Izzy Moreno has come a long way from being Bayley’s number one fan on “WWE NXT” programming. The fan-turned-wrestler has been staking her claim on the independent scene, where she’s currently the Mission Pro Wrestling Champion. In the lead-up to her title match, Moreno spoke with “Busted Open Radio” about how she’s grown to appreciate other WWE stars.

Advertisement

“I’ve watched a lot of people recently. Somebody I will say that I really connected to was Sami Zayn when he won the NXT Championship,” she said. “Maybe it’s his whole underdog story … I’ve watched a lot of Cody Rhodes too.”

Morena mentioned that she is constantly given matches by her trainer, Ace Steel, to watch, so there’s a litany of influences on her at the moment.

“I’ve studied [Tiffany Stratton],” she said. “But Sami Zayn is the one I’ve really connected to and really watched a lot recently. How he is going into a big match, how he feeds off a crowd.”

Moreno’s study recently paid off as she defeated Tiffany Nieves to win the title on June 15 at MPW’s Summer Lovin’ event in San Antonio, TX. The win fulfills a promise Izzy made to the current WWE Women’s Champion last year, as Bayley jokingly said she would “disown” Moreno if the young wrestler lost a previous shot at the MPW TItle. While Moreno is intrinsically linked with Bayley due to her longtime fandom on and off screen, she also has the support of a WWE Hall of Famer, as former WWE Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze sent Moreno well wishes last year, as Moreno’s burgeoning wrestling career was just beginning.

Advertisement