Chicago Tribune – Wrestling, comics form tag-team duo
Published on September 22nd, Filed in
Articles
Wrestling, comics form tag-team duo – By Kevin Pang, Chicago Tribune reporter
Wrestling and comics have more in common than brawlers in spandex: A mutual admiration is bringing the two worlds together
Like Helms, A.J. Lee toiled in lower-level storylines and struggled to get TV time before her current run as Divas champion.
“For three to four years, I was begging to get on any Comic Con or (Electronic Entertainment Expo) panel, but I never got to go,” Lee said, implying that before her breakthrough this past year she wasn’t a big enough name to represent the WWE.
The 26-year-old looks unlike any female wrestler before her — a 5-foot-2, 110-pound tomboy who drew inspiration for her character from the DC Comics villainess Harley Quinn. Lee grew up writing her own comics and playing video games. When it came to pro wrestling, she rooted against the popular female wrestlers because they were too “blond and perfect, and I didn’t want to cheer for them.” Lee thought she didn’t have the bombshell look expected of a ladies pro wrestler but could perhaps enter the business as a writer.
Eventually, Lee was signed by the WWE and in 2010 made its minor league farm team, a reality competition show called “NXT,” where one wrestler is voted off the show each week by viewers.
Before her first episode, Lee dressed the way she felt comfortable — wallet chains, sneakers, loose dress. But one of the producers suggested Lee change her look to be more diva-like, and maybe stand a better chance at winning.
“They told me to change, so I had to go through the luggage of all the other divas to find ring gear,” she said.
The next week, Lee ignored the producer and dressed as herself again, in sneakers and chains, and the audience responded favorably. She would make it through to “NXT’s” next-to-final episode.
“Sometimes it’s hard: you have every single voice telling you you were wrong, so this makes me excited for our future,” Lee said. “I’m happy to get to be me.”