Red Velvet Credits Bryan Danielson For Helping Her With Her Aggression As A Heel

The majority of Red Velvet’s career has played out on AEW TV as she wrestled as she was on AEW Dark less than 100 matches into her career. 

By March 2021, she was teaming with Cody Rhodes in a high profile bout against Jade Cargill & Shaquille O’Neal despite not being signed to AEW. Since the mix tag team match, Velvet has found regular spot on television, first as a babyface and now as a heel alongside Cargill as part of the Baddies. 

Speaking to Will Washington, Phil Lindsey, and Righteous Reg of Grapsody, Velvet credited Bryan Danielson, among others, for helping her find her persona as a heel. 

“Currently, right now, I’m working a lot behind the scenes with BJ Whitmer. He’s one of the agents. I work a lot hand-in-hand with him. I’m training with Jade as well with Bryan Danielson. That’s been a gear change. He’s somebody I really look up to and somebody I’ve watched, I wouldn’t say growing up because it was later in the time, when I was older and Bryan got to WWE. I’ve been watching a lot of his stuff and the fact that he gets to get in the ring with Jade and I and little things, from the basics, it’s been great and he’s really helped me tap into how aggressive I can get and be as a heel. I have to thank him because I’m been training a lot more with him. We still train with Dustin and stuff, but more focus on my heel character and change has definitely been Bryan and BJ behind the scenes,” she said.

Cargill mentioned in January that she was training with Danielson. 

Circling back to the beginning of her career, Velvet praised the Rhodes family for seeing something in her and believing in her when she was first getting started in AEW. 

“Starting at AEW, I was immediately taken under…obviously Dustin (Rhodes), he’s the head trainer, so Dustin saw something special in me and took me under his wing. At the time as well, Cody and Brandi definitely took me under their wing and it all went uphill from there. It was nothing that was planned, it was perfect timing. Brandi had another venture in her life, she got pregnant, and I was grateful that Cody saw something in me to put me in that position because, at the time, I was not signed with AEW on a straight All Elite contract when I wrestled Jade and Shaq. To even be put in that position, for him to have thought that I could hold that position in such a caliber of match was very nice. There were so many who have had a hand in helping me out. Vickie (Guerrero) has been really great, she’s been the best figure for the women’s locker room since I’ve been there. I don’t want to leave anyone out because there’s been so many people of the faculty and office who have helped me grow and weren’t afraid to tell me ‘this didn’t look that good, we need to change this.’ I have to thank all the agents I’ve ever worked with, from then until now,” she said.

Velvet also praised La Rosa Negra and those at FEW as they were the ones who helped train her when she first got started in wrestling. 

Elsewhere during the interview, Velvet discussed her heel turn and being paired up with Cargill and Kiera Hogan as The Baddies. You can find her full comments by clicking here. 

Fans can watch the full interview with Velvet in the video above.