The WWE has announced that Mae Young Classic competitor Serena Deeb will now serve as the newest Women’s coach at the WWE Performance Center. She was spotted at the facility just last month.
Deeb wrestled in OVW from 2005-2009, where she won their Women’s Championship six times. She would later join the SmackDown roster in 2010 as part of the Straight Edge Society stable alongside CM Punk, Luke Gallows, and Joey Mercury.
In an interview with WWE.com, Deeb comments on her new role, what her goals are and how things have changed since her time away.
On her role at the Performance Center: “I will be a coach for the female talent, and obviously, alongside Sara Amato for the first little bit and helping to groom the next generation.”
On wanting to work with the newer recruits: “Just thinking back on my career and the process I went through, helping people to reach a point where you can see the lightbulb go off and they start to grasp certain things is very rewarding. I think that it’s very different for beginners than it is for people who are a little bit farther along as far as the concepts you’re trying to teach them are going to be different in those levels. I think teaching people in the beginning, when it’s a clean slate and their brain is just really starting to absorb everything and things start falling into place, is just a really crucial time in their development.”
On how the offer to coach came about: “The offer presented itself initially almost a year ago. It was pre-Mae Young Classic. I knew of the tournament and was aware of it, and then I was contacted by the company to see if I had any interest in being one of the talent in the tournament, but it was also coupled with the idea of potentially coming in as a coach following the tournament. The tournament was the first stop on the tracks, and following that, I came back in a week in the fall for an official coaching tryout, and following that, it was pretty quickly offered.”
On what has changed in WWE’s developmental since being away: “It’s just an incredibly well-oiled machine at this point. It always was, but it’s been very interesting to see the evolution. I started in OVW, I was there for five years and then I was in FCW, so I got to experience a lot of the different locker rooms and environments. NXT is … I don’t want to say it’s what it always should have been, but it’s kind of what they always were striving for, and it finally is what it is.”
On her goals in her new role: “To really step up into this leadership role, which is a new thing for me. I’m just looking forward to the set of challenges and rewards that are coming with this responsibility and getting to improve myself personally and professionally. I’m focused on how I can be a better person and a better coach. [I want] to give my best self to them so I can be a reflection of them and receive their best selves back. I think it’s so important for the individual, regardless of the role you’re in, to always be mindful of where you’re at and always take your self-inventory so you can garner the best side of them as well.”
You can the full interview here.
What are your thoughts on Serena Deeb’s new coaching gig?
