Paola Blaze is no stranger to being in front of the camera.
Since 2014, Paola Mayfield (Paola Blaze) has been on reality television as part of the hit TLC series "90 Day Fiance." Paola came to America on a K-1 Visa to be with her husband Russ Mayfield with just 90 days to marry. The two tied the knot and Mayfield has since established a life in America, continuing to appear on "90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?" spin-off series while also moving into modeling and personal training.
In April, she announced she would make her pro wrestling debut in Magic City Wrestling Federation in Miami, FL. She has since made an appearance at NWA EmPowerrr, sharing the ring with Gail Kim and Awesome Kong.
Speaking to Fightful, Paola discussed how her transition from reality television to wrestling has gone thus far.
"I feel that my fans are not excited about this transition so people don't support me because they don't understand that. What you see about wrestling and reality TV, I'm not saying it's the same, but it's kind of related. The difference is (wrestling) requires a lot of strength and being in good physical shape. I really like it. I feel like it brings out my personality and my personality from the show and who I am in the ring is kind of the same person. It kind of helps," she said. "When we do (90 Day Fiance) tapings, they try to tell me, 'don't forget the cameras are there ad play along with them.' When I get into the ring, I get to focus on being me and be fiery. I forgot that the cameras are around and I forget to play with them compared to the show when the cameras are always in my face. I feel like I have been able to mix both to get used to 'there are cameras there, it's not just two opponents fighting.' I need to get used to that."
Blaze has jumped into wrestling with both feet, training with one of the top independent names in wrestling history in Low Ki.
Low Ki has been wrestling since 1998 and has competed for Ring of Honor, TNA/IMPACT, WWE, and various independent promotions throughout his career. He won NXT Season Two in WWE and is a former ROH World Champion and IMPACT X-Division Champion.
"I'm a personal trainer also and I push people and I try to push them to their maximum because I know that they can do a lot. Sometimes, I feel I need that too. That's what my coach is doing right now, he really pushes me very hard. Low Ki is my coach now. The training is super intense and I really like that," she said.
When asked if she knew about Low Ki and his intense style before meeting him, she replied, "I've been investigating him. When I met him, I didn't know anything about him. He was coaching someone and I didn't know. Someone was like, 'Do you even know who that is?' 'Nope.' 'Low Ki, he's an amazing wrestler and coach.' 'I want to meet him,' because I like to learn from people. I got to meet him in one class and it was very intense, but I liked it. I'm not afraid to try new things and I have this fire in the ring and that's why we're still working together. He sent me some stuff (to watch). Those kicks, I told him, 'You need to teach me those kicks.' I'm not going to steal his moves, but I want to learn stuff similar to that. I admire him and I'm so glad I'm training with him. He pushes me very hard. This is very advanced classes, but it's amazing. I like that adrenaline. We don't only train wrestling, we do a lot of MMA. It's a combination of everything and the way he teaches is completely different and very self-defense. It's a little bit of everything."
While not officially announced, Paola told Fightful that she will be part of NWA Hard Times 2 on December 4. She has been featured regularly on NWA Powerrr since her appearance at NWA EmPowerrr.
Fans can watch the entire interview with Paola in the video above.
