- Women have to be emotionally and mentally
stronger than the guys when it comes to this business.
You know with us being just a attraction match on a lot of
the men's companies, we have to have thicker skin.
What people don't realize is that I was really bullied
when I was young,
so this is my way of getting that aggression out.
My name is Mercedes Martinez, I am a pro wrestler,
I have been wrestling for 18 and a half years.
It's definitely not what you see on TV,
it's not glamorous at all whatsoever.
It's a rough rough drive
and you have to do that to get your name known.
(wrestlers shouting)
- I was a big wrestling fan but I didn't want to become
a wrestler, that was not my goal.
When I was young I was bullied really heavily
to the point where they lit my hair on fire
on the school bus, I get garbage thrown at me and stuff.
It was just that type of bullying that was really really bad
where at times I just didn't wanna go to school or anything.
When I look back when I was bullied like
I'm surprised at like
as many times as I tried to take my life and stuff
that I am where I am now because you have to find outlets.
Basketball was my big outlet
and it got me to a full ride in college.
I got injured playing basketball
and I needed something to kinda get myself back into it
and I had so much downtime
that I was starting going into independent wrestling.
Didn't think I'd be where I am now,
I thought I'd be a police officer by now
but life has it's course.
I went straight into wrestling with the boys,
my first match was with a guy, beat him
and it just kinda escalated from there.
- [Instructor] Still this is a drill guys,
just straight into the head.
There we are, right back up.
- [Mercedes Martinez] I think my first wrestling show
I didn't get paid at all.
I think for the first year I didn't get paid.
Now women wrestlers do you get paid
but I still think there's the pay gap.
I think if you don't get on TV, or some form of TV,
you will never get equal to the men at all.
Within three to four years after I was into the business
and I was starting to work for more woman's companies,
that there became an issue.
There was a company that we work for, 'WEW'.
It was 'Women's Extreme Wrestling'
but at first it was called 'Women's Erotic Wrestling'.
Yes.
So that was one of the companies where we had to kind of
draw the line and say hey we are wrestlers,
you don't treat us like your strippers.
I lost a lot of bookings, a lot of promotions
because of the way I talk.
I don't hold my tongue back for anybody.
If you touch me a wrong way, you're going to hear it
and I'm gonna let the world know
that you are touching me inappropriately.
I've seen so many female wrestlers leave this business
because they couldn't handle the sexism
or they couldn't handle the backlash.
And not just from males but from even their own peers.
Thanks guys, appreciate it.
- It's only within the last, probably five years when
the females actually took control of their own bookings,
took control of their own pretty much wrestling
and what they did in the ring
and didn't let the promoters run them down.
And I think the female wrestlers now,
we're more of a sisterhood.
We watch each other's back, we support each other.
You know, I'm working on bruised ribs.
Ain't no way I'm thinking about putting a match together.
Working on bruised ribs right now.
I am married, I do you have a child.
I play mum first, everything else comes second.
He is ten years old, regular life,
He doesn't care if his mum is a wrestler or not.
I have two jobs,
full-time and a part-time job as well as wrestling.
Living the life on the road.
So it is a very busy life for me.
Been in this business 18 and a half years,
I've had two shoulder surgeries,
I've had three bulging discs, I tore ligaments in my knee,
multiple sprained ankles and contusions, four concussions.
You're driving 7-8 hours,
doing your show, coming back 7-8 hours,
no hotels cause you don't have money for a hotel,
carpooling with people so you can just
not spend the money on the gas
and then doing it twice a day.
And that's just paying your dues.
My stepdad who raised me,
he was the one who actually took me
to a lot of my wrestling shows.
And when he passed away,
every match that I do is always dedicated to him.
You know he was my biggest supporter in anything that I did.
Always nervous before a match
and I think it's just, I think it's healthy to be nervous
cause it means you care.
So WrestleMania,
there was no way that I was gonna miss wrestling
no matter where I was, bruised ribs or not
I had to make it and I'm gonna give no matter what 110%.
So many women's companies that have been out there
for the last ten plus years
that I think now with mainstream picking it up,
it's just now with the audience seeing
what we're actually capable of.
So it's actually a really really big high for me
to still be around and see this big change
and be a part of this change.
(shouts)
We always hold out for WWE.
You know I've been with them, working for them on and off,
you know try-outs and enhancement talents
and then I did the Mae Young Classic.
It's always the goal to be in WWE and perform at that level.
If I get there, I get there, if I don't, I don't.
I know that I'm still doing my craft here
on the independent scene.
And now I'm training girls, I have my own students
that I'm actually helping get into the business.
Female students.
Feel better on your back you want this all.
You wanna make her look like she's stabbed you right?
- [Female Student] Yeah.
- So for you to help her do that you gotta get to her level.
You know, training them the right way, the way I was trained
and then trying them.
So I think that's gonna be my next thing
if I can't wrestle anymore in the ring,
I'm gonna be able to get behind the scenes at any point
and just do anything and everything that I could
and still stay involved in wrestling.
Hands off that one.
It's never just a job, it's more than that.
It's a life.