In PWPonderings’ latest exclusive interview, Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) sits down with Hyan (@_thehyan) to talk about her upcoming match with Marina Shafir at DEFY, the upcoming “Who Runs The World 2” show in October, her match with Indi Hartwell back in July, her Queen of Indies win in 2024, and so much more. You can watch it in its entirety below.

Let’s look at your recent trip to the Mall of America last weekend. What was it like competing there, for F1RST Wrestling, and what is the atmosphere there like?

“It’s so crazy just to be in that area because this is where they had the first Nitro. So, I do try to take that in because I think that’s really cool. It’s not like they have regular wrestling shows in the Mall of America; it’s not like a Korakuen Hall, where that’s what it’s known for. It’s known for this iconic show. It’s cool because not a lot of people can say they wrestled in the Mall of America, so I’m really lucky to be able to say that. It’s such an amazing atmosphere because there are so many levels of people. The mall is huge. You look up and think, ‘Dude, this is crazy, it’s super cool.’ It’s because it’s so vertical and not out. The crowd feels really intimate, although it’s really big.”

Unfortunately, you lost your Uptown VFW Title to Jordan in a four-way match. What was it like working with Jordan, Brandon Gore, and AEW’s Danhausen?

“It was so easy. It was one of the easiest matches I’ve ever had. I’ve wrestled Brandon so many times. This was my second time wrestling Jordan. The first time we wrestled, we spoke about our match for like five minutes, and we were like ‘cool, got it.’ I have so much chemistry with Jordan. He was probably one of the only people with whom it was the fastest I ever called a match, and we just clicked right away. Then, Danhausen. That was my first time being in the ring with him. It was cool because I got to get cursed. I asked him if I could take the teeth too. It was just a lot of fun; that was such a fun match. Although I lost, I am sad about that. But I didn’t get pinned.”

Coming up this weekend, we’ll see you compete at DEFY against Marina Shafir for the DEFY Women’s World Title. What’s on your mind, making your return to DEFY and working with a dominant force like Shafir?

“I am super excited. I’ve never wrestled in Washington Hall before, so that’s a first for me. I’ve heard really amazing stories before from other wrestlers, saying how it’s such a great venue and the crowd is amazing. When I wrestled for DEFY the first time, it was actually in the UK. I didn’t get to do Washington Hall, so I’m excited to do that. It’s my first time in Seattle, so I think that will be a lot of fun as well. Going into this match, I saw the clip of Marina and Roddy on Twitter, so I think I may have to ask Roddy for help and have him slide in and help me. It seems like that’s the only thing that can stop her. It’s going to be such a different style of match than I’m used to doing, but I like it because it’s going to be a challenge. I think we can both create magic. Going into it, I just assess what the challenge is. She has a different style from me. She’s a more dominant wrestler, so how’s that going to fit into my style, and how am I going to still show up for myself and for her to make this the best match possible? So, I just kind of break down the match in that way. I always try to watch people’s stuff and watch some wrestling that’s similar to someone’s style to just get some ideas. I always like to come up with ideas. I always come up with a bunch of ideas.”

When you began training, you learned under Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. How has he helped get you ready as a professional wrestler, whether in the ring or character-wise?

“I think Booker’s school gave me a really good foundation for wrestling and the fundamentals and stuff like that. I can say that my first match was a lot better than most people’s first matches because I had a really good, solid foundation behind me. Obviously, being at Booker’s school, I was able to do extra work with WWE when they came to town. So, that was always a very helpful foot in the door. He really brought up a good foundation for me to be able to bounce off and do my thing.”

When we see you wrestle and make your entrance, it’s quite clear that the Lucha style means something to you. Did anyone inspire you from that world that you were able to take and make it more you?

“It’s honestly been growing for me. I’m half Mexican, so it’s something truly of the culture that I don’t think Americans fully grasp, that Lucha is Mexican culture. Arena Mexico is a tourist attraction. People obviously go for wrestling because there are wrestling fans there, but there are a lot of foreigners who go there because it is an attraction. It’s a part of Mexican culture. Leaning into that more definitely gives me pride in my own culture, and that’s also super important. I guess the cultural thing is really what sucks me in and what I really love about it. I love going to Mexico; it’s one of my favorite places to wrestle. The crowds are amazing. I would say crazier than a Chicago crowd. The AEW show in Arena Mexico with CMLL, that’s how the crowd is every night, it wasn’t just a one-time thing over there. They’re always crazy.”

On October 25th, you will also be working on “Who Runs The World 2” with MPX Wrestling. How important is this event to you, and what’s your mindset heading into this one? How important are the all-women’s shows?

“For me, this feels like a revival of SHIMMER. SHIMMER holds such a deep place in my heart. Coming up, that was the place that I needed to wrestle at. Being on the show and being a champion on the show. It’s a very special place. Anybody who is anybody in women’s wrestling had to wrestle on SHIMMER at some point. I feel like that’s what Athena’s bringing to ‘Who Runs The World?’ because even the way it is backstage, the feeling of it is very SHIMMER. It’s such a unique thing. It just has that vibe. Everyone’s there to make each other better. It’s such a positive atmosphere backstage, and I feel like that translated into the ring as well. I just love that there’s women’s wrestling being showcased by women. A woman is putting forth women’s wrestling, and I think that’s super cool. It’s super important. I feel like women’s wrestling is in a bubble. It’s like we’re our own separate thing sometimes. We are just put on the show by a guy. So, not everyone knows the women’s wrestling struggles because it is very different from the guys. I feel like Athena gets that. She does a really good job of showcasing it. The all-women’s shows, in general, are super important. Women’s wrestling just keeps growing. I went to the mall today. I went to Hot Topic, and there were more Rhea Ripley shirts than CM Punk shirts on sale. That’s cool. The women are really coming up, and it’s important, and I want to see more of it.”

Back in July, you also got to challenge for Indi Hartwell’s HOG Women’s Championship when HOG came to Texas. What was it like working with Indi and seeing all she’s been able to accomplish in her return to the indies?

“It’s very cool. We wrestled before she got signed a few times. It was cool to run it back and be like ‘yeah dude, show me what you learned’ and ‘give me some knowledge too.’  But it was just cool to see how much we grew, too. We both kind of know who we are now. Whereas back then, we were just kids figuring out who we were in this wrestling business. It was just so easy. Everything clicked. It’s nice when you have chemistry with someone like that. Then we went out and did it. It was honestly a really good match, I really enjoyed it.”

What was it like winning the prestigious Queen of Indies in 2024, defeating the likes of Masha Slamovich, Maya World, Promise Braxton, & Amazona to get there?

“Stressful. It’s really hard. I love a good tournament show. But it’s really hard to do a tournament. It’s hard on your body and your brain, and there’s no downtime. You’re constantly like, ‘Okay, this person’s match is going on, what do we have?’ I feel like that’s where you can kind of shine and see what you’re really made of. Being able to do three matches in one day, with one being the main event, is a big test. I really didn’t get to soak in at all that I won or anything. It was really nice to win, it was great. My reaction wasn’t like, ‘I won!’ It was more, ‘It’s over, I survived.’ Then, I had to get on a red-eye back to Texas. It wasn’t until the next day, after I had slept and stuff, that I could actually reflect on it. I was like ‘dude, that is cool.’ I didn’t go into it thinking I was going to win. They didn’t tell me and book me, saying ‘you’re winning.’ I was just thinking I was there and going to have some cool matches. So, it was all a pleasant surprise. Just trying to stay present and absorb all of the good vibes was my mindset.”

What are your hopes for the future? Any future goals or opponents you’d like to share the ring with?

“One of my goals is that I would really love to debut for Stardom and CMLL. I’ve gotten the chance to train with them. But I’d really like to debut for them. After that, I think I just really want to get signed. I feel like at this point in my career, I’m very fulfilled with what I did on the independents. I’ve done a lot. I’m really happy about it. But now I’m like, ‘okay, what’s the next challenge,’ and for me, that would be TV. As for opponents, Mercedes Mone. That’s the top one for sure. AJ Lee, too. I would love to wrestle Toni Storm. I want to wrestle Queen Aminata, too. We’ve wrestled tags and stuff, but don’t think we’ve ever had a proper singles match, so we’d probably kill it. We’d probably kill each other too, in a good way.”