WWE superstars including Paige, Matt Hardy, Charlotte Flair and Stephanie McMahon herself spoke to Fox News about everything from women's futures in the ring, WrestleMania hype, Rob Gronkowski and Conor McGregor potentially joining the WWE and "Last Week Tonight" star John Oliver's claims about not insuring talent.
FOX NEWS: Are WWE superstars more cautious in the ring around WrestleMania season to avoid injury and missing out on the big show?
Alexa Bliss: I don’t know if we’re more cautious. But we're making sure we're taking extra steps to take care of ourselves. We're not going to hold back in the ring or play it extra safe in the ring. Because we want to deliver every time we have a show and a match. But I know people are upping their cardio of their workouts doing more yoga and making sure that everything outside of the ring is in check as well as inside the ring.
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FOX NEWS: People know you best from “American Ninja Warrior.” Did you receive any advice before coming to the WWE?
Kacy Catanzaro: Honestly, I didn't have a lot of support in that way, only because anybody that I knew wasn't part of the WWE. So we knew that it would be a transition, but not really. I didn't really have any idea what to expect. I came in with no wrestling experience. And some of the people that came in my class were Ricochet and Candice LeRae, and War Raiders who together have wrestled probably like 50 years, literally! It's crazy, because I remember just feeling like I'm kind of out of place and maybe I don't belong here, and I had to remind myself that I'm here for a reason and that reason is because I'm different and because I can show people things that they haven't seen before.
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FOX NEWS: What is your response to criticism leveled against WWE by HBO’s John Oliver during his show, "Last Week Tonight?"
Matt Hardy: When I first started here [in 1997 and 1998] ... the locker room and everything was like the wild wild west then. The change that has happened in those 20-plus years has been unreal. I mean, now the drug testing is very stringent ... You have to be here, and you have to be good and you have to be on top of your game. You have to be a professional. The physicals they do as far as cardiovascular and just checking you over and over — [there have] been several guys they caught that have had serious [health] issues that could have been life threatening if they didn't catch it here, and just the way they take care of you. Every surgery I ever had, WWE has paid for. They're very faithful and very good about that. It's just some of the stuff that the John talked about was kind of passé, kind of outdated because now they really do [take care of wrestlers' health]. They take care of everything especially stuff that happens in house. As far as the whole health insurance thing, that's kind of a different argument, because we do a different gig in many many ways. But WWE has never done anything but be great to me. They’ve taking care of me in every capacity, every front. And they've given me a great life. I mea,n one of the characters I play is Big Money Matt, who's like this millionaire that’s been around for a long time, and you know there's a lot of truth to it in some ways, and I wouldn't have that persona and I wouldn't have the great life that I have right now if it wasn't for WWE.
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FOX NEWS: What are your thoughts on celebrities and star athletes joining the wrestling world?
Kacy Catanzaro: It's cool to see how many different athletes from different worlds are coming to the WWE and I think that it's exciting. The wrestling world is so sacred and protected, and I think that it's cool that people are accepting of other people coming in from different backgrounds, and I think that as long as you love the business and you are respect it, and you're here for the right reasons, that it's cool to see that acceptance. I think that everybody wants to be part the WWE. There’s going to be some crazy names coming soon.
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Matt Hardy: As far as Connor McGregor being here, that wouldn't surprise me at all. Not in the slightest. He has the personality that would fit right in here. When it's all said and done, this gig is being a larger than life personality. Being able to evoke emotion from the people that are sitting out there watching, whether they’re cheering you or booing you —I don’t think that makes a huge difference nowadays, as long as they're reacting to you. You have to make them emotionally care in some way shape or form. Him being here, he’s such a showman. It wouldn’t surprise me at all.
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Scott Dawson: All I got to say is, respect us and respect what we do. You may have a notion or some sort of connotation of what professional wrestling is, but you have no idea. Ronda Rousey — she has no idea. Rob Gronkowski, I don't care how big of a friend he is of Mojo, he has no idea. But if you step into my world, it's a lot more real than what you think. So right now formerly I'll challenge Rob and Mojo any day of the week. Just step up, Jack, because I guarantee we won't be putting on helmets and pads. We'll be fighting it out.
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Dash Wilder: I have no qualms about guys coming in here, girls coming in here from other sports, but you better respect it or you better not come near us. If you're going to come here and you're going to do this and you're going to try to do what we do, you damn sure you better bring your A-game. You better bring some respect with it.
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Charlotte Flair: I mean, we welcome them, but whether they last or don't last — that's up to them. It's great that Ronda wanted to be a part of our division, but had she not caught on so quickly — which is a testament to her — there's the door. It's one thing to be famous, but it's another thing to have a grueling schedule, what we do 300 days a year, and you might think wrestling is easier, however, it's scripted. Now what we do is a craft, and it's very special. Just because you have a name doesn't mean you're going to be fit for our industry.
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FOX NEWS: Will the momentum continue for women in the WWE following the first ever all-female wrestlemania main event?
Stephanie McMahon: I think the next step for the women's revolution after headlining Wrestlemania is really parody. You know, I want to see an equal number of main events of men and women, regardless of what the event is, because that's really the ultimate goal — equality. It's really having the best stars, the best athletes, the best performers at the top, regardless of their gender.
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Kacy Catanzaro: I think the beauty of it is that there is just no limit. Anything is possible. The women have worked so hard to get here, they can do anything, and for me being in NXT — being able to watch that happen, it definitely just fuels my fire even more to know that the possibilities are endless for us.
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Seth Rollins: They earned it, you know? Not just these girls, but every girl that's come before them and busted their butts to try to get in this position and never had the opportunity.
Naomi: Building more characters, building more women and continuing to get these opportunities in these moments. It took a lot for us to get here, but just for it to not be the conversation anymore, to be more of the norm for women to have these big angles or for women to main event.
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Matt Hardy: The women's revolution is such an important key part of not only WWE, but I think society in general. We change where women have been elevated and equality is a big deal, not just between men and women, but all races. People are all human beings, especially here.
Paige: So much that we can so do — obviously another Evolution Pay-Per-View, another all-female Pay-Per-View. I want to keep headlining and I want to keep doing that. The girls are already dominating in all the shows, so what more can we do on that?
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Dana Warrior: The sky's the limit. We've already broken the glass ceiling, so I feel like the best thing that we can do is look at it as though it's just the norm. Sky's the limit. I don't ever see that stopping.
Charlotte Flair: It's great that main eventing WrestleMania but it's what's next — how do you continue that momentum? I do think that say next year, [if] there isn't as an intriguing story, no the women should not main event. The reason we are main eventing this year is because this story caught fire. People have been invested and they've stayed invested, but say that it wasn't [the case]: It's who has the best story it's who the audience is connecting with. That's what's most important.
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