Candice LeRae Opens Up About Training As a Woman, Intergender Wrestling

Speaking with Lilian Garcia on Garcia’s podcast Chasing Glory, NXT Superstar Candice LeRae opened up about the challenges of training to wrestle as a woman. She also spoke about her time on the independence where she participated in numerous intergender matches.

She recalled being at wrestling training and becoming upset and offended when people wanted to take it easy on her.

“I’d be at training and I would get genuinely upset when it would be my turn, and someone would say, ‘Oh, take it easy on her because…’ or they’d say, ‘Oh no, you don’t have to do this.’ And I’d get offended,” LeRae said. “It was so backhanded, ‘Oh no but you’re a girl, so you don’t have to worry about this,’ or you’re never gonna do this anyway.’ And I was like, but I love wrestling, and I want to be a wrestler, and I want to learn anything that I can learn.”

LeRae admitted that she feels she shot herself in the foot during her time wrestling on the independent circuit. This was because of her commitment to participating in a “style of wrestling that’s not necessarily accepted by everybody.”

She continued, “Not that it was bad, but I was a woman wrestling men and that’s not for everybody, and I totally understand both sides of the story here, but I found what I was doing was inspiring and helping other people. I mean, I had men and women coming up to me at shows almost in tears telling me that my wrestling empowered them to get out of horrible situations.”

Candice explained that she approached her matches as a woman who was knowingly putting herself into the situation. Her intention was to be treated “[…] as an equal, as an equal competitor. I’m putting myself in this scenario.”

NXT Superstar Candice LeRae became the number one contender to Shayna Baszler’s NXT Women’s Championship. She earned the right during the black-and-gold brand’s premiere on USA Network.