Rarely seen Knockout Rosita appeared on Busted Open with Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman this week where she addressed her status with TNA Wrestling. The program airs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Sirius 94 and XM 208 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
Rosita on what’s the story with TNA and not being on TV in a while: “Unfortunately it has been awhile, and I know everyone was going crazy a couple weeks ago when it came to me being taking off the knock outs gallery page, but, I will finally tell all of you, I am still with TNA. I will hopefully be brought back soon. I am doing a lot more training and a lot of fresh new things. If I do come, relatively soon back to TNA, there will a new finisher, and a whole new look really. It’s going be very fresh, very new. No matter where you see me, whether it is TNA or independent show you’re going to get all of me and I guarantee you it’s something you’re going to want to see.”
Rosita on being fan friendly and being a heel: “It was something that was very new for me because, to be quite honest, on the independent scene I was always a face. It was something very new and I basically had to learn on the job. Sarita, she did an amazing job with me and took me under her wing completely. It was fun though, I can say that, it was definitely fun being a heel. When you first look at me, you’re like oh she’s so small and she’s not very intimidating. I mean, I was known as the spicy chili pepper Chihuahua-ish chick. It was different for me, but I would love to just come out as the real me and just be the natural baby face that I think I am.”
Rosita on becoming a fan of wrestling: “It’s funny cause of a lot people ask me that, they’re like, ‘Oh is the story with your dad really true?’ ‘Was he really in the towers?’ ‘Was he really a wrestler?’ Absolutely. He was an amateur wrestler in high school; I still have his trophies in my attic. He took me to wrestling events all time when I was younger. I will never forget the time he brought us to an ECW event; it was the scariest thing ever. I’ve been a wrestling fan since I was really young, I think that around 4 years old I was telling my dad, ‘I want to be a wrestler dad, I really want to!’ He was the one that actually taught me how to put on a proper headlock so whenever people compliment me on that I always give props to him.
“And my uncle was a pro wrestler in Puerto Rico so it was definitely a family thing. I grew up in it and couldn’t wait to start. My mom was very hesitant, she didn’t want me to do it, but when I was 17 that’s when I got into pro wrestling school but the thing is that my dad always wanted to be a pro wrestler, and I knew that. But the thing is when he had a night job, and a day job, kids, and a wife, there was just no time to do anything. And when he passed away, and it maysound corny, but when he passed away I said, you know what, everyone is breaking down right now, and it’s a world tragedy but for me, I always try to flip it to a positive. I always say from tragedy to triumph. I do wrestling for me and I am doing it for him.”
Rosita on 9/11: “It was so much pressure; I think that once I brought this forward and once people knew who I really was and why I got into wrestling. You were going to get the good with people who support and feel a certain way either happy or sad and want to share their stories with you. Because I have gotten that with fans all the time, ‘oh my uncle was in this’ or ‘I served in the military during this time.’ And I’ve gotten such great feedback from fans, and I also knew there was a chance I was going to get hate form it to, and I did. Especially on my Youtube video, I’ve gotten people saying ‘the U.S deserved it’ and all this stupid stuff. I’ve gotten the good and the bad. I knew that once I did on the day at a pay per view it was going to be something that was going to be big.
“When they brought it to my attention they said will you come through with this and I said, ‘Yeah, I think I can.’ And when they asked me I just finished crying my eyes out with Micky James and Tara, like right before, because I was listening to the names being read. It was around 9:00 in the morning and 9:04 was when he called, so that was he called and 9:14 was when he got cut off. It definitely took me a long time to be okay and talk about it. Right now sitting here with you guys I can talk about and be strong with it. When I got the PWI inspirational wrestler of the year, I was like you know what, I’m helping and this is good for people to hear, I have no problem with it. That day happened like any other day. He had called, and I just remember my mom frantically pacing and saying ‘no Michael, what are you talking about! What are you talking about! She turns on theTV, and I’m just watching her and she was like ‘what do you mean you’re there? I didn’t know you worked there.’
“I knew my dad worked in the World Trade Center but my mom didn’t. He had so many jobs in and out so she never knew what he was doing day to day. He would take us to that building all the time. My little brother and I would play with the walkie talkies, we were there all time. And she had no idea, I was like, ‘oh that’s where dad works, why is it on fire? What’s going on?’ I had no idea what was happening it looked like a movie, and she was like your dads in there right now! And I’m just listening to the whole thing. And my mom used to work there too, she worked on the 99th floor and he worked on the 103rd floor of the North Tower. She was just saying can you take this stairway? And I remember hearing saying him saying no it’s too dark and it’s hot, it’s really hot, and I can’t go this way and I can’t go that way.
“And I’m just, for some odd reason, I wasn’t in my body, like I was watching from afar, watching myself just frozen and listening to the whole conversation. Everyone else’s story starts out with I was at school that day and my mom pulled me from school. I was home because I had a doctor’s appointment, 10 years old at the time. I was watching it on the TV and listening to my dad’s voice on the phone. I couldn’t speak. I never spoke to him that day. But me and my brother had a great weekend with him prior to that. So it happened on that Tuesday, so the weekend before we had a great weekend with him. It’s crazy to think back to be quite honest. I didn’t get to speak to him that day, but I also think its best that I didn’t. Because I had such a great weekend with him prior, I think it was the perfect way to say goodbye. I still think back and think what didn’t I say, ‘Dad let me speak to you let me speak to you! Let me say bye!’ I still think would it have been better? But now I think, no I think we said goodbye in the perfect the weekend before. So I don’t regret it at all.”
Rosita on who her influences were growing up: “Most of them were guys, but there was one female wrestler that I look up to completely, and that’s where my finisher, the moonsault came from, it’s in dedication to Lita. Right off the bat, I remember seeing Rey Mysterio, a long time ago, and he was the one I was like, ‘wow I want to be just like him!’ I want to be the female Rey Mysterio, mask or not I want to do what he can. So Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, Halloween Havoc 97’ was my favorite match, it was absolutely awesome. I definitely say those two. I always liked Shawn Michaels, there was something about that dance, besides the fact he was amazing, I think when I was younger I was like that dance is awesome, that little shimmy he does with his hips. Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, HBK, and the Hardy’s. When I was younger I went through a little bit of a rocker stage and it was because of them.”
Rosita on a three hour show and doing taped shows: “It was difficult some days because regardless of how good a match can be, some of those fans are so spoiled and have seen everything they weren’t going to react to really much. And some of the people were tourists and didn’t even know what wrestling was. It was very difficult. There were some nights that were really great but some nights when they have just seen everything. That’s why I loved when we went on the road, when we did pay per views on the road, or tapings on the road. It was amazing, not only did you get a bigger venue but a mix of different people who are waiting to see their favorite stars and when they finally do and see how much we put into it, it’s great to see how much they give us back. When it’s live, it’s just brings a better feel, not just to the people working, because there are no edits, no cuts, nothing. It brings the best out of the wrestlers and has a better flow.”
Rosita on what’s the story with TNA and not being on TV in a while: “Unfortunately it has been awhile, and I know everyone was going crazy a couple weeks ago when it came to me being taking off the knock outs gallery page, but, I will finally tell all of you, I am still with TNA. I will hopefully be brought back soon. I am doing a lot more training and a lot of fresh new things. If I do come, relatively soon back to TNA, there will a new finisher, and a whole new look really. It’s going be very fresh, very new. No matter where you see me, whether it is TNA or independent show you’re going to get all of me and I guarantee you it’s something you’re going to want to see.”
Rosita on being fan friendly and being a heel: “It was something that was very new for me because, to be quite honest, on the independent scene I was always a face. It was something very new and I basically had to learn on the job. Sarita, she did an amazing job with me and took me under her wing completely. It was fun though, I can say that, it was definitely fun being a heel. When you first look at me, you’re like oh she’s so small and she’s not very intimidating. I mean, I was known as the spicy chili pepper Chihuahua-ish chick. It was different for me, but I would love to just come out as the real me and just be the natural baby face that I think I am.”
Rosita on becoming a fan of wrestling: “It’s funny cause of a lot people ask me that, they’re like, ‘Oh is the story with your dad really true?’ ‘Was he really in the towers?’ ‘Was he really a wrestler?’ Absolutely. He was an amateur wrestler in high school; I still have his trophies in my attic. He took me to wrestling events all time when I was younger. I will never forget the time he brought us to an ECW event; it was the scariest thing ever. I’ve been a wrestling fan since I was really young, I think that around 4 years old I was telling my dad, ‘I want to be a wrestler dad, I really want to!’ He was the one that actually taught me how to put on a proper headlock so whenever people compliment me on that I always give props to him.
“And my uncle was a pro wrestler in Puerto Rico so it was definitely a family thing. I grew up in it and couldn’t wait to start. My mom was very hesitant, she didn’t want me to do it, but when I was 17 that’s when I got into pro wrestling school but the thing is that my dad always wanted to be a pro wrestler, and I knew that. But the thing is when he had a night job, and a day job, kids, and a wife, there was just no time to do anything. And when he passed away, and it maysound corny, but when he passed away I said, you know what, everyone is breaking down right now, and it’s a world tragedy but for me, I always try to flip it to a positive. I always say from tragedy to triumph. I do wrestling for me and I am doing it for him.”
Rosita on 9/11: “It was so much pressure; I think that once I brought this forward and once people knew who I really was and why I got into wrestling. You were going to get the good with people who support and feel a certain way either happy or sad and want to share their stories with you. Because I have gotten that with fans all the time, ‘oh my uncle was in this’ or ‘I served in the military during this time.’ And I’ve gotten such great feedback from fans, and I also knew there was a chance I was going to get hate form it to, and I did. Especially on my Youtube video, I’ve gotten people saying ‘the U.S deserved it’ and all this stupid stuff. I’ve gotten the good and the bad. I knew that once I did on the day at a pay per view it was going to be something that was going to be big.
“When they brought it to my attention they said will you come through with this and I said, ‘Yeah, I think I can.’ And when they asked me I just finished crying my eyes out with Micky James and Tara, like right before, because I was listening to the names being read. It was around 9:00 in the morning and 9:04 was when he called, so that was he called and 9:14 was when he got cut off. It definitely took me a long time to be okay and talk about it. Right now sitting here with you guys I can talk about and be strong with it. When I got the PWI inspirational wrestler of the year, I was like you know what, I’m helping and this is good for people to hear, I have no problem with it. That day happened like any other day. He had called, and I just remember my mom frantically pacing and saying ‘no Michael, what are you talking about! What are you talking about! She turns on theTV, and I’m just watching her and she was like ‘what do you mean you’re there? I didn’t know you worked there.’
“I knew my dad worked in the World Trade Center but my mom didn’t. He had so many jobs in and out so she never knew what he was doing day to day. He would take us to that building all the time. My little brother and I would play with the walkie talkies, we were there all time. And she had no idea, I was like, ‘oh that’s where dad works, why is it on fire? What’s going on?’ I had no idea what was happening it looked like a movie, and she was like your dads in there right now! And I’m just listening to the whole thing. And my mom used to work there too, she worked on the 99th floor and he worked on the 103rd floor of the North Tower. She was just saying can you take this stairway? And I remember hearing saying him saying no it’s too dark and it’s hot, it’s really hot, and I can’t go this way and I can’t go that way.
“And I’m just, for some odd reason, I wasn’t in my body, like I was watching from afar, watching myself just frozen and listening to the whole conversation. Everyone else’s story starts out with I was at school that day and my mom pulled me from school. I was home because I had a doctor’s appointment, 10 years old at the time. I was watching it on the TV and listening to my dad’s voice on the phone. I couldn’t speak. I never spoke to him that day. But me and my brother had a great weekend with him prior to that. So it happened on that Tuesday, so the weekend before we had a great weekend with him. It’s crazy to think back to be quite honest. I didn’t get to speak to him that day, but I also think its best that I didn’t. Because I had such a great weekend with him prior, I think it was the perfect way to say goodbye. I still think back and think what didn’t I say, ‘Dad let me speak to you let me speak to you! Let me say bye!’ I still think would it have been better? But now I think, no I think we said goodbye in the perfect the weekend before. So I don’t regret it at all.”
Rosita on who her influences were growing up: “Most of them were guys, but there was one female wrestler that I look up to completely, and that’s where my finisher, the moonsault came from, it’s in dedication to Lita. Right off the bat, I remember seeing Rey Mysterio, a long time ago, and he was the one I was like, ‘wow I want to be just like him!’ I want to be the female Rey Mysterio, mask or not I want to do what he can. So Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, Halloween Havoc 97’ was my favorite match, it was absolutely awesome. I definitely say those two. I always liked Shawn Michaels, there was something about that dance, besides the fact he was amazing, I think when I was younger I was like that dance is awesome, that little shimmy he does with his hips. Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, HBK, and the Hardy’s. When I was younger I went through a little bit of a rocker stage and it was because of them.”
Rosita on a three hour show and doing taped shows: “It was difficult some days because regardless of how good a match can be, some of those fans are so spoiled and have seen everything they weren’t going to react to really much. And some of the people were tourists and didn’t even know what wrestling was. It was very difficult. There were some nights that were really great but some nights when they have just seen everything. That’s why I loved when we went on the road, when we did pay per views on the road, or tapings on the road. It was amazing, not only did you get a bigger venue but a mix of different people who are waiting to see their favorite stars and when they finally do and see how much we put into it, it’s great to see how much they give us back. When it’s live, it’s just brings a better feel, not just to the people working, because there are no edits, no cuts, nothing. It brings the best out of the wrestlers and has a better flow.”
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