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When Trish Stratus and Lita were beginning to make a name for women in WWE , another inspirational female performer was working her way up with blood, sweat and tears.

Mercedes Martinez, a now 38-year-old ring veteran from Waterbury, Connecticut, has been a mainstay of Chicago's Shimmer Women Athletes and Florida's World Xtreme Wrestling.

Trained by ECW’s former TV Champion Jason Knight, 'The Latina Sensation' is one of only a handful of stars to appear in WWE's inaugural all-women’s tournament, the Mae Young Classic , and the second tournament too.

Her semi-final bout in 2017’s contest with current NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler won plaudits, while her battle with Japanese legend Meiko Satomura in 2018 secured her place in fan's hearts and minds across the world.

(Image: © WWE)

And now, all these years after she first began her journey, the 5ft 7in, 147lb powerhouse is still determined to leave a lasting mark in WWE.

Martinez, in London with celebrated UK all-women's promotion Pro-Wrestling: EVE, spoke exclusively to Mirror Sport's Danny Stone about the Mae Young Classic and her potential WWE future.

You are one of the few people to compete in both WWE Mae Young Classics. What can you tell us about that experience and how did the two differ?

There's a big difference between the two. I think when I got called for the second one, it was more shock value. Being in the first one you have the excitement, so many feelings going on, like 'yes, I worked for this'. When it came to the second it was more like, 'why?!' Like, 'do I really deserve this second spotlight when there are so many other females that can be in my place?' Then I realised, there's a reason why I'm here for the second.

When you look at the first to the second one, the second had more of an independent feel, of grabbing more unknown female wrestlers compared to the first one, where they had a lot of the NXT girls. I think they were focusing on the girls that needed to be showcased more or had the notoriety of being this big star on the independents, but can they make it on the big stage? That's how I looked at it, and it gave us a platform for the independents to be showcased on a bigger platform.

(Image: © WWE)

So, you think there'll be a third?

Oh, of course! I think it's going to be something every year.

And you'll be on all of them?...

I'm going to try! Ha ha! If not, it's okay, I know my role.

You have also competed on NXT. So are you in discussion with WWE? Might we see you there full time?

I think anyone's goal – my goal – is to be part of WWE in some way. Whether it's performing, and maybe at this point in my life and in my career, maybe to do something with coaching, helping the new batch of girls get on TV and with their training. Whether that happens or not, I'm not sure. I mean, me and WWE are always in contact, but there is no contract, and I want to let everyone know that.

In terms of where my career can go, I'm still doing the independents, I'm still going overseas but in the back of my head, there's always the chance of being in WWE in one shape or form. Whether it's helping the girls out now and helping them get to that next level, who knows?

(Image: © WWE)

You wrestled Sara Del Ray (WWE assistant head coach Sara Amato) in the first ever Shimmer promotion match. Are you suggesting you'll coach alongside her?

Oh yeah, me and Sara did. Yes, in the past three to four years, I've been more taking a role in a lot of companies, in female companies, where I help agent matches and help produce matches or even to the point of doing seminars and prepping the girls for what they can do now. The industry for female wrestling has changed so much in the past 18 years, and even before then.

For me to still be a part of it, to see the girls – from when I first came through, from when I started, to now... my job now is just to prep the girls. I'm reaping the rewards of what I went through. These female talents didn't have to go through all that craziness that I had to go through. Now it's more of a sisterhood and it's so close that everyone wants to help each other out, which is really cool.

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What kind of struggles did you face? Were you disrespected?

No, I was very lucky to have very good trainers, like when it came to Jason Knight who was in ECW. He was very hard on us females, it was only two of us and I stuck with him through and through. When his school closed down, I went to the Samoans – Afa (and Sika). I didn’t train under him [Afa] but I got his advice. He mentored me through everything. I was able to phone him up late nights and it wasn’t just business, it was personal stuff.

I'm still with him to this day. So he still mentors me. With their tutelage, advice and support, I didn't have to go through like 10 times what maybe a Sara did. It was 'this is my girl, do not mess with Mercedes!'. So no-one really messed with me. I had the right people at the right time, and if they did mess, I know how to handle myself anyways. I know how to put someone in place!

(Image: © WWE)

You're quite imposing with all your tattoos - are there any stories behind them?

There's a storied part of my life in every tattoo. When my career started, I had no tattoos and it kept progressing. I wasn't really big tattoo mark at first but as my life progressed, personal stuff and wrestling, I wanted to promulgate that on me. So every piece on my body, there's some meaning to it. More personal than anything, maybe, there's a tattoo on my shoulder blade. On the back, that has one of my first Mercedes symbols on it, and it's a dreamcatcher thing because it's a dream.

So is that where your ring-name came from?

My trainer actually came up with that. He always said the Mercedes one of those flashy, classy cars. He said people should pay to come and see you. You've got to give them a reason to want to see you. You've got to bring class and something different to the table. Not everyone can drive a Mercedes, so you've got to be that person and that's how it started out. Then my style changed throughout the years and now I'm just rugged thugged. Don't mess with me!

(Image: © WWE)

Talking of rugged, you were trained by an ECW alumnus. Did he hit you over the head with lightbulbs?

Ha ha! No, no! It was a very old school training, four to five hours, five days a week. A lot of people probably don't do that now, probably only two hours. It was right after I got out of work, just go to training and stay there and do what you got to do. It was a lot of study tapes as well. People don't do that in new schools. They'd say 'what type of wrestler do you want to be, Mercedes?' And if I wanted to be a Lucha, they got me my own Lucha coach. We had a lot of guest trainers. We had Mr. Fuji there and Bob Backland came to our school.

It was very old school feel. You had to do your drills, and your squats, and run the ropes 20,000 times. He would chop the hell out of you and beat you, but it was like 'this is what you're going to face as a female in a man's world, because if you get in there with the guys, you're going to get your ass beat'. 'You got to be able to take it and dish it out'. But there were no lightbulbs! I did hardcore matches, and he taught me how to protect myself. Going through a table, there's no give. You got to go through and just tighten up your body and hope nothing happens. You get hit with a chair you just hope you don't bleed!

(Image: © WWE)

Well, you brought your rugged style to the UK's Pro-Wrestling: EVE, does EVE have a good name overseas? How was the show?

Yes, Eve in probably the last two years, had been really something that as a female wrestler - and I primarily wrestle for just female companies - was something that I looked at. The show was phenomenal! I've never been in an atmosphere with a crowd that close, standing room only, in your face. Never in 18 years have I been in that type of an atmosphere. They just were into the whole match, knew who I was, it was really cool, really different and something I will take back with me.

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You're still performing but the internet says you retired two years ago? Care to set the record straight?

You know, I never retired! I don't know where that came from! It was just a rumour! I'm going to set the record straight, as a lot of people don't know. I had injuries. I actually went out for shoulder surgery. It actually wasn't well known that my left shoulder gave out on me. Years ago, 2007, I had my right shoulder done. Everyone knew that. I made it public, so people left me alone.

This time I just took a hiatus. For my personal life, with family, I got married and then found there was something wrong with my shoulder. So, I just took a personal hiatus and that turned into something, being injured. I cleared up all my injuries – I had bulging discs, and just took care of myself ,and then came back unexpectedly as I didn't know how long I was going to be gone. I just took a hiatus – it wasn't a retirement! I never said, 'hey! I’m going to retire', I just said 'I'm going to be gone for a while'.

So you came back with metal plates?

Yeah, I came back bionic man! Ha ha, and better than ever.

(Image: © WWE)

WWE held its first all-women's pay-per-view, Evolution in October, and now its first women's match to main event WrestleMania. Where next? Are we on the verge of full equality?

I think if they go in the right direction, I really do think they can have their own brand and something just for females. You have companies: Shimmer, Eve, Shine, Femme Fatal, Bellatrix. There's just so many women's companies out there that have their own brand and their own streaming. This is a market - just females. So, it's not just enough to do a pay-per-view, we want our own stuff.

And I think, even if you've got your Raw, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live, what about women's stuff? Not just the Mae Young Classic, but something of our own. I think that's going to be the next big thing. Something weekly like a 205 Live but just females. The MYC is a start. Evolution is a start. Main-eventing Raw, that's the right direction but I think we just need our own brand, because that's where you’re going to get the variety of female wrestlers that are unknown to showcase their stuff.

NXT is a great start for the females, but we want something that's our own because we're still competing with the guys. We have the one match, maybe two, but the guys get the majority of it. So how about a whole women's show? I think it will get there. Maybe this year, maybe next year, who knows? But I think WWE will do that one brand because there's a market for it.

It's already being done, it's just a matter of if they can capitalise on that and say 'yeah, women's wrestling is something real and they can draw just like the men do'. I'll watch it – I want to be a part of it – but if I'm not, I want to contribute to that.

(Image: © WWE)

There's a new company in town, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) have you had any contact?

It's something brand new, just now coming out. I know (AEW signing) Kylie Rae, I know her. It's something unique that can maybe rival the big leagues and get them on their toes, and competition is really good. I think it's going to be revolutionary.

And what is your advice to AEW in respect of women's wrestling?

Just showcase us. You got to showcase women's wrestling because there's a market out there. If you want to cater to every wrestling fan out there, you got to. I think AEW is going to be that company that's going to showcase a lot more women's wrestling and hopefully everybody else follows suit. I'm curious to see what they produce. What are they going to do differently to get the fans behind them? I don’t know what to think of it yet. I’m curious. Is it going to be something that's for me? Who knows? You don't know until you see the product.

Mercedes Martinez is back in the UK for Pro-Wrestling: EVE's show Bigger Than Shesus on Saturday, April 13 and the company is running a mega show, Wrestle Queendon 2, at Bethnal Green's famous York Hall on Sunday, June 30. Tickets are onsale here