Johnnie Robbie will enter as a relative unknown and rising pro wrestling star, but when the dust settles in Las Vegas this week, fans will certainly know who she is.
Robbie is a California native who has trained at New Japan Pro-Wrestling and has made brief appearances at Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling. She will enter the week as wrestlings womens champion. She will have about a half-dozen matches over the course of the week, headlining the companys show and competing in several others.
She opened up to Fox News Digital about her background and how she got started.
“I watched it a bit as a kid,” Robbie said of getting started in pro wrestling. “Kinda fell off of it. Then, my best friend got me into it, and then I started rewatching it again. And then I just thought I rather do it than watch it. A little bit about Johnnie Robbie â shes just kinda doesnt take anything from anybody.
“I come from Chicano roots â the way I was praised pretty much. From the sneakers that I wear to the way that Im dressed, you can see that its street style and some people may be reminded of home.”
Robbie said she initially started training as a referee before she was able to receive more bookings.
“My best friend, like I said, he was like, Oh, figure out how to become a wrestler because youre always saying you want to be something new every day, and this was something I dug for and tried to find a school because it is kinda hard to find a school, especially because there just a handful of them,” she said. “I started training, and then I wasnt picking up as much as everyone else and my trainers at the time, they suggested I become a ref until Im ready for my main debut. I believe thats how they did it â they school they came from, they would do that. I took the idea from there.”
Robbie told Fox News Digital she is trying to amplify her roots when she comes to the ring.
She said the gear she wears from head-to-toe all has something to do with where shes been and her background.
“Im here for a good time, and so Im irked, or Im p—ed off, and I tend to get p—ed off very easily. I think I tend to show that in-ring. I have a quick temper and if Im on top, I kinda get, I dont want to say cocky, but I get real comfortable,” she said. “I think mostly what you see is someone not as big as everyone else or just be able to take hits and just the way that I move in the ring,
“I think that comes across well in terms of ⦠One of my best friends, Alan Breeze, I go, I dont know what my style is, and hes like, Youre a little pitbull, youre a little dog, youre just like messy. Your style is, I think he said, Scrappy. I think that comes into play when Im wrestling. You can see that. Like I said, I pull from the way I was raised by a bunch of, Cholos. Just like I said, the Chicano lifestyle. I think you see a lot of that when Im in the ring.”
Robbie stressed that being able to share her background with the people that come to her shows is important to her and how much of a difference it makes.
“I personally love it because are sometimes people are like, Oh, youre just kinda cool, and Im like, Yeah, no, you just dont get it because you never seen it before. As opposed to when Im here in LA or with West Coast, I have the little girls that look like me, or I have fans that are older, and theyre like, Oh my God you remind me of my sister, you remind me of my tia,” Robbie said. “Little girls see themselves in me, or they see their bigger sister in me.
“So, I think its whether you not recognizing where I come from or its the little kids seeing it, or its the people who grew up like me seeing it, that just makes a difference. Im just happy to be that person youre reminded of somewhere, because even if youre not familiar with the way I was raised opposed to a little girl out here in LA, youre still now being introduced to it. So, I enjoy the fact that, Oh, this is what they mean by t
