Mia Yim's interview with WWE!
The 29-year old nine-year veteran of the professional wrestling game Mia Yim has clawed her way to where she wants to be - not only in her professional career but in life in general. Yim is reeling off the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament where she lost to eventual tournament winner Toni Storm in the semifinals. After the match fans went crazy for Yim and gave her the Cedric Alexander treatment and demanded that she be signed to a WWE contract. Those chants became a reality and WWE documented the moment that Yim was told by NXT founder and senior producer Triple H that she was being offered a contract.
Yim was profiled recently by WWE.com for an exclusive interview and she spoke about a number of topics including the opportunity she had to showcase her skills in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017.
"Yes. I was invited to the first-ever Mae Young Classic. What a fun experience. I got to wrestle two friends from the indies, Sarah Logan and Shayna Baszler. It was kind of a full-circle moment because I wrestled both of them when they first started and then we got to showcase our skills on the big stage." Yim said. "I caught up with Nattie, Charlotte and Maria Kanellis, who continue to give me motivation and advice. I got overall good feedback from the coaches and agents. I received another invite to the second Mae Young Classic, but I was nervous because it would be my first big showing since my injury. After the numerous tryouts, extra work and the last Classic, I was determined to land a full-time spot on the NXT roster. I was lucky to be among all the great talented women in both Mae Young Classics, and even luckier to have the support of my fans at Full Sail and all over the world. They made sure to be heard and they made my dream come true."
Towards the later end of 2017, Yim suffered a right leg injury that kept her out of action for four months coming out of the Mae Young Classic tournament. Yim detailed the severity of that injury and discussed what happened that caused the injury in the first place.
"I did a show in Northern Virginia on Black Friday in 2017. It was a 5-on-5 Elimination Match. In the match, one of the girls landed on my leg, causing a break in the fibula along with pushing out my ankle, which needed to be realigned." She revealed. "It was the first time I ever broke a bone, so when I felt that pop, I thought I just dislocated my ankle and figured I could pop it back in place. I went to kick with my leg and it felt like it was asleep the whole time, so I knew it was more than a dislocation. One of my trainers, Bobby Shields, drove me to the hospital. During the ride, I called my parents. My mom met up with me at the hospital and she was hysterical. I had to stay with my mom that whole weekend then flew back to Orlando that Sunday. I was out four months and made my in-ring return last April. Those four months were the hardest mentally. I broke my leg for this sport, but what did I have to show for it? Could I ever wrestle the same again? What if I got hurt again? There goes my opportunity to work for WWE I thought. I had so many doubts, but I also had good friends like Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and my friend Blake Thomas keeping my spirits up." Yim shared. "Even when I could barely walk, Shayna and Jess would teach me submissions and roll around with me to help my conditioning. I had a great group of friends and family making sure I’d come back stronger and better."
Also during this interview, Mia Yim stated that she wants to hold gold in NXT, RAW and SmackDown Live and she wants to have herself a WrestleMania moment. To read the rest of the Mia Yim interview, click here.
