot of issues arise a couple of years ago, and there was the speaking out movement. And a lot of people talk about that, so, I am very outspoken now. Thankfully because of the position I have, I am able to say something, and people respect that."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Under The Ring with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.