Mercedes Martinez reflects on her time with WWE and what’s to come in the future.
One month after being released from WWE, Mercedes Martinez has a handful of independent dates scheduled for the coming weeks and months and she’ll also be a part of IMPACT Wrestling’s ‘Knockouts Knockdown’ event.
Mercedes was signed to WWE in early 2020 and spent a year-and-a-half with the company. Throughout that time, she was able to challenge for the NXT Women’s Title on several occasions and did have a shot at the NXT Women’s Tag Titles. While speaking to DNC DIGITAL, Martinez expressed that she feels there was nothing WWE could creatively do for her to elevate her game to the next level.
[They] made the phone call and of course they’re gonna tell everyone basically it’s budget cuts. I’m not going to sit here and lie. They’re like, ‘Due to budget cuts, you’re getting released.’ I was like, ‘Okay cool, thanks.’ Legit, it was just like, ‘All right. Cool, thanks’ and I was like, ‘Thank you for everything’ and he [John Laurinaitis] was like, ‘If you have any questions, contact me.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He was basically — he was doing his job. He had to do what he had to do but, for me it was like, okay, here I am, I just got cleared to wrestle. I was just going into a program and then now I’m getting released so I know — to me it was like it’s not budget cuts. It’s something more. I know they’re going in a new direction, I know they’re changing a lot of things at NXT so I knew it had to be more but they’re gonna tell me the easiest way out without hurting my feelings. But I know in my heart that-that’s not what it was. I know in my heart what it was. It’s a lot of things that people don’t understand when you get there. WWE, with the opportunities that they gave me, it’s a blessing to even be there. I don’t take it very lightly. I don’t think that there is any ill will for me getting released. I really just think that there’s nothing there for me, personally. There’s nothing creatively that you can do with me to up my game already because I’m already at that level. I’m already at that level. I’ve always been at that level so it was what it was and did I take a couple of days to kind of milk that? Yeah. Did I cry? Of course I did. I was a big b*tch. I was a baby, man. I cried my eyes out. I cried my eyes out like there was no tomorrow.
While Mercedes is not too keen on the traveling that comes with being an independent wrestler, she missed the comradery that she would have going into certain locker rooms. She added that she doesn’t know if she sees herself signing with another major company but if she does, she wants to bring along several colleagues that make her feel at ease.
I don’t miss the travel [of being an independent wrestler]. The long days and the travel. I think the travel takes more out of you than the actual match itself and the actual show. The long travels of constantly getting up super early to catch a flight at like 5 AM and then coming home the same night or sometimes the next day at 5 AM. That’s because you get no sleep, that’s what I don’t miss. Is it worth it? Of course it is. The biggest part of independent wrestling that I really miss is really the locker room. You know, for so long, for 19 years, I’ve traveled with all these men and females and you become this comradery. Like legit, everyone is your friend and they know you outside of wrestling. They really become part of your life, they really become family and that is the one thing that I miss the most is going into a locker room and really everyone being genuine and not everyone trying to step on you to grab a spot because everyone [has] a spot on the card. Whether you’re the first match or the main event, everyone is very supportive of wherever you are, what you’re gonna do and that’s what I missed.
Not to say that the company, you know, for WWE didn’t do that. I just didn’t know anybody there, like on a personal level. You’re coming in and you’re like this ‘big name’ I guess you can say and they’re so respectful and everyone likes you but it’s a different atmosphere whereas when you come to [the indies], there’s no — you just relax and really be yourself. Outside of Mercedes, you can just be like, ‘Yeah, I’m Mercedes’ but they don’t think of you as that Mercedes that they see on TV. They see you as the Mercedes who can just chill on the couch and play video games with you because that’s what I would do. So that’s what I missed the most and you know, these first two weekends being on the independents, it really felt very comfortable, I felt relaxed, I felt no pressure. It just, man, I love it. I really do. I don’t think I can go back to a super big company again unless it’s worth it. I want to bring friends with me. Let me grab an entourage with me. You’re gonna give me a contract? Well I come with these [people]. I want them with me.
Along with Martinez; Lady Frost, Mickie James, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and more talents will be involved in the Knockouts Knockdown event. Mercedes is also scheduled for SHIMMER’s show on October 31st.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit DNC DIGITAL with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
