Ruby Soho discusses the criticism of women getting busted open during their matches.
Ruby Soho has never shied away from wanting to break molds and barriers. While Blood in a women's wrestling match isn't uncommon in AEW, especially when the occasion calls for it, such as a Steel Cage Match or a Street Fight, there are still critics who aren't shy about voicing their opinion when they feel as though a match has gone too far.
On the January 13, 2023 episode of AEW Rampage, Ruby Soho teamed up with Willow Nightingale to face Tay Melo and Anna Jay AS of the Jericho appreciation Society in a Street Fight that resulted in ruby donning a crimson mask by the end of the match.
Speaking with Righteous Reg, Will Washington, and Phil Lindsey on Fightful's Grapsody podcast, Ruby gave her thoughts on bleeding in matches and the reaction that the Street Fight from the January 13 episode of AEW Rampage received.
"After that match aired, the reaction to it was very interesting to me. At first, I didn’t know how I felt about it. But as time went on, I realized that this is a conversation that needs to be had. Because if blood in general, is just not your thing, I totally get it. I completely understand it. That’s okay. That’s why wrestling is a beautiful melting pot of things, because there’s something out there for everybody," said Ruby. "If the fact that I’m a woman and I’m bleeding is the thing that bothers you, but you’re cool with Mox and MJF and whoever bleeding, but it’s just because I’m doing it is the thing that you have a problem with, then it’s a different conversation.
"Because at the end of the day, all we want as women wrestlers is to be treated equally, to be treated the same," she continued. "So I think that it was a very important conversation to be had because there was arguments on both sides and, to me, I feel like it’s straying away from the one thing that we are trying to get away from is that the reason there is women’s wrestling is to give you something to look at. When in reality, obviously, if I’m covered in blood, I’m probably less attractive to most people. If that’s your problem, then sorry to tell you, I’m just gonna keep getting more unattractive. Because my lipstick’s all over my face all the time, my hair looks like I got electrocuted constantly when I’m wrestling. That’s not what I’m out there to be attractive to you. So if that is what you’re watching me for, then stop watching me."
Overall, Ruby's advice is, if blood isn't your thing, don't watch it. However, make sure to treat women's wrestlers with the same respect and expectations that you would give their men counterparts.
"There’s a lot of other colorful words that I could use, but at the end of the day, if you got a problem with it, don’t watch it," Ruby says. "This is, to me, another example of us being treated equally in the vein of wrestling and women’s wrestling is to be treated the same, to have the same expectations as the guys, and to be able to do everything that the guys are doing including looking like Carrie."
Fans can learn about Willow Nightingale's reaction to the recent Street Fight at this link.
During the January 13 encounter, Tay Melo got a thumbtack stuck in her head that she had to remove while already on an airplane. Learn more about that here.
