In an industry overflowing with talent, it takes someone with a little something extra to demand my attention more than the rest. Everyone seems to have their niche these days, and it takes that. It really does. Without an undeniable work ethic and dedication unmatched, it’s likely the business will swallow you whole. So, from the beginning, these future superstars begin the grind to the top, giving everything.
Speaking of everything, I believe it is truly that. To become a professional wrestler, one must dedicate their whole self to being successful, in whatever way they choose. Comfort zones are decimated through rigorous training in all facets. Once a certain level of achievement has been reached, as unfair and disgusting as it is, personal privacy takes on a whole new meaning.
Time with one’s family? Zapped. The ability to step out in public without being bombarded by fans of all kinds? Forget about it. Heck, the very choice to simply exist online without trolls and soulless human beings making your life a living hell? Yeah, that’s gone too.
Yet, they choose it. They choose it because they love what they do. This thing of ours gives them the very same joy it gives us.
For Alexa Bliss, it’s no different. When she steps through those ropes, her very heart is on display for all of us. It’s undeniable. One look at her beautiful smile as she’s performing and it’s obvious that she is right where she belongs. I don’t know if wrestling was her dream or simply something that happened along the way, but no one can look at her in her element and deny she’s home when she’s doing what she does in that ring.
Since her time in NXT, she’s just had “it.” I couldn’t place it at the time necessarily, but my attention was drawn to her. She demanded it and those she worked with benefitted. When she debuted on Smackdown, she immediately felt important. She was a true threat and an even better heel. Her acting chops were on full display from the jump. No one could have played the mischievous and opportunistic heel to Becky Lynch’s loveable babyface than she did. It was the jumpstart to what has been an incredible career.
It hasn’t all been easy though.
What I admire most about Alexa is her strength and determination in the face of monstrous challenges. I won’t go into details because it’s not my business to share. Her struggles are easy enough to find and some of them are no different than those many of us face. I greatly appreciate her openness and willingness to chat about problems both familiar and not. Her example is one we need and one I’m incredibly thankful for.
It would be easy enough to let our problems cripple us. Sometimes they do, right? That’s ok. It’s about how we react in the aftermath and how we decide to conduct ourselves. Do we allow others to dictate our trajectory or do we weaponize that hate and use it to fuel our success and enact change wherever possible? Alexa has consistently chosen the latter.
I can’t imagine it’s an easy thing to do considering the visibility and inability to escape the spotlight. So much of who these incredible people are is on display for us nearly 24/7, through television, the internet, social media, and more. Where do they ever find peace? I think about that often. In the face of all of that, to make the conscious choice to use such publicly known struggles to educate and support countless young girls and boys – I applaud her and all those who do the same.
I should admit, I haven’t watched WWE regularly in a few years, since the pre-pandemic days. It doesn’t matter why, nor do I imagine you care. I only say it because very few professional wrestlers can get me to seek out their matches and storylines. It takes a special talent, that little extra. Someone who is more than meets the eye.
Cody Rhodes is one of those wrestlers. Kevin Owens. Becky Lynch. You get the picture.
I’ve always turned the channel for Alexa Bliss. I sought out clips of her matches on YouTube. I watched her segments live when I could. I still do.
Not everything my favorites do is always for me. Especially in WWE, talents aren’t always in control of what they do, right? They are presented with a direction. My hope is that most get to help steer that ship once into open water, but who knows? They just do their best with what they have. That’s what we all do day to day anyway.
When Alexa was added to the Bray Wyatt story and bits of the supernatural were put on display from week to week with her character, it was polarizing to say the least. It was impossible to ignore the selective outrage much of the fanbase spewed during that entire run. Some enjoyed it too! What I will never forget is how incredible of a job Alexa did with what she was given. I’m just saying, when her career in the ring comes to an end, Hollywood is waiting is she wants it.
I am not a fan of horror. I see a scary enough trailer during a commercial break and I’m sleeping with the light on for a week. I saw The Ring years ago and still look at my television side-eyed just in case that terrifying dead girl decides to crawl her soaking wet behind out of there to come and get me. All that being said, how she portrayed her character during that run with Bray and after, she threw herself into it all the way. I bought it. Every second. It’s just wrestling, I know, but she was scary!
The looks! The smiles! The crazy laughter! I’d love to see what she could do with a little more freedom to create and explore. I think she’d be absolutely brilliant.
It might be hard to believe since she has been in front of our eyes for almost a decade, but she’s still only 31 years old. A lifetime of opportunities lay ahead of her, and while I selfishly would love her to wrestle for many years to come, I know she’ll excel at whatever she decides is next.
It makes me smile to see her as happy as she is. She deserves it.
I wish the wrestling community could be collectively as wonderful to her and the rest of these people who give so much of themselves to us on a weekly basis. If we continue to talk about it, perhaps things will change. I fear that’s just me being naïve, but still. Lets do better. I know we can.
In a WWE universe filled with names and talents larger than life, Alexa Bliss continues to shine. The post-WrestleMania landscape is wide open. As creative and dedicated to her craft as anyone, something tells me she’s going to have a big say in how 2023 carries forward.
We just have to let her in.
