Kacy Catanzaro Speaks On Transitioning From American Ninja Warrior To WWE

Kacy Catanzaro is set to make her WWE debut tonight as part of the Mae Young Classic.

Catanzaro will take on Reina González, who competed in last year’s MYC, in first round action. Prior to her highly anticipated debut, Catanzaro spoke to ESPN about transitioning from American Ninja Warrior to WWE.

“There are so many things about wrestling… that your body has trained itself it’s whole life not to do,” said Catanzaro. “Everything that you do in a wrestling match is something that your body doesn’t want to do. Your body doesn’t want to take these huge falls or jump off the top of a ring, these things that you never thought that you would be doing. It’s been this really cool but difficult thing to train my body to learn all of the amazing aspects that this sports entertainment business is, but it’s been really hard.”

When asked about competing in the Mae Young Classic, Catanzaro spoke highly of the woman the tournament is named after and the progress women in WWE have made over the years. 

“Mae Young has been such a constant presence in this business for women.” Catanzaro continued by saying, “She didn’t care what anyone thought women could do, or that they didn’t want her in this spot or told her she couldn’t do that. She never let that get to her. She never let that get in her way. She didn’t accept it. She pushed it and broke through those ceilings. And Mae Young, along with a lot of other women, they sacrificed so much and everything that they have done has made me sitting here be possible because of what they endured and what they didn’t accept and because of all of the hardships that they went through. They did all of that and now I get to be here when there is this amazing women’s revolution and when we do get to be part of those main events that they didn’t get to. It’s amazing to see that process and be a part of it now and know that they paved the way for us and we, being here, get to blaze the path for the future women.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Catanzaro spoke about starting off as a face before potentially transitioning into a heel and her aspirations to main event WrestleMania. 

The American Warrior Ninja alum was the first female to qualify for the finals and remains the only female to finish a City Finals course.