Interview: "The Powerhouse Princess" Lylah Lodge

When did you decide you wanted to be a Pro Wrestler? 

I started training in 2005 when some friends of mine found Playboy Buddy Rose and Colonel DeBeers wrestling school in Portland OR. I just went to check it out and Buddy saw something in me even though I was a bigger girl. If it hadnt been for him I probably never would have had the guts to try.

Who were your favorites growing up?

When I was growing up I watched wrestling but it was my brother who knew who everyone was and really watched it. I never liked fighting or violence so my favorites were always the guys who did mostly comedy matches, but Macho Man Randy Savage reminded me of my dad a bit so he was always my favorite.

Was your family supportive of you becoming a wrestler?

For sure. My brother is a ref and my Dad worries about me getting hurt but he loves watching me wrestle and gets a kick out of watching his little girl become the Powerhouse Princess.

Where did you train and what was it like?

My training started in 2005 at Playboy Buddy Rose wrestling school in Portland OR and from there I trained with all the local guys and I got to train with Buddy Wayne and Davey Richards when he was still around. I have taken seminars from Lance Storm, Christopher Daniels, "Eugene" Nick Dinsmore, The Honky Tonk Man, Kevin Sullivan, Raven and Ive have most recently trained with Rowdy Roddy Piper.

How long have you been competing?

I am in my 5th year wrestling matches on shows.

What is it like being a female in a largely male driven profession?

It is hard but I seem to make it work pretty well. I wrestle guys a lot and I am accepted as one of the boys, so I have it ok now, but it was hard to get to this point and gain respect from the boys.

What was it like being on World of Hurt 2 with Roddy Piper?

It was amazing, I loved doing TV and Roddy was unlike anyone else I have ever met. We didnt get any time with him away from the cameras except when he kicked them out to talk to us alone once so Im not sure how much of that was the real him but he was very intense and can bring things out of you that you never knew you could get out. It was inspiring and emotional. I just wanted to make him proud of me.

I was told that you have had try outs with both WWE and TNA, what was your impression of both companies? And how do they compare?

I have been to three WWE try outs and each one was very different. The first was at OVW and I only got to try out and didnt get to work in front of WWE. The second time I tried out I went to High Velocity Wrestling in North Carolina. I was the only female and I had already been rejected from the camp but John Laurinitis was impressed with me and sent me an acceptance letter to the next camp. When I was at the camp I got hurt and it did not go well. I got nothing but bad remarks about my body in my evaluation so I havent tried back with WWE since. The TNA Gutcheck was fun and professionally run and I felt we got good advise and helpful critisism that we could learn from and grow with but again I am still not in good enough shape for what they are looking for. I just keep trying and hope for the best from either.

What is your favorite match that you have competed in so far, and why?

My favorite match so far is probably the match I did with Sammy Hall at the WOH live show. That match was very important to me because we were working for TV and for Roddy Piper and it went very well.

Who is your dream opponent?

Beth Pheonix

What is the toughest and/or easiest part about being a wrestler?

Toughest is recovery after an injury and the easiest (for me) is the theatrical part of it all.

Any funny/strange stories from your time in the business?

When I went to cut my promo for WWE at the camp, I bent down to get in the ring and Billy Kidman set off a really loud fart noise and everyone busted up laughing at me right before I had to cut my promo and on top of that Beth Pheonix (my hero) was watching me the whole time!

What do you think about the PG direction of the current WWE product?
I think they are getting away from it more now that they are trying to legitimize it more with Brock Lesnar coming back and bringing back blood and all that.


The business as a whole is down right now. What do you think needs to change to help it grow to where it was in the late 90's?

I think that if people saw wrestling as an athletic display or as I call it, theatrical combat, that more people could see if for the entertainment aspect of it rather than seeing it as violent or vulgar the way most people who arent wrestling fans seem to see it. Legitimizing wrestling seems to be what they are going to do but in my eyes that is a step backwards because originally wrestling was legit and people got hurt and couldnt do it anymore so we will see what happens.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

I have thought about that long and hard and I really dont know. It would take an act of god and plastic surgery to get my body to look like what WWE wants and I want to have kids before I get too old so I really cant tell you right now.

Any upcoming shows you would like to plug?

I am just wrestling locally right now so not really. I am looking to set up a trip to California this summer though so look for me in Nor Cal soon :)

WWE No Way Out 2012 Review

World Heavyweight Title: Sheamus© vs Dolph Ziggler

I thought this was a pretty good match. Ziggler sold like only he does, and Sheamus kept up with Dolph for the most part. There were a few messed up spots in the middle, and you could tell that it was because Sheamus was getting a little winded. But still, both guys put on a great Pay Per View opening match. I would have had Ziggles win the title, but did anyone really expect him to take home the gold? Sheamus is in for a long run with the belt, but if this match proved one thing it's that these two would have a great feud for the belt.

Also, I have to mention how awesome the crowd was. Dolph Ziggler was over HUGE with the audience. It's always nice when WWE stops in a city full of smart wrestling fans.

Tuxedo Match: Santino vs Ricardo

What can I say? I love me some Ricardo!! The guy is so good at his role, he really is similar to Santino in that fact.

As for the "match"..It was what it was. Santino won and we found out he has a Cobra for a foot, and Ricardo wears Del Rio underwear. So yeah...

Intercontinental Title: Christian© vs Cody Rhodes

Great match from two guys I am more than ready to see moved into the main event. This match had great psychology and they executed on it perfectly. I did have a hard time getting into it at first coming off of the Tuxedo Match, but they quickly got me involved.

Cody Rhodes is going to be a star one day. In the past his size would limit him, but this is 2012. Our WWE Champion is barley over 200 lbs, so I'm sure Cody will be a player one day soon.

Fatal Four Way: #1 contenders for the Tag Team Titles: Epico & Primo vs Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs The Prime Time Players vs The Usos

What the hell was with The Uso's entrance? It was different...

I'm not a big fan of Four Way Tag matches, and this one was a good example of why I don't. They are always clusterfucks. The last few spots were good, but overall this match lacked direction.

As much as I hate the guy, I liked the AW swerve at the end. I could care less about The Prime Time Players. They suck. But that is why having Abraham Washington as their manager is a good thing. They need all the help they can get. I only question why they didn't hold this over till Smackdown? They don't deserve title shots this early. I was hoping that Kidd & Gabriel were going to win it. Hell, any team other than The Prime Time Players would've been a good choice.

Triple H challenges Brock Lesnar to a fight at Summerslam

As we already knew, these two will headline the Summer Time spectacular. And it's probably a safe bet that Triple H will win it.

I like that they are setting up the match two months in advance. It gives them time to build on the story going in. Just a nice old school touch. Remember when there was only a handful of PPVs a year? They had to take their time building up matches, and they were made to seem more important because of it. Yet another reason to cut the number of Pay Per Views they put on every year. Plus my wallet will thank them.

Diva's Championship: Layla© vs Beth Phoenix

I am now a fan of Layla's. Her little routine after taking Beth's headband at the beginning of the match was hilarious. And she isn't bad in the ring either. I was never a fan of hers back in the LayCool days, but that probably had more to do with all of the focus being put on Michelle McCool. She proved herself to me in this match.

I had predicted that Beth Phoenix would walk away with the title, and I also thought that Kharma would make her return. Neither happened. But what I did get was a damn good match by Diva standards.

Sin Cara vs Hunico

During this entire match I kept thinking to myself, "Why isn't Hunico being pushed yet". He is a damn good wrestler, much better than Sin Cara if you ask me. And the guy wrestles in Converse high tops. So I gotta like him.

Hunico carried the entire match. The best I can say about Sin Cara is that he didn't fuck up this time. But of course that is enough for WWE to continue shoving him down our throats.

WWE Title: CM Punk© vs Daniel Bryan vs Kane

The show isn't over and I already know that this was the match of the night. The addition of Kane both helped and hurt this WWE Title match. It was good in that it gave us something different, and bad because throughout the match I kept wish that I was watching another Punk/Bryan singles classic.

Punk added another great match to the list of ones he has had since winning the title in November. And you can tell that WWE is finally firmly behind Punk as the champion by how many times the announcers put over how great his title reign has been so far.

Great work by all involved. And the AJ story continues for better or worse. But I expect that it will be strictly a Punk/Kane issue going forward. Where that leaves Bryan is anyones guess.

Ryback vs Jobbers 'R Us

Squash. 'Nuff said.

Cage Match: John Cena vs The Big Show

This. Match. Was. BORING!

I understand WWE wanting to keep Cash Cow Cena in their PPV main events, but this match had no business closing this show. A Raw Main Event, sure. But not a show that people paid money to see. It's kind of sad that the opening match of the show out performed the finale in every way. I even enjoyed the Diva's Title match more. Not even joking. You would think that after last months Cena/Laurinaitis debacle they would want to give the fans something more for the biggest match on the card. Guess not.

Who would've guessed that Brodus Clay and his Mid-card mafia coming out to aid Cena would be the highlight of the match? So now Big Johnny is 'fired', but this is the WWE so we all know that we haven't seen the end of "People Power".

Final Verdict: I am going to give this show a B-. All the title matches were good, everything else not so much. That alone wouldn't have been too terrible if the Main Event hadn't sucked so bad and pulled the grade down under the weight of it's own failure. I am happy that I didn't pay to see this one.

WWE Raw Unmoderated Liveblog

Marking Out From My Couch: Misc. Etc.... Yeah, I've been gone for a bit.

So, there has been a lot going on. Some of you may have picked up on the fact that my old podcast is up and going again (The Drunk Show), but not an excuse to ignore the blog. Back back again!

Your Royal Rumble Winner: Sheamus

Well hello there left field, didn't see this coming from you. Sheamus was a dark horse winner for me in what was an overall lackluster show. WWE in essence just trolled us all with the Jericho build up only to have him lose in the final two with Sheamus picking up the victory. Good for Sheamus though, glad to see he is going to get the nod and get a title match against the same guy that he got bumped off the card with last year. I hope Bryan and Sheamus put on such a good match they make the entire company regret bumping them last year.