Prior to AWS’ most recent show, Ladies Night 2, I had the chance to sit down with Hudson Envy for an interview. We talked about her start in wrestling, Candice LeRae, going to Japan, her match of the year with Melissa, acceptance in wrestling, her future and more. Click to read the full interview.

(c) Hudson Envy

Steve: I’m here with Hudson Envy, at AWS Ladies Night 2, before the show. First, thank you for taking time to do an interview with us.

Hudson Envy: Oh, no problem, thank you for having me.

Steve: I’ll start at the beginning. What made you decide to get into wrestling?

Hudson Envy: I was a kid watching Eddie Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero was one of my favorites, all time favorites. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, even though his name isn’t mentioned much anymore, but I would see them, and then obviously, Trish Stratus, and Lita, and I just, I wanted to do it.

Steve: You trained at EWF?

Hudson Envy: I started training at EWF, yes, in 2011.

Steve: What made you pick EWF?

Hudson Envy: Because of Jesse Hernandez, he has a good reputation for actually teaching females. He doesn’t treat them as they’re females. He treats them as they’re an athlete, and basically you either learn how to do it, or you learn or how do it. There’s no babying.

Steve: Yeah, I was actually thinking about it recently, how he doesn’t get a lot of the credit. A lot of the biggest females to come out of Southern California…

Hudson Envy: Melina, Kong…

Steve: Yeah, Candice LeRae, Shelly Martinez too. I don’t think there’s any other school around that has that pedigree.

Hudson Envy: Those credentials… yeah, absolutely. I know, and he doesn’t make a big deal about it either, which is very humbling. His knowledge, and like the way he teaches you the fundamentals, it saved my butt a lot in the ring.

Steve: What made you pick the name Hudson Envy, or where did that come from?

Hudson Envy: Well, it came from… I’m a Xena nerd, and Callisto is a bad guy on Xena, like Xena’s number one rival, and her real name is Hudson Leick. I wasn’t going to go by Callisto, so I was like, “Hudson.” Then the Envy part actually Mondo Vega came up with. He just threw that in there.

Steve: Did you start out at Hudson Envy, or did you …?

Hudson Envy: Yes. I started out as Hudson Envy.

Steve: Where’d you have your first match, and who was it against?

Hudson Envy: AWS.

Steve: Your first match was at AWS?

Hudson Envy: Was it August 2011 or 12.

Steve: Who was your opponent?

Hudson Envy: Candice LeRae.

Steve: Candice LeRae? You both were at EWF … Did you train with her at EWF at all?

Hudson Envy: Yes, Candice LeRae… Shockingly, Candice LeRae actually trained me quite a bit. A lot of people don’t know that, but because we both come from EWF, she had a big hand in my training.

Steve: Then fast forward a couple years to 2014, you won the AWS women’s title. Who did you defeat for it?

Hudson Envy: My tag-team partner, Christina Von Eerie.

Steve: Then you’ve held the title ever since then…

Hudson Envy: 3 Years, yeah.

Steve: I’m sure that’s the longest reign?

Hudson Envy: Second longest. Christina held it for four years.

[Note: During the show later in the night Hudson lost the title to Nicole Savoy]

Steve: After coming to AWS, what other promotions in Southern California did you work for?

Hudson Envy: Southern California, lately, or in the past?

Steve: In the past.

Hudson Envy: In the past, EWF. Well, Santino’s I still work for, and AWA San Diego.

Steve: How did you get into Stardom?

Hudson Envy: [Laughs] Well, everybody knows me and Cheerleader Melissa don’t get along. That’s not a secret, but she still is one of my favorites. She still is one of my wrestling moms. She opened the door for me.

Steve: She recommended you for it, or …? Then you first went over there in 2015?

Hudson Envy: Yes.

Steve: January 2015, I think…?

Hudson Envy: January 2015, like right at start of the year.

Steve: You were in Oedo Tai? Did they put you that right away?

Hudson Envy: Yes.

Steve: Now, I have to ask you about this, one of your Oedo Tai teammates was Act Yasukawa?

Hudson Envy: Yes.

Steve: You were there at the…

Hudson Envy: The incident…

Steve: The incident with Yoshiko.

Hudson Envy: Yeah, Yoshiko.

Steve: What was it like at that? I mean, I’m assuming you were at the back while this happened?

Hudson Envy: No I was at the ringside. I was there. Scary, but there’s a lot more to the story, but it was definitely a terrifying … You never want to witness somebody getting the crap beaten out of them. That’s what it was. It was like so real, like is this really happening? Why are you doing this? Then being, you know, acting the leader of Oedo Tai, we spent a lot of time together, going out, and she was one of the most caring people, so knowing her in that manner, and then seeing this, just made me mad. It was definitely unprofessional.

Steve: It’s really hard to watch, and it’s … I always wonder, because they keep restarting the match, like it just keeps restarting, and then the beating just keeps continuing on. I was like, “Why do they keep restarting this?”

Hudson Envy: The thing is, is Act wouldn’t give up, and in Japan, it’s not like … You have to give up, or something has to be wrong. Act was saying, “No she was going to continue”, of course in Japanese, no matter what. Then finally they had enough, threw in the towel, and said she was finished.

Steve: That pretty much ended her career too, and it’s really sad.

Hudson Envy: Act was actually my first match ever in Japan.

[To read more on the incident check out this article.]

Steve: Moving on from that, on your second tour, was the 5 Star Grand Prix?

Hudson Envy: Yes.

Steve: You made it to the finals of that…

Hudson Envy: With my best friend.

Steve: Kairi Hojo?

Hudson Envy: Yes.

Steve: What was that experience like?

Hudson Envy: Oh my god, I remember Melissa was there, and she just looked at me, she goes, “You got this kid.” I was terrified. Number 1, Hojo is like, we’re enemies in the ring obviously, but outside the ring, she was my person I went to in Japan. If I needed anything, she’s right there. We watched movies, we’d go like … Everything, and just to be able to have singles match with somebody that treated you like a sister, you just want to go all out for them, and have fun. Sadly, I was injured during that whole match, but, having streamers thrown for you in Japan, like I cried. I broke… I did break down and I cried.

Steve: Do you consider that your best moment so far in wrestling, or…?

Hudson Envy: One of them. That moment when I was in front of Bull Nakano, wow. I was just not there, but I was there. I never expected to be doing these things, I just dreamt of them. It was unbelievable.

Steve: Then you got a title match after that too…

Hudson Envy: It was Io Shirai.

Steve: Then, after that, you came back. Was that when you and Melissa had the Ladies Night match last year, or was that before?

Hudson Envy: That was before, that was after my first tour.

Steve: So after your first tour…

Hudson Envy: When this lovely thing happened on my head. [Points to a scar]

Steve: The match with Melissa, from AWS, last year, going back to that. That won the SoCal match of the year for 2015. That’s actually the only second time in our site’s history any women have won an award. How did you feel when you found out?

Hudson Envy: I got a phone call, because I was depressed at that point in time, because I was out of the wrestling. I was kind of a hermit. I got a phone call, “Go look to see who won match of the year…” I look it up, and then I see that it’s me and Melissa. I just was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me right now.” I don’t expect… I think I’m a crappy wrestler, so I don’t expect things like this, so I just cry a lot because I’m happy.

Steve: It surprised me. I didn’t vote last year. I didn’t see enough stuff to vote on the awards. I didn’t see it till later.

Hudson Envy: What a jerk!

Steve: Yeah. I know! It’s really surprising, especially when you think PWG is out there, and all these other great matches that are going on.

Hudson Envy: The matches I was up against were great matches.

Steve: I watched it later on. I got a copy of it from Bart, and it just so much different than any other woman’s match out there. I mean, you guys were brutal in that match. It was…

Hudson Envy: Well… [Points to her scar]

Steve: Yeah, you seemed to take the biggest brunt of the punishment.

Hudson Envy: [Laughs] Yeah that happens to me a lot, apparently.

Steve: Moving on from that. You came back from Japan, and you were injured. How were you injured?

Hudson Envy: My MCL had stretched, and then it got pinched, because I continued to wrestle on it, so I couldn’t extend my knee at all. Anytime, I tried to walk I would fall. It was embarrassing. Then my right shoulder muscle … I’m double-jointed, and I’ve always had problems with it, separated from the bone. That’s what took me out, because I just couldn’t … I could wrestle, but it wasn’t 100%, and it was making me mad that I could do more, but I couldn’t give my fans more, because the pain was like … I couldn’t bear it.

Steve: I had a separated shoulder when I was in the Army. I know what you mean…

Hudson Envy: It sucks.

Steve: Did you ever have it pop out, and you had to put it back in?

Hudson Envy: Yes, actually I’m double-jointed on both my shoulders, and they pop out quite often.

Steve: Did you think, “Oh man, I’m not going to be able to come back?”

Hudson Envy: I was told I wasn’t going to come back. My doctor told me I wasn’t going to be able to … Then that’s when stuff started going downhill for me personally, in my personal life.

Steve: I’m glad you’re back.

Hudson Envy: I’m so happy to be back.

Steve: Moving forward, I know you’ve only had a few matches, since you’ve come back, are you going back to Japan soon?

Hudson Envy: Yes. I am going back to Japan, and I can’t wait. Next year. Next Summer I’ll be going back for two different companies. I can’t say them, but when those get announced, I will let you guys know. I have to keep that private for now. I’m going to be running on that plane. Like I’m going to dive into the plane. I love Japan.

Steve: I know you are a big fan of the culture.

Hudson Envy: Yeah, the culture. I don’t know, I feel like I’m at home when I’m there. Like you know when you go somewhere, and you feel out of place? I didn’t feel out of place. The only reason I felt out of place at all is because I’m heavily tattooed. That’s the only time. Other than that, I’m comfortable there. That’s where I want my wrestling career. That’s what I want.

Steve: As far as woman’s wrestling, that’s still like the pinnacle too. I mean there’s Shimmer, and…

Hudson Envy: I will be debuting there in November.

Steve: Yes, I was going to get to that. I mean that’s the big promotion here in the United States for women, but in Japan, it just seems it’s still on another level.

Hudson Envy: It is. It’s so different. It’s amazing.

Steve: Woman’s wrestling’s come a long way. I mentioned this in other interviews that we’ve done, when SoCalUncensored started, there was Cheerleader Melissa, Sara Del Rey, and Erica Porter. Then that was it. There was nobody else. Melina came around, but still, she didn’t have anyone to wrestle.

Hudson Envy: Then disappeared. She came round, and then took off.

Steve: Right, and it’s … There was never a woman’s match on like any show. There would be like Sara Del Rey versus a guy, or something like that, but there was just no women’s wrestling at all. Now there’s… I mean here’s a full show tonight!

Hudson Envy: Yeah, it’s amazing. It makes me so proud to be a part of it. Now it’s real. Now like the big picture is happening. Now people can’t say like, “Oh, there’s like no wrestlers.” No, there’s wrestlers, and guess what? There’s great up and coming talent, and then there’s talent that’s been here for a while, that’s coming back. California is rising right now.

Steve: Yeah, it’s a real hotbed. I think Candice LeRae debuted and really it started picking up after that. She’s kind of a trailblazer.

Hudson Envy: She stopped for a while going to school. Then she came back when I debuted. That was, talk about impeccable timing, because if it wasn’t for my feud with Candice … Because typically in California, they put a green girl against a green girl. That’s not smart. Luckily I had Bart looking out for me, and he’s like, “We’re going to get Candice in here.” For a year, Candice flat out carried me, and taught me.

If I did not have that feud with her, there was no shape or form that I would’ve been in the shape for meeting Melissa, having a match with Melissa, and then getting the opportunity to go to Japan. There’s no way that all these opportunities would have presented. Being able to be the green girl, and that being okay, and Candice being the vet, like all right, let’s do this. I got my head beaten in a couple of times. Very, very lucky for that. [Laughs]

Steve: Is there any local girls that you haven’t got a chance to wrestle yet?

Hudson Envy: A lot.

Steve: That you would … That you’re just dying to wrestle?

Hudson Envy: No. [Laughs] No I’m just kidding. Beatrice [Domino]. I’ve heard great things about her. I really want to get in the ring with her. Who else? There a lot. I have a list actually. Actually me and Buggy haven’t wrestled.

Steve: Oh wow. Well, you are both in WOW. At least, I know she did a match with them…

Hudson Envy: She should be. They’d be stupid if she’s not. They better have her. We’ve never wrestled. I want to wrestle Buggy.

Steve: WOW was actually something I was going to ask you about. In WOW, you play Spike?

Hudson Envy: Yes.

Steve: How are you liking WOW versus … I know it’s a little bit different for a story line.

Hudson Envy: I’ll be honest. I enjoy it. It’s just different, because it’s TV. It’s TV ran, compared with most shows, and I’m more of a fast-paced, hard-hitting style, and I have to slow myself down. It’s frustrating for me, because I’m like, “Go, go, go, go”, and they’re like, “Slow.”

Steve: Yeah, I haven’t seen a ton of your matches, but like your match with Melissa, your match with Shayna Baszler, at the last show…

Hudson Envy: That was my first match back.

Steve: That was your first match back?

Hudson Envy: That was my first match back.

Steve: That was really good, especially after a long break. Like, those don’t seem like WOW matches.

Hudson Envy: They’re not. It’s very difficult, because I’m just like, if the people could see it in my face right now, they’d understand what I’m trying to say, but yeah. I’m just more, “Raaar”, rather than laid back.

Steve: Now, I did want to ask … Now, wrestling is not usually the most accepting or inclusive place. Luckily I think it is better here than a lot of places, but at times there is stuff that wouldn’t fly in other places. Being openly gay, have you had any problems or…?

Hudson Envy: When I first started wrestling, yeah there was a lot of issues with women, they didn’t want to change in the same locker-room with me, they were very, very rude. I’m not going to say names, because it’s in the past, you know what I mean? Obviously they’ve changed, like now they don’t care. In the beginning, it was very difficult, and I knew why some people closeted it, because of how I was treated.

Then there were the vets that came in, and were like, “Get over it, like you’re not her type.” You know what I mean? Like they would protect me and be like, “You know what, there’s different people in this world, you just do your job, go home. You don’t have to be her best friend, but you don’t have to go out your way to be a dick.”

Steve: Have you had any problem, like fan-wise?

Hudson Envy: I had a lot of hate mail from guys. It’s normally like the creepers, that send you those creepy Facebook messages, and then I’m like, “You’re barking up the wrong tree”, and then they go off and call me a dyke, and a faggot. I’m just like, you know what? Whatever.

Steve: I was talking to someone else not too long ago, and she told me she gets people emailing her pictures of their dicks and all sorts of crazy stuff.

Hudson Envy: Yeah, and they’ll be like, “I’ll be the one to change you”, and I’m like, “Wow, I don’t know who you are, but no thank you.”

Steve: Recently, you mentioned that you don’t think you’ll be a wrestling for very much longer. Do you want to go into that?

Hudson Envy: Yeah, we can. So far I have good news from the doctors. I was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells in May and they drastically turned into a first stage cervical cancer. What people don’t know, is why they don’t see me out with the fans and stuff, is because after a match, I am … My energy’s gone. I’ve had operations. I’ve been through chemo.

Christina Von Eerie has been right there with me through everything. So has Raze. My two girls. Right now everything is good, but in December I go back because there are still some areas that are of concern, and if it comes back positive, which would be negative for my wrestling career, then I would definitely be retiring next year.

Steve: Well, hopefully everything comes back negative. I mean no one would want to see you retire as wrestling is better with you, but obviously beyond that…

Hudson Envy: I’d hate to see me retire too. [Laughs]

Steve: [Laughs] I think everyone would. It looks like the doors will be opening up soon, before I let you go, is there anything you want to plug?

Hudson Envy: Yeah, everybody buy your tickets for Shimmer in November, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter, and all that stuff. Everything is @HudsonEnvy. Just thanks for sticking with me through everything, and sorry I disappeared on you guys for a while.

Steve: I’ll put a link to everything up.

Hudson Envy: Also follow Raze and Christina Von Eerie too.

Steve: All right, well, thank you very much for the interview. It’s nice seeing you again.

Hudson Envy: I hope you guys enjoy tonight.