Ivelisse Talks About Dealing With Bill DeMott In FCW, Her Journey To Lucha Underground

Lucha Underground star Ivelisse recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog as part of their “Five Questions with…” feature. The 27-year-old athlete is currently out of action with a broken ankle (two fractures) and a torn ligament.

Walking better & better each passing day ??

— IVELISSE?????La Sicaria (@RealIvelisse) May 3, 2016

After breaking into the business as a contestant on WWE Tough Enough (2011) and spending time in both WWE and TNA, she finally feels “at home” in Lucha Underground. Here are some highlights of what she said about:

Her Journey To Lucha Underground:

“This business hasn’t been easy. I still struggle to hold onto that positive force that keeps me going. I’ve scratched and crawled, and I obviously don’t have the best luck, being injured again, but I find a way to keep going and persevere. I learned that what I wanted to focus on bringing to the table wasn’t what WWE wanted. It sucked, but it was something I was not willing to compromise. There is a certain integrity to my work that I am so obsessed over–I want to be the best at what I do in every sense possible. There is the politics side, but I can’t be something other than who I am. That is something that hurt my soul, and I tried it but it just wouldn’t work. As long as I can work on perfecting my craft, then I’m happy.

When I left WWE, I tried to find that in TNA, but it didn’t work, either. Thankfully, Shine gave me the chance to show who I am really and what I can actually contribute to wrestling, and that’s something for which I am eternally grateful. Now I have that chance on a bigger scale with Lucha Underground. My message is to be a strong female competitor. I don’t get attention for what I wear or what I look like–I get respect through my hard work, and that’s all I’ve done my whole life. As long as I get a chance to do that, I’m happy.”

Dealing with Bill DeMott in WWE developmental (FCW):

“Obviously, I’m not the only one who ran into numerous big problems with Bill DeMott. In my personal experience, [his presence] was a big obstacle and big problem. I tried and tried my best to deal with it, but there was only so much I could do when he was in such a position of high power. I am not the type of person to blame someone for any type of failure, but it was a very big obstacle during my time there, especially during the last three months when he was placed in power of the developmental territory.”

It’s a great read that you can check out at SI.com.