Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio
Guest: Velvet Sky
Date: 05/31/19
Your Host: James Walsh

The alluring Velvet Sky now signed to Ring of Honor Wrestling joins the Wrestling Epicenter for the first time in an interview that we believe is one of the best we have done in quite some time. The former leader of the Beautiful People and present mouth-piece for Ring of Honor’s mean girl group of the Allure stops by to talk about the decision to return to wrestling TV, if she will or will not wrestle, the new rocking theme song done by legendary New Jersey band Skid Row, the birth of AEW, if the original crop of TNA Impact Knockouts get the respect they deserve for starting this modern age of women’s revolution, and what the Allure brings to Women of Honor that changes the dynamic of the division.

Ring of Honor presents State of the Art from Portland and the Pacific Northwest on Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd. You can watch via the promotion’s streaming service Honor Club at www.ROHWrestling.com.

To listen to this interview in MP3 format or to watch on YouTube, visit www.WrestlingEpicenter.com. If you use this item as a news article on your site, please link back to our site. Thank you and enjoy!

VELVET SKY:

On the experience of returning at G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden:
“I would say it was more exciting for me than nerve-racking. I love being in front of a live crowd. I love performing in front of a live crowd. So, that has always come natural to me. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Waiting backstage to debut at Madison Square Garden, I had a few butterflies flying around my stomach. But, that was from just sheer excitement. To debut, make my return in Madison Square Garden, the World’s Most Famous Arena, was a surreal experience and I am so glad to be able to do it along side Angelina Love and Mandy Leon.”

On the Allure and how the Ring of Honor fans are taking to the new group:
“We have gotten such a positive reaction specifically through our social media channels. But, when it comes to the live crowd that Ring of Honor holds, they are not too particularly keen on the 3 of us. That doesn’t really matter to us because we’re not here to appease them. They’re going to like us or they’re going to hate us. They’re not used, I guess, to seeing women that can wear make-up, short skirts, and kick ass all at the same time. So, the 3 of us are the total package. So, they’re not keen on us but that is not going to stop us from giving the Women o Honor division a complete, much needed make-over. The Allure is here to stay!”

On when she decided to return to wrestling TV after retiring:
“I retired from in-ring action back in 2016. My contract with Impact Wrestling was coming to an end. At that time, in the company, I honestly was not having fun anymore. It had nothing to do with the locker room. It had nothing to do with the talent. The talent and the locker room were incredible and still are. It had a lot to do with management and the ins that maybe only the people that were working there would understand where I am coming from. So, anyways, I decided not to re-sign a contract with Impact Wrestling back in 2016 because it wasn’t fun anymore and it was becoming a headache just to go there. That is when I decided I didn’t want to put my body through hell anymore with bumping week in and week out. I decided it was a great time to hang up the boots and say, “I’ve been wrestling 16, 17 years now. I’ve pretty much accomplished everything and more that I set out to do in this business.” Any bumps that I would have taken going forward would have been wasted because there really wasn’t anything that I was interested in doing. So, I did retire in 2016 but I’ve said more than once that I was retired from in-ring competition only. I love this business. I always have. My favorite part of it has always been the fan interactions. So, I was blessed to be able to still go out and do autograph signings, meet the fans, and thank them for their support. I mean, Velvet Sky, still to this day, despite not being on TV or being signed to a major company, before Ring of Honor, despite that, the fans kept me relevant. I feel I owe this run to them. That is why I am still here.”

On the Allure being planned for a while:
“That is true. A cool little story – I was at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Madison Square Garden. At the concert, I received a text message from someone in Ring of Honor kind of opening up the ways of communication and kind of telling me what their vision was or the 3 of us as far as how they wanted us to come together and possibly make our debut in April at Madison Square Garden. I was like, “Oh my Gosh, am I reading this right?” So, here I am in Madison Square Garden looking at the Smashing Pumpkins perform and I’m looking at the arena in a whole new light thinking, if this goes well, I could be making my debut in this arena in a few short months! So, it was kind of cool how this came together as I was sitting in Madison Square Garden watching someone else perform thinking this would be where I make my debut. So, it was like it was meant to be! So, this was in the works for a long time as far as us coming together. We kind of just had to fine-tune everything. We are having the time of our lives right now. I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to come together!”

On if she will wrestle with Ring of Honor:
“No. Definitely not. My decision to stay retired still stands. Like I’ve said, I’ve put my body through a lot in my 17 years of wrestling. There comes a point in every professional wrestlers career and their life where you look at the future more and you’re like, “OK, enough is enough!” I don’t want to be decrepit and crippled for the rest of my life. I want to be healthy and keep my body health. Still, to this day, I’m still rehabilitating my body, my spine. I still feel residual effects from my time in the ring. My focus is to be the mouth-piece, the manager, of the Allure and directing traffic as Mandy and Angelina are the ass-kickers of the group!”

On how ROH and the Allure got Skid Row to do their theme music:
“It is pretty cool. Myself and Bully Ray are friends with one of the band members. Mostly Bully Ray but I’ve gotten to know him as well. They’re huge wrestling fans, those guys. So, when we reached out to those guys, “Hey, there’s this cool opportunity. Do you want to do our theme music?” They were, like, stoked that we asked them. That is how that came together. We are so excited to have Skid Row! I love the 80’s! I’m a child of the 80’s! Anything from the 80’s that can come across my plate modern day, I’m all for it! We’re so happy with our entrance music. It is called “Get Familiar.” What better group than Skid Row to do it?” She continues, “I feel the 80’s were the golden era of everything! Even people! Even society was better back then.”

On Disco Inferno’s recent claims that she is the greatest women’s wrestler ever:
“What I think Disco meant by saying that I was the greatest women’s wrestler ever, and I know him and always got along with him and still do to this day. He was with TNA during my time there. I think he means my character work with the Beautiful People that he was referring to. Because Disco, he’s old school! I’m old school! But, I think he was referring to character work. I feel, and I think he would agree with me, character work in modern wrestling is a lost art. I don’t think a lot of the wrestlers or companies invest in the character development as much as it is more about the in ring action nowadays. It is professional wrestling so yes, of course it is going to be about the in ring action and physicality. But, you can’t have one without the other. In my opinion, that is when stuff goes stale. So, I really think Disco was referring to the Beautiful People and how well I played my role. Not to tout myself but I’m going to (laughs). Angelina and myself, back when the company was on Spike TV, we were the highest rated segments on the show. It was not because we were great wrestlers alone. It was the story telling and the character development as well as the in ring action. I just think character development is a lost art.”

On what the Allure brings to ROH:
“That is where Mandy, Angelina, and myself come in. Ring of Honor is mostly known for their amazing wrestling. They still are. But, we’re bringing the characters and the story lines back to professional wrestling and specifically into the Women of Honor. We all know that division needs help not necessarily with the in ring area. Each of those women kill it in the ring. Each woman that comes through those doors can definitely hold their own. But, again, you need character work and story lines to go with it or else it just goes stale.”

On what attracted her to wrestling:
“I got hooked on the Attitude Era! I got hooked on larger than life characters and story telling. It was not just the wrestling, wrestling, wrestling that got me hooked. It was the characters that got me emotionally invested and made me want to see them wrestle.”

On who one of her favorite female performers was back then:
“I loved Sable! I was obsessed with her! She was hot, she wore lipstick, she did her hair, she was gorgeous. But, she went out there and she kicked ass in the ring. I relate Mandy, Angelina, and myself to that. Just because we’re hot girls doesn’t mean we should be discredited as workers. If we were not attractive, would that make people go, “Oh, OK. They’re good wrestlers because they’re ugly.” It’s crazy! It is almost like (the view is) if you’re pretty, you suck in the ring. It is crazy how the business has shifted. I feel like, what is wrong with wearing skirts and lipstick and embracing our sexuality while also kicking ass in the ring?”

On the origin of the famous “Let the Pigeons Loose” entrance:
“Before I was in TNA, I was on the independent scene. My character that I created on the independent scene wasn’t too far off of what I did on TNA. Again, came up on the Attitude Era. So, I used to do the whole shake your butt on the ropes way before I got into TNA. So, when I came to TNA and Angelina and I came together, we decided to do some of what I used to do on the independent scene in our act. As far as the whole “Let the Pigeons Loose” catchphrase, you would have to ask Taz about that. (laughs) To this day, I still hear fans say that, “Let the Pigeons Loose!” Geez, we got T shirts, signs in the crowd… That is something that just added to our entrance when Taz was commentating. Where he got that from? To this day, I still don’t know. But, it works! (laughs)”

On Beautiful People member Madison Rayne saying she wasn’t a fan of saying the original Knockouts created the women’s revolution when we asked her back in December::
“I’ll answer that just fine. No, I don’t think we do. But, I’m not bitter about it. Before this interview gets released and the fans start to say, “Oh, she’s bitter. She’s bitter! She’s bitter! No, I’m not bitter. I was there when this whole kind of Knockouts Revolution thing was coming together. Madison (Rayne) might not agree because she wasn’t there when this whole thing was coming together. I was there when Spike TV was a part of touting this. We were the top women’s wrestling division in the business. This was when WWE was still doing bra and panty matches and mud wrestling, jello matches. That’s fine. I dont have a problem with those. That’s entertainment! I love entertainment in any form. Madison wasn’t there quite yet when we were doing commercials for Spike TV. They were just highlighting the Knockouts division because we were focusing more on wrestling. It was at a time where there was no womens revolution. Women were still learning their place in the industry. Now, women are featured, they’re main eventing. They’re making so many waves. I feel like it did start with the Knockouts division. We were main eventing. We were featured in 2, 3 matches on the show back then. That all came to be because there was such a void in women’s wrestling. This was 2007, 2008, 2009. There was such a void in good womens wrestling. Vince Russo noticed that whenever there were women on the show wrestling, the ratings would spike. He realized that the Knockouts were the shows bread and butter. He gave us the ball and let us run with it. We were being praised by fans all over the world. Not only on our character work, each Knockout brought something different to the table. We were all so different. That is what made the Knockouts division work. So, I don’t think the Knockouts from back then get enough credit. But, we don’t need to be patted on the back. We were there. We know what we brought to the table. I’m so happy to have gotten to share that time with those group of girls. It was my favorite locker room, to this day, that I ever was a part of. We all worked so hard. Every single girl that was brought in to be a part of that starting Knockouts division? We were all starving independent wrestlers. When we all showed up, we had no idea back in 2007, what girls were going to be a part of the division. We just got a phone call and showed up at Bound for Glory in 2007. When I got there and saw the girls chosen to be a part of this division, we all knew one another. All those girls worked so hard. My heart was full when I showed up to Atlanta and I saw who was there!”

On ROH selling out MSG and the success she saw for AEW in Vegas last weekend:
“I’m super excited! It is no secret because I have been pretty outspoken on social media. I’m super excited for AEW because they have pretty much put the whole wrestling industry on notice. I don’t think that there is one person in wrestling, fan or wrestler, that is not talking about or excited about AEW at this point. Just to see the breath of fresh air they are bringing to this industry. WWE has always been the top of the industry. To some extent, they still are. But, AEW are stiff competition. There are so many people that I know within WWE that want out to go to AEW. It is great because it is another place for the guys and the girls to go work and to earn a great living. It is no longer that WWE is the end all of wrestling.”

On what to expect at ROH State of the Art this weekend, her birthday weekend:
“Well, there’s probably going to be lots of cake. Lots and lots of cake! (laughs) We’ll be celebrating my birthday when we get back home. But, Ring of Honor this weekend. I’m excited to do a meet and greet with Mandy and Angelina this weekend, on my birthday, in Portland. Can’t wait to spend my birthday weekend doing Ring of Honor shows and meeting all the great fans!”