Eve Torres Talks Women’s Self-Defense Classes, Favorite Match, More

Former WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres chatted with WWE.com about what she has been up to since leaving the company in January. Here are some of the highlights from the interview.

On teaching women’s self-defense classes after an incident:

“I told a girlfriend about it, and she suggested that I start training at the Gracie Academy,” she said. “Interestingly enough, my brother trained in jiu-jitsu in high school, so I knew a little bit about it. I never really thought it applied to me that much. I had done other forms of martial arts, but it was more for fun. I really didn’t think about the self-defense aspects of it. So I started training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and my mind was completely blown away by what I thought was possible for women. All of a sudden, I realized that there was a way for women to level the playing field. I felt like I needed to share this with others.

All women can do this, which I think is important for women to know: You don’t have to be a WWE Diva or an MMA fighter to be able to defend yourself.”

About appearing at the WWE Performance Center and teaching young and current Divas about self-defense:

“This is something I had always wanted to do even when I was with WWE, but we’re all so busy and schedules are so crazy that I’m glad I finally had an opportunity to do it,” she said. “I know all of those girls have been in situations similar to what happened to me because it happens so often. They’re traveling a lot, they’re all beautiful women and they have to face so many situations that the average man doesn’t really even have to think about. So it’s not only about educating them about how to be aware and present themselves, and how to not be a target in the first place; it’s also about instilling them with confidence based in these techniques, so they really feel like they can address the situation if they have to. And they have a plan to fall back on if they really have to.”

What here favorite match in WWE was:

“I’d say my Survivor Series [2011] match with Beth Phoenix was my favorite,” she said.

“It was a really emotional match where you go to the back and say, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It was magic out there. Sometimes you experience magic out in the ring. It was a turning point in my career, and I got to share it with one of my greatest friends, Beth. That one always stands out in my mind.”

The entire interview can be found here.

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