Alexa Bliss Discusses Being on the Main Roster, Her Name, Bodybuilding

WWE superstar Alexa Bliss recently sat down with USA Today, to promote her recent cover shoot for Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine. She discusses a number of topics, including her transition to the main roster, how she came up with her name, her training as a bodybuilder and more.

Below are some excerpts from the interview:

IT’S BEEN ABOUT SIX WEEKS SINCE THE DRAFT. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST ADJUSTMENTS FOR YOU COMING FROM NXT TO THE SMACKDOWN LIVE ROSTER?

Obviously, it’s working in front of a bigger crowd, but the bigger adjustment has probably been switching schedules. We kept a very busy schedule in NXT, but it was more group oriented. You just assume everyone in NXT is going everywhere. Now everyone gets their own schedule with where to be on what day. I like it better. It’s a lot easier to work on my own schedule in when I’m working out, when I’m getting in the ring and training on off days.

We also [do more live television]. It’s a little nerve-wracking but also exciting. It makes me think more about what are the things I can apply in the ring, but I am comfortable without having a safety net.

HOW DO YOU END UP WITH THE NAME ALEXA BLISS? WITH YOUR GIVEN FIRST NAME BEING ALEXIS, THAT SEEMS OBVIOUS, BUT WHERE DID BLISS COMES FROM?

It was one of the names that I pitched. At the time, I was playing around with being a Southern Belle-type character in NXT and always say, Bless Your Heart.’ For a Southern woman to say that, it was kind of in an insulting tone. It ended up more like, ‘Bliss Your Heart.’ It became a play on words and not meaning a good thing and there are so many ways to take it, ‘Blissed Off’ and ‘Bliss Slap.’ I know if it got approved, it would be so much fun to play with.

LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BODYBUILDING BACKGROUND. HOW DID THAT BECOME SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO DO?

When I was 7 or 8, I’d go to bodybuilding shows with my family because they had friend who were into it and it became something I wanted to do one day. I wanted to look big and strong. I started training in the gym when I was 13 or 14, trying to do something that. Then you could compete when you were 16, now it’s 18. I ended up being one of the youngest to get my pro card.

I went to challenge and was a Division I cheerleader and then I came back to it and wanted to be really serious about it. I had an eating disorder and I needed to gain weight in a healthy way.

My coach said to me, ‘You’re going on stage in five weeks. You can be really good or really bad.” Then I went on this crazy winning streak. I won numerous all-around titles, I was Miss Ohio in my weight class.

I did what I wanted to and then it was time to move on to something else and that was wrestling.

You can find the entire article at this link.

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