Photo credit: @cameraguygimmik
In an exclusive interview with PWPondering’s Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell), Zayda Steel (@ZaydaSteel) sits down to discuss her wrestling career. From everything from her time in MLW to her upcoming match with Brittnie Brooks and Maggie Lee at Dreamwave to her upcoming goals and aspirations, Steel explains it all and more in this exclusive interview.
When and why did you first get into professional wrestling?
“So, for as long as I can remember, wrestling was always on TV, and I watched it with my older brother. I didn’t want to be a wrestler until later on, around 12 years old when I saw the likes of AJ Lee, The Bellas, and Total Divas. When the Diva’s revolution started taking off that was when I was like okay, I want to do this now. It wasn’t just a little hobby. For as long as I can remember wrestling was just always on, for as long as I can remember.”
Did you have any favorites or any favorite matches growing up?
“Favorites-wise, I loved Laycool. They were super underrated, and people don’t give them enough credit. Michelle McCool, Layla, Kaitlyn, I was a huge early NXT back when it was the gameshow, I loved the AJ Lee and Kaitlyn dynamic. Kelly Kelly too, I just loved all the divas. I’m a huge women’s wrestling fan. I don’t care if they got two minutes or two seconds, I was into all the girls.”
When and why did you realize this is what you wanted to do to begin training?
“Growing up. My brother grew out of wrestling and for whatever reason I just fell more and more in love with it. There was nothing else. I had no other hobbies, passions, loves, or anything. It was always wrestling. Once the women started getting more opportunities, I realized it was time to go for this. I was like 13 looking up wrestling schools. Everyone told me I was too young. But the one I did find was like two hours away and I had no car, no driver’s license, and mom wasn’t going to take me so I had to wait until I was 18. I always knew I wanted to go for it and as soon as I turned 18, legit two months later I started training in Maryland and the rest is history.”
When you began, did you have any mentors who helped shape you into who you are today?
“A couple of people. However, I’ll be honest, when I first started training it was a little toxic where I was. I don’t ever like to shed light on my original wrestling school, so I’ll give credit to CZW. I know a lot of people will run their mouths and say whatever they want about DJ Hyde and CZW, but I cannot deny that they gave me a lot of opportunities when my original wrestling school didn’t. That, and Blake (Bliz). Anytime I have a question, character ideas, or anything for promos he is always there for me when most weren’t. I give a lot of credit to CZW and him specifically.”
What was it like to be paired with Bliz on Dreamwave live shows as your manager?
“So, Bliz is legit my best friend. I cry to him on the phone like every day. We got super close during my WWE tryout. When I found out I had my tryout, I reached out to him to help me as much as he could, and he did. We got super close during that. For Dreamwave, I can’t sing, or rap, so I think anyone who can is super talented. He mixed my theme songs and a bunch of other wrestlers’ theme songs. Funny enough, Jay from Dreamwave reached out to him and asked him to rap me out to the ring.
It was so funny because weeks in advance I had been talking to Bliz about that. He’s more behind the scenes, he helps a ton of people who are on TV and indies with just their character ideas, and promos. Bliz is just an unsung hero. Jay let us do our thing. He’s such a sweetheart and seeing this Bliz character is hilarious. He’s just great.”
What has MLW been like for you so far in 2024, and working with the likes of Mimi, Delmie Exo, and Tiara James?
“Where do I start? Mimi, I worked with at Warriors, so I already got a little inkling of what it’s like to be in the ring with her. She’s genuinely so sweet like I cannot say anything bad about her. She’s notorious, and she’s genuinely great. Delmie and Tiara, on the other hand, I hate them, and they suck. Tiara specifically, because I had my debut with Tiara before Mimi, and she beat me. But that doesn’t count, it was just one loss.
The Featherweight Division at MLW is a sisterhood at the end of the day. As much as we all hate each other and love each other, at the end of the day, we’re sisters. It’s still new and we’re just trying to bring more light to it. That four-way was I think the longest match I had in MLW so far, so we’ll just keep pushing on more.”
What was it like to win that four-way, go on to work with Delmie Exo in the #1 Contender’s match, and continue to make a name for yourself in the MLW rankings?
“Delmie was the second woman to ever hold that championship. Losing to her isn’t as bad because at least she has stature. I didn’t lose to her while I was at 100 though, I had other stuff on my mind. They haven’t aired it yet, but once you see everything, I was dealing with other stuff behind the scenes. But I can’t wait to get my one-on-one championship match. That will happen.”
Recently, you worked with Janai Kai at an ETU show. What are your thoughts about potentially meeting Kai again for that championship somewhere down the line?
“So, I just wrestled Janai Kai at ETU. I got a little inkling and got to test the waters with her, so now I know what to expect, and I do want that match. I don’t know when that’s not up to me, but I just have to keep proving myself and continue to get these wins. MLW is going on the road now and the next show is in Tampa, and I’m interested to see what I’m going to do there.”
What are your thoughts heading into the upcoming “War Chamber” show for MLW?
“Oh my God, my team is going to be in the chamber. Luckily, I’m a girl, so I’m just going to valet my team and not get involved. I think Manders is in that match, and he may have lariated me a couple of months ago, so I don’t want to be anywhere near him. But I really will be there rooting on my team.”
You are a proud member of the WTF (World Titan Federation) in MLW. What has that whole experience been like for you?
“WTF, we’re a mess right now. I don’t know what’s going on. I love all those guys, they’re great. Tom Lawlor is hilarious, Bishop is a beast, Richard Holliday is somewhat delusional, but I am too at times, and we have Davey Boy Smith Jr. We have a bunch of cool people. My bestie BRG just got added. Our group lost a lot, but you know what? Win or lose, you’re still entertained because we are the World Titan Federation.”
It seems like MLW has taken a liking to using a lot of independent wrestlers, skewing away from what they used to do. This has been a lot of fun to see from a fan standpoint. What’s this new era of MLW been like for you?
“Them focusing on a lot of younger wrestlers, who are up and coming, like Ichiban, Love Doug, and a lot of the indie guys has been cool. Jacob Fatu just left, so now we’re like who’s that next person? I believe it’s great, and if they book it the right way, which sometimes… it’s wrestling… But, at the end of the day, they are giving us all a platform and without saying too much, I take MLW as practice for when I do make it to TV. I’ve never been handed a script, and a lot of us, not just me, use it as practice.”
Another thing you’ve been doing in the early going of 2024 is competing on a lot of Wrestling Open shows. You’ve been teaming with the Bratz (Paris Van Dale and Shannon LeVangie), working with the likes of Allie Katch, Kennedi Copeland, and Gabby Forza. What has that whole experience been like for you?
“It’s so funny because Shannon and I have wrestled a handful of times. I love wrestling Shannon. I think she’s great, and I think she has all the tools to be a star in the future, she’s just a dear to work with. But I do LOVE teaming with her. I think she’s beaten me all the times I’ve wrestled her. Paris Van Dale as well, I don’t know much about her. However, her entrance and her just being SO annoying, I see a lot of me in her and her act. All of us as a trio, and them as a tag, has just been great.
Wrestling Open is the longest I think I’ve traveled for wrestling. It’s an eight-hour drive and every time I go up there, people ask me “Why are you driving up here on a Thursday?” I just love it up there and I wouldn’t be up there as frequently as I am if I didn’t love it. I don’t know if I’m allowed to spoil it or not, but we do have a big six-women match soon. Us Bratz are finally going to get our comeuppance. We’re going to put an end to Kennedi Copeland and whichever freakin’ friends she decides to bring, whether it be Gabby, Allie, Mimi, or anyone else.”
You also wrestled on Beyond to kick off 2024. You were able to work with the likes of Gabby Forza and Allie KATCH more recently. What has that been like?
“As much as Gabby has my number, she’s fun to work with. That girl is freakishly strong. The amount of time she just manhandles not only me but my fellow Bratz, she’s insane. To think she’s not even a year and a half in the business, I told her that she’s scaring me right now, but I can only imagine with more reps and more time how she’s going to manhandle us some more. She’s great. Allie KATCH, now that was a dream indie match for me. I was trying to keep my cool in the locker room. But I was like, this is Allie KATCH, I remember watching her wrestle Masha at the beach. Beyond is another promotion that I’ve only dreamed about working and to be able to say I’m a roster member there this young in my career has been insane to me.”
I also really wanted to bring up Dreamwave. You’re killing it in Dreamwave. What was it like for you to be in the main event with Brittnie Brooks, and be a part of the first-ever Women’s Championship match in Dreamwave history?
“It was one of, if not the scariest, and most nerve-wracking experiences in my entire life. This is all credit to Jay. I didn’t expect him to build up the match as much as he did. He paid extra, got custom posters of us, and all of that. He put production behind our match, between our entrances, having Medusa hold the championship, and everything in between. I remember that night vividly, it was the day after my 20th The match didn’t go the way that I wanted it to. But, sometimes it’s more than the match. He put two young women, who aren’t names on the indies yet or TV stars, in that spot. I hope we made him proud. I have a triple threat match next month, so I must be doing something right.”
Coming up at the anniversary show, we’re going to see you vs. Maggie Lee vs. Brittnie Brooks for the title in a three-way match. What are your thoughts heading into that match and your alliance with Maggie Lee?
“So, Maggie, I was just trying to be the girl’s friend. If you know anything about Zayda Steel, I’m with people all the time. People just love me. Whether it’s at MLW with my group or Dreamwave with Bliz, I’m always with someone. I’m a loveable person, what can I say? So, I’m trying to be friends with Maggie, and we have a common enemy. Sometimes I don’t think she realizes that I’m on her side. I don’t know if it’s her orange hair that’s seeping into her brain, I don’t know. But we have a tag match that we have to coexist for on the night before, taking on Billie Starkz and Brittnie.
Starkz, who’s another dream match of mine. I don’t want to walk in the next night as a loser, so Maggie has to be on her p’s and q’s, or all hell will break loose. So, spoiler alert, the next night, I will win. There’s no way I have a rematch for the Dreamwave Women’s Championship and won’t walk out with the title. Nope. No. No. No. No. No. That’s what you can expect. Zayda Steel. Coming out on top. I don’t know what Jay’s booking is. I don’t know why you’d book a tag match the night before. But I guess you’ll just have to tune in to find out I guess.”
I did want to talk a little bit more in-depth about that tag match and Uprising. This is going to be the second Uprising show. How important is it to you to be a part of this locker room?
“This is an all women’s promotion. All I watch is women’s wrestling, that’s all I watch. I talked to Bliz about this all the time. He tells us how he wishes we had a “Shimmer.” Shimmer, back in the day would be huge and we all looked forward to it. He was talking to Jay about it and came to find out, about an all-women’s show named after Shimmer. I don’t want to say Bliz had a part, but… But I think it’s really important to have that sisterhood in the locker room. An all-women’s fed that’s not done in any malicious or anything like that.
We’re all there for one reason and one reason only, to put on a great wrestling show. The first one was insane. Jay still to this day talks to us about how insane and how great that show was going to turn out. Uprising 2 is only going to be another step higher, so.”
So, your tag match, which we touched upon already, will see you and Maggie vs. Brittnie Brooks and Billie Starkz. What are your thoughts heading into this match?
“As much as I respect Billie, she’s killing it for however old she is, I don’t lose at Dreamwave. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough losing to Brittnie Brooks when it mattered the most. Since then, I’ve been on a roll, I mean Maggie did cost me that tag match with Miyu and Emi, but on my own, I don’t lose. I’m going to get my hands on Brittnie Brooks two days in a row. You better believe I’m coming out on top both nights.”
What’s next for you?
“Without saying too much, Zayda Steel is going global soon. I want to say what it is, but I can’t. Also next month I’m winning that Dreamwave Women’s Championship, and then hopefully at the next MLW show or the May show I win the Featherweight Championship. I’m just coming for more gold and traveling the world, so that’s what you can expect.”
Do you have any future goals or opponents you’d like to get in the ring with?
“I’ve been saying this, and I’ll keep saying this until I get it, Nhooph, I want to wrestle Nhooph (fka WWE’s Aaliyah). We need this match; I need this match. Either her or Mercedes Mone. But they’re both ducking me I guess.”
Do you have any final message that you can send out to anyone who may be reading this?
“Look, if you don’t know who I am, 1) learn about me, watch my matches. Wins, losses, it doesn’t matter, because you’re going to be entertained when you’re watching Zayda Steel, The Real Deal. Only 20 years old, I’m a free agent, I’m the future, so hop on the bandwagon now.”