It's important to Shayna Baszler that she honor her past.
Appearing on WWE's The Bump, Baszler discussed her MMA background and her training in Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Currently one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions alongside Ronda Rousey, Baszler said that pro wrestling in WWE is the honorary black belt she could never receive in catch wrestling.
"Yeah, and it's cool because both of us are honoring where we started all this, wearing our black belts to the ring. It's not just a reminder to everyone else about our pedigree, it's a reminder to ourselves of where we come from. So it's funny because, I'm sure Ronda learning to throw people at four or me getting on a wrestling mat when I was six or signing up for my first jujitsu class, it's not something that was like, 'Alright, I can't wait.' It's funny, I've talked about my catch wrestling, and I studied catch wrestling alongside Brazilian jujitsu, and catch wrestling is more like amateur wrestling in that there's not a belt system per se. But in the old way of catch wrestling, you didn't get to do professional wrestling until you prove yourself on the mat as an amateur. So I've always said that pro wrestling in the WWE is my black belt in catch wrestling if there was one. So, I don't know, it's just a cool way to show that all this was put into motion long, long ago," she said.
A Tag Team Title Unification Match between Baszler & Rousey and Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre is set for the June 23 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Elsewhere during her appearance on The Bump Baszler told the WWE's Women's Division to make some friends. Click here to learn why.
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