Jessica Jean Fan Q&A: Part 2
Q: What do you love most about being a professional wrestler?
A: Besides working with some great and talented workers in the business, the thing I love most about being a professional wrestler is getting to empower and inspire little girls and young women by showing them it’s ok to be ambitious, confident, brave, strong, successful and smart regardless of what anyone else says or thinks. I want to continue to show young girls and women that they can be anything that they want to be in life and that whatever dream they have, whether it’s to be a professional wrestler or whatever else their heart desires, they can achieve it if they just believe in themselves and go for it.
Q: Have you ever been recognized in public by fans?
A: I actually did get recognized by a fan from Tuff Pro Wrestling while grocery shopping at Kroger in Fairfield, Ohio.
Q: How do you deal with constant criticism from fans or other women wrestlers?
A: If it is constructive criticism as in telling me something I can improve on in the ring specifically, I will take it and thank my fellow worker for their input on how I can better myself as a wrestler or manager because improvement is something I always strive towards achieving. However, if a fan or fellow worker is just spreading negative talk or just bashing where it serves no constructive purpose at all, I ignore it. If it doesn’t help me grow as a wrestler or manager, it isn’t worth listening to and most likely that type of negative talk is coming from that person’s own insecurities with themselves.
For fans who try to slander me, legitimately wish bodily harm for me, threaten me, constantly criticize or try to put me down over every single little detail, from something personal such as the way I look or something wrestling-related such as whatever I am doing ringside or in the actual ring, I just forgive them and pray for them because they obviously have their own personal issues in their lives that they need to sort out if they feel the need to constantly try to belittle and bully others for any little thing they possibly can think of belittling or bullying someone for. I then remind myself that their opinions and hateful, negative words don’t matter because when it comes down to it, they don’t understand me as a worker in the business or as a person in general and they don’t understand my own specific plan for my career , my own specific goals or what I personally define as success. I also remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and I remind myself that God wouldn’t have led me to all of the opportunities I have had in my career thus far and that he wouldn’t have led me to following my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler in the first place if it wasn’t something I wasn’t meant to be doing.
Q: What books have you currently read this year?
A: I have read “Red Riding Hood” by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright. I am currently in the process of reading “Northanger Abbey” by Jane Austen, “Where The Heart Is” by Billie Letts and “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte.
Q: What are some of your dream matches you would like to accomplish at some point during your wrestling career?
A: I would love to wrestle a match at an outdoor wrestling event and I would love to participate in a Women’s Royal Rumble match. I think it would be fantastic to see a huge Women’s Royal Rumble match on the independent scene.
Q: How do you deal with body shaming from fans or other women wrestlers?
A: Thankfully, I haven’t dealt with body shaming from other women wrestlers. As for fans body shaming me, that is something I have dealt with. I just have to remember that God made me the way I am for a reason and it is beautiful. I also have to remember that when fans body shame me, they are just speaking from an insecure place from within them and that the problem is not me or my looks but something they are personally dealing with that they are choosing to just take out on me instead of them handling whatever that problem they have in a more positive and productive manner.
Q: Why do you feel education is so important in society?
A: I think education is so important in society because no matter your age, you are always learning something new. You never stop learning throughout life whether you are in school or not. However, I do think that every person all over the world, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, financial income etc., deserves a good education and the right to learn and go to school if they want to do so. I believe students in school should have access to excellent school supplies which includes properly working computers in classrooms along with a vast, informative selection of books in school libraries.
Q: If money were no issue, what would be the top 3 cities outside of the U.S. you would travel on vacation to?
A: I would want to travel to Paris, France as well as Verona, Italy and London, England.
Q: Which independent women wrestlers would you like to see signed with WWE within the next 5-10 years?
A: I would love to see Aja Perera make it to the WWE. I’m not sure if that is one of her dreams with her career or not but I think she would be a great addition to the women’s division in the WWE. While I have never worked with Aja Perera in the ring personally, I have watched matches of hers and she is definitely a very talented, hardworking young lady. She has been accomplishing many good things with her career including getting the incredible opportunity to wrestle in Japan. I would love to see her make it to WWE to work with women like Alicia Fox, Asuka, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss, Bayley and Kairi Sane.
I also think Kaela would be a nice addition to the women’s division in the WWE. Again, while I have never worked with Kaela in the ring personally either, she is a very talented and hardworking lady wrestler also, as I have had the opportunity to see her wrestle live against Mary Elizabeth Monroe at an LSC show back in the summer of 2014, shortly before I got into the wrestling industry myself.
Q: You used to go by the ring name of JJ Sparxx. How did you get that ring name, why did you change it and would you ever go back to using that ring name in the future?
A: I actually got the ring name from my first trainer, Dennis Page. I told him I wanted to go by Jessica Jean, which is my sister’s name and my mother’s middle name, as a way to honor both of them. He came up with the idea to shorten the name to JJ and then add Sparxx to it. The original idea was for me to come out as a face with an All-American Girl gimmick which would have consisted of very patriotic clothing and sparklers. However, while that idea fell through as I was put into a heel role first, the name JJ Sparxx was used for my ring name.
I was hesitant to use the name of JJ Sparxx, due to another female wrestler near that area having a similar ring name and I did let my trainer know this but I was told by other workers in the business that it would be fine and at that point felt like I really didn’t have much say in the matter as I didn’t want to show disrespect to my trainer either by refusing to go along with his ideas for my ring name and gimmick. I still had a strong feeling it would come back to haunt me and of course, I was right as it did get pointed out online by another worker in the business later on that it was similar to this other female wrestler’s name. At that time, Dennis Page was no longer my trainer plus I was starting to get a little bit more creative control over my gimmick so I decided to change the ring name to what I originally wanted it to be, Jessica Jean . As for ever going back to that ring name, I have been asked by promoters to go back to using that ring name but I have explained the situation to them and explained that I don’t want to use a name similar to another woman’s ring name, out of respect for that woman wrestler and what she has accomplished in her magnificent career thus far especially when it was a woman wrestler whose matches I watched at live events on Tuesday nights during my years in high school when I was still dreaming of being in the wrestling business.
Q: What are the most important things that you would want fans to identify with you when they see you at a wrestling event as a manager or wrestler?
A: The most important things I would want fans to identity with me when I am performing at an event as a manger or wrestler would be the ability to see a girl who absolutely loves the wrestling industry, who has fun with it and has a lot of heart for it. I also would want them to see me as a woman who tries my best to empower the little girls and young women in the audience by showing them they can be anything they want to be in life and that whatever they decide to be in life is a beautiful thing because it’s their choice and it’s their dream they are following, regardless if that dream is to become a professional wrestler or something else completely outside of the wrestling industry.
Q: Favorite fan interaction you have ever had?
A: My favorite interaction with a fan so far was with a little girl at an IWA show. I believe she was around 4-6 years old. I was told she missed getting the chance to give me a high five when I was out there for my match with Tragedy Ann earlier so I came out during the event’s intermission to meet her personally. She seemed a little shy at first but I broke the ice after complimenting her sparkly shoes. After that, I talked to her for a good while and then gave her a big hug before going to greet other fans.
