Last night she was losing her mind watching A Day To Remember, but now WWE Diva Paige is talking to Metal Hammer about her love and passion for rock, metal and (of course) wrestling.
Firstly, where does your taste lie in the world of rock and metal?
“I like anything, the only thing I can’t listen to is dubstep. I’m into everything from Mumford & Sons to A Day To Remember to Skid Row – just everything, I love music.”
What first got you into rock music?
“I think my mum. I got my Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra from my dad but more of the rock-y kind of things was my mum. Weird story, but my real name (Soraya) is actually named after the band Slayer ha ha! My mum’s a total rockhead – she’s got a Motörhead tattoo, loads of piercings – she’s a badass. When I was growing up she’d listen to Bon Jovi and Aerosmith and stuff like that. I blame her.”
Were you the ‘rock kid’ at school, then?
“I was a big tomboy, I was never a ‘girly girl’. In my last year of school I had a big emo combover and thought that was cool… then my eyebrows got thinner and my make-up got thicker! I used to dress in my brother’s clothes! Then I got rid of the combover and my mum said ‘Oh thank god you got rid of it, it was so ugly.’ Why didn’t she tell me?! I used so much hairspray ha ha.”
Were you in a band at school?
“No. Although me and brother watched Bill & Ted when we were like nine or ten and pretended to be the Wyld Stallyns – it was great.”
If you were in a band, what would you play?
“Oh I’d be the guitarist! Or the triangle… whichever comes first.”
There’s always been an affinity between the world of metal and wrestling, why do you think that is?
“I don’t want to say it’s the violence part, but both worlds are very hardcore. You go into the ring and beat each other up then you go to a gig and mosh around ha ha! There’s a similarity there, I guess! I think it’s the aggressive side of things that bring people together. And you’ll feel more riled up if you come to the ring to rock music – you’re not gonna win a fight if you come down to Britney Spears.”
What would your ideal entrance music be?
“WWE made my current one and I was surprised by it because I thought entrance music for a Diva would suck ha ha! But they did a really good job – I love it. I was kind of weirded-out by the eagle screech at the start but it’s kind of become my thing – like Stone Cold has the broken glass and Bret Hart had the high pitched guitar. I feel if I chose my own music I’d be biased toward the A Day To Remember boys. I’d bring them to Wrestlemania and have them play 2nd Sucks as I walk to the ring.”
At WrestleMania you’re teaming with AJ to face The Bella Twins, which aesthetically looks like the grungers versus the cheerleaders. Is that how it feels?
“It’s like that high school thing where you’ve got the little weirdos in the corner who are dark and broody then you’ve got the cheerleaders who dance around and love themselves. I like it though so people can pick teams – none of us can be the good or bad guy, people will cheer for who they want to cheer for. You’ve got the girly girls who love the Bella Twins but it’s mainly guys who like the weird-looking quirky girls.
“We’re actually trying to come up with tag-team names and one of them was The Legion Of Womb, then we thought of The Anti Divas ‘cause it’s something I tried in NXT. But if one of your readers can come up with a cool tag-team name then let me know! It has to be cool, it can’t be something girly.”
With WrestleMania just around the corner, why should non-wrestling fans tune in?
“I think it’s like a movie, so if you come in at the end of a movie you’re not gonna understand, but it’s just a really good show. Even for non-WWE fans, if they come and watch it live the atmopshere is incredible. There’s thousands and thousands of people there and it’s just a really entertaining show. It’s something different – it’s not like going to the cinema or to a comedy club, it’s got everything in one. It’s not just wrestling, there’s something for everyone – and you get to see me!”
WrestleMania 31 takes place in Santa Clara, California this weekend – 29th March. You can watch it live via the WWE Network.
