Former WWE women’s champion and Total Divas cast member Naomi recently appeared as a guest on The New Day: Feel The Power podcast with fellow WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston, Big E. and Xavier Woods for an in-depth interview.
During the discussion, Naomi spoke about WWE telling her not to wear her real hair on television, support she has been receiving from pro wrestling fans and more.
Featured below are some of the highlights of the new Naomi interview.
On being told by WWE that they don’t want her to wear her natural hair:
“It was a conscious decision. That’s something I’ve always been proud of and have always been aware of, to represent women like me, our culture, and our people. Not just being a feminist or being a woman, but also because I am black and I look the way I look and talk the way I talk, there are people who connect with me differently and identify with me because of those things. I remember when I first came in and I wanted to wear my natural hair and they were like, ‘We want you to look this way.’ I showed them an old picture and I had long, straight hair, and that’s the look they were wanting me to go with. I was like, ‘That’s fine, to get in the door and to get where I need to go, I’ll look the part and be the part, but once I make it, I’m going to be me.’ I finally feel like I got to that point of, ‘I don’t care, like it or don’t like it, I’m rocking my hair like this.’ With everything going on, that’s something I wanted to do, not just for myself, but for the culture, to show we’re beautiful. It was something that needed to be seen and done, a lot was said without being said.”
On fan support:
“I’m really grateful for the career I’ve had and the moments. The beautiful thing about this job is you can never stop growing. If you really love it and are into it, you will always want more and want to elevate and continue to get better. That’s where I’m at now. I feel like there is more to show and more to prove and more to do. That lets me know that I’m not done yet and I still love it and I’m still here.”
Check out the complete episode of The New Day: Feel The Power podcast featuring the Naomi interview at Apple.com. Hat tip to Fightful for transcribing the above Naomi interview quotes.
Follow Wrestling-Edge reporter Matt Boone on Twitter @MattBoone1984.
