In PWPonderings latest exclusive interview, up-and-coming indie star, Airica Demia (@Airica_Demia) sits down with Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) to discuss her upcoming shows, the growth of women’s wrestling, becoming Airica Demia, and so much more. You can watch it in its entirety below.

When and why did you first get into professional wrestling?

“So, I’ve been watching wrestling for my whole life, pretty much. My dad is a wrestler. He’s not really retired, but not really consistently wrestling because he is 41 and started training in 2003, so that says everything it needs to. But I watched his shows when I was in strollers. When I was around seven was when I first really started showing interest in being a wrestler, and my dad was like ‘Absolutely not, you’re insane, you’ve lost your mind, no.’ Around that time I got into TV wrestling. When I was younger I didn’t know anything about TV wrestling. I didn’t know what WWE was; I was just not very familiar with all of that stuff. One day when my dad had a bunch of people over, he turned on an NXT pay-per-view and I was like, what is this? They were like, ‘It’s wrestling’ and I was like ‘Yeah.’ It was just a whole different world for me. Around 14 was when my dad asked if I wanted to try training and I was like ‘Yeah, I’ve been begging  for this for a while now, yes please.’  I started training and he told me I did better than some grown men he’s seen before, and I said ‘Yeah, because I’ve been watching you train people and I kept in my brain what not to do because I don’t like getting yelled at.’ That’s pretty much the beginning of that story.”

When you set out to become a pro wrestler, how did you figure out what your character was going to be?

“So, the name ‘Airica Demia’ actually started kind of as a joke. When I first made my Instagram, I think it was in 2019 when I was like 14 years old, we were in an ice cream shop, and we were trying to come up with a name for my Instagram, and my dad was like ‘Hey, how about MyInstaAiricaDemia” like ‘My Hero Academia’ and I was like ‘yes, that’s genius, I wish I thought of that.’ Then I had a whole list of names when picking out my character, and I just thought they were terrible. I hated all of them and none of them sounded good. I tried to make a Zelda reference and there was probably a Hobbit reference in there too, and my dad was like, ‘Why don’t you just use Airica Demia’ and I was like ‘I don’t know, that’s just kind of a joke name,’ but the more I thought about it, and I was like, ‘you know what? That’s kind of genius.’ So, that’s how that came about. When I was 14 around the time I started training, we started watching the show ‘My Hero Academia’ and my dad’s best friend told us to watch the first episode, and both of us cried within the first 10 minutes of, maybe less. We were like, ‘Well, this is our new favorite show.’ I really resonated with the main character because I was 14, I was a skinny little kid, I had this huge dream that nobody believed in me, and I was a massive crybaby. My hair is green because of this too. You can say I had an obsession, but not like a weird creepy obsession, just that I strive to be this level of cool. Other than my dad, Deku was my hero. So, it just kind of worked out.”

How fun is it for you to get to live this life with your father by your side?

“90% of the time of the time, it’s pretty freaking dope, the other 10% of the time is when he’s telling me ‘You didn’t do this right, I know you can be better, come on now,’ but that’s just with parents in general. He’s not the worst. I heard some horror stories. There are so many people in wrestling whose parents don’t really support them, and I just tell them, ‘I wish you could have had a dad like mine.’ For one, he’s really cool outside of wrestling too. He has two full arm sleeves, likes anime, and video games, plays Donkey Kong regularly, and likes Zelda. I love my dad. I have like the coolest dad ever.”

How important is it for you to see how far women’s wrestling has come and have a promotion like Uprising?

“It’s so insanely important to have good women’s promotions run by people who know how to book women’s wrestling, which is the same way you’d book a men’s promotion, just with certain things in mind. I feel very fortunate to be a part of Uprising, especially because it’s a part of Dreamwave. Dreamwave is one of the biggest indie promotions right now, and there’s so much fantastic talent there, and in Uprising. I feel like working for both promotions is going to do nothing but make me better.”

What are your hopes for the future when it comes to women’s wrestling and continuing to evolve?

“There are still people who say women shouldn’t be wrestling men and women who wrestle men are ruining women’s wrestling, and it’s usually men saying that and it’s funny because men don’t get to determine what women’s wrestling is, women do, because they’re the ones doing it. We should be treated like legitimate competitors just as men are. I hope to be somebody who makes sure that even if there’s just one women’s match on a show, nobody views it as a “bathroom break” out of respect for my opponent and respect for myself and respect for people who will be in that spot after me. We deserve better, and I don’t want a man to be a “bathroom break” match either because that sucks. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants to be viewed like ‘Hey we’re going to put your match here for the cool-down match.’ A lot of promoters tend to put their women’s matches in a spot that is considered a ‘cool down’ like in between two really cool men’s matches. My goal every single time is to be like ‘no, I’m going to be just as good as your men are, if not better,’ because that’s what I was trained to do. So, that’s what I’m going to do. I feel like I owe thanks to some of the women who came before me in the Carolinas like Mila Johnson, Brittany Jade, and Savannah Evans. They all came before me and they worked really really hard to make women in the Carolinas more respected. In the Carolinas it’s a little harder to get your name out there, so we travel out of the state. But, those women worked really hard to build that up.”

On April 11^th, you will be challenging Rebecca J. Scott for the Uprising Alternative Championship in a match that includes Gabby Forza and Emily Jaye. What is your mindset heading into a match that also features three incredible up-and-coming talent?

“Honestly, I feel very honored to be stepping into the ring with three women of their caliber. Rebecca Scott, The Gnomie herself, and Emily Jaye are all so respected. I haven’t been working here as long as them, but I really hope to build my name up to a point where I’m seen the way that they are if that makes sense. They have a little bit more eyes on them. I’m really glad to be a part of a match like that. Also, getting to challenge for a belt is really cool, even though I haven’t been working there as long as they have. I wish have been though, I wish I’d been working there for as long as they have.”

What’s it like to be a part of the Uprising promotion and how much fun has it been to be a part of that locker room?

“The atmosphere at every show I’m at is absolutely fantastic. I’m a very introverted person. When I’m in person talking to people, I have a hard time talking. I forget words, I stutter, and I’m not great at making eye contact. But they make me feel so welcome, and safe. It’s getting to a point where that’s like a home away from home if that makes sense.”

Later this month, on April 23^rd, you’ll be taking part in Battle Club Pro at their Women Crush Wednesday 5 show. What’s your mindset heading into that show and how much fun are these all-women shows for you and just being a member of the locker room?

“I don’t believe I have a match announced yet so I’m not to the point of having a gameplan yet. But, I’m very excited to go somewhere new with a bunch of different women who I may have worked with, but there are also some women I haven’t worked with yet, so that’ll be cool. Honestly, I have a lot of fun. I trained with a bunch of guys and it’s really nice to be able to hang out with and work with and speak with a bunch of women who are on the same boat as I am. It also challenges me a little bit because I don’t get to stand out on a show just by being a woman. I have to put in more effort to stand out on a show full of women.”

How important is it to you to kind of put intergender wrestling on the map?

“I find it to be very important because, for one, that’s how we’re trained. We’re trained to wrestle with men. We’re trained to beat our bodies up in a way that makes us just as strong as these men. If anything, we have to learn how to be stronger, because especially if you’re in a place where you’re all going to be trained the exact same, we have to up our game a little bit. I feel like it’s important to have intergender wrestling not only to show that we’re just as strong but to also show we’re equal competitors to the men. Even if I’m against someone who’s twice my size, I can still figure out a way to beat him. Even in Greco-Roman Wrestling, it’s not about the size of the other person versus you, but it’s about how you can manipulate their body weight against them. It can be the same thing in this type of wrestling. So, we’re equal competitors even if we don’t look like we are.”

You will be defending your Intergender Bonanza Championship later this month against Austin Luke. How important is it to you to represent intergender wrestling and Intergender Bonanza as the top champion?

“Me representing it kind of puts a lot of things into perspective. I did not start in this sport talented. I had to work really hard to get there. I was the most unathletic, skinny, 14-year-old kid you’d ever meet in your life. I was 100 pounds soaking wet, I’m 5-foot-8, so itty bitty. But I had to work really hard to get to where I am. At this point, I feel like I’ve earned it. It’s taken me a long time to be able to say that. But, I feel like I’ve worked hard enough to get to a point where I am someone who can represent an entire company. This is a massive thing for me because so many people look down on intergender wrestling. I feel very honored to be able to represent. It’s quite a bit of pressure, but the people in charge don’t make me feel pressured. They’re like ‘You earned this, you got this, we believe in you’ and my dad’s there to always be like ‘You’re good, you got this.’“

In early May, you’ll be taking part in Queendom, which will be Indiana’s biggest all-women’s wrestling event. You’re going to work with Maggie Lee and Metro, what’s your mindset heading into that triple threat?

“I’ve been preparing for this match since a little before she (Maggie) got signed. So, this puts a little more pressure on me to keep that belt, especially since she was the first one to hold that belt. I am looking forward to stepping in the ring with both of these women because they’re both extremely talented. Maggie 100% deserves that contract without a doubt. There’s not a doubt in my mind, and hopefully there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind. But, it’s going to take a lot to hold on to that belt. I’m going to have to do some cardio and go to the gym a little more before that one.”

What’s next for you? Do you have any future goals or future opponents you’d like to face?

“As of right now, I’m working really hard to try and get an opportunity to travel to a different country. Whether, that be Canada, the UK, or Japan. I really want to go to Japan. As an anime lover and Nintendo lover, I really want to wrestle in Japan and want an excuse to go to the Nintendo museum. I’m really hoping to get to travel out of the country soon.”

Is there any message you’d like to leave for anyone reading this?

“I usually like to answer that question with a line from Izuku Midoriya, ‘dreams can become reality.’  That’s one that’s really helped me get through a lot. Even though he’s just an anime character, a made-up character, he’s from a made-up show and world, I try to make sure it stays in the back of my mind at all times. There are a lot of times when I will hold myself back, and that’s the only person who can hold you back is yourself. Chase your dreams, follow your heart, and do what makes you happy, unapologetically.”