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Former WWE Women’s Champion Molly Holly recently sat with Colt Cabana on the latest Art of Wrestling podcast to discuss her wrestling career, helping fellow Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix make it to the WWE, life after the WWE and more. Highlights of the interview below.
On why she doesn’t consider herself as underrated: “I think to myself like, okay well I was Women’s Champion, I have an action figure, I’m on video games and I was on WrestleMania. How is that being underrated? I think it [her WWE run] went pretty well.”
On helping Beth Phoenix pay for her wrestling tuition: “I actually did listen to her being interviewed about the whole thing. I didn’t remember half of the things that she shared. Of course I was flattered and that was so nice that she honored me with telling the story. I do remember that when she was trying to break in, she was already doing indies, but wanted to make it the big time. I just saw her work ethic and her personality and I was like ‘Man, I really want this girl to make it.’. So yes, it is true that I did pay for some of her schooling and I was just so proud of her that she did make it and she did an awesome job of representing women in the industry.”
Where she thought her wrestling career would take her: “I never thought I would be on TV. One because I consider myself to be an average athlete and average looking. I don’t have super long legs or perky fake hooters or whatever. I’m just kind of average and, at the time, there wasn’t like a thriving women’s division on TV. I mean Sable was super popular and I’m just not as hot as Sable, so I just didn’t really see it. So I thought, hey if I could if I could make an extra 20 to 50 bucks a weekend doing some biker bar show, that’s cool. So that’s where I really thought it was going to go.”
Her decision to leave to the WWE: “I knew about a year before I quit that I needed to. I was crying everyday at work, I was so miserable and I think going so many years with so little sleep, sometimes four or five hours a night four days in a row plus always being sick. Because I was run down, I’d get colds constantly. I was always sick, I was always tired, my body hurt and because I had already accomplished everything there was to accomplish in women’s wrestling, I just felt like I had nothing more to give. I was worn out and miserable and wanted to be done but I didn’t quit because it was really good money. Then it got to a point where it didn’t matter how much they paid me, I could not to it anymore.”
On how wrestling has helped her for life after the squared circle: “I believe that wrestling prepared me for anything. The high stress of being on live television plus the people skills, the politicking, the networking, being put on the spot, doing all these things last minute and using your brain. As far as on a resume, well I can put world champion or women’s champion on a resume and that boss instantly knows ‘This person was the best in the world at something’ even if its a fake something. Vince McMahon thought I was good enough to represent the company as a champion. So if I’m looking for employment, its like I can be trained to learn anything.”
Molly Holly also discusses overcoming her overeating disorder, being part of “Macho Man” Randy Savage‘s entourage, training students at The Academy School of Professional Wrestling and her volunteer work.
You can listen to the full interview here.
What are your favorite Molly Holly moments? Do you consider Molly as an underrated star? Let us know in the comments below!
