When WWE officially announced its new program, the “WWE ID,” which would allow stars on the indies to get valuable exposure, reps, and review using some of the promotion's expansive resources, it introduced a whole new crop of professional wrestlers to the Fed's fandom.
One such star is Zayda Steel, the ascending young star from Arlington, Virginia, who has worked matches for MLW, CZW, Defy, and most recently, GCW.
Discussing her experience becoming a WWE ID prospect and how that potential pathway to the promotion impact her current planning, Steele told Conversations with The Wrestling Classic that she has always wanted to become a television wrestler, as she bases her career on none other than Mike Mizanin himself, The Miz.
“I literally am a TV wrestler trapped on the indies. I always, that's how I feel. I don't do much. Sometimes, like, my match with Marcus [Mathers], for example, we had like, a super indie style, like PWG-esque match, but that was more so because I wanted to do something different. I wanted to adapt to his style with like the Poison Ranas and all that. But, yeah, I don't do much. I don't need to do much. I don't want to get hurt on the indies, one. Two, you brought up The Miz, which is a perfect example of someone that, in the ring, really does not do a lot, but yet, he has his own talk show, which I would love my own talk show. The reality show he has. So there's a reason why The Miz, his career is, I feel like, what I've tried to base my career off of,” Steele explained via Fightful.
Article Continues Below“Again, being on the indies, I'm not trying to tear anybody else down, because at the end of the day, do you. If you want to do your crazy 450s and all that, have at it. I've seen people get injured just doing the basics. So hey, there's no right or wrong way. Me personally, I just like the promos, the character aspects, the hokiness, sometimes, of my wrestling. So why would I try to be a technical wrestler when that's not even what I like?”
Whoa, what is it with female wrestlers wanting to become the next Miz, as Chelsea Green called the Triple Crown Champion one of her biggest influences as well. Is it because he's branched off into his own USA Network show? Because he gets to do extracurricular activities like All-Star games and red carpets? Or is it because he simply doesn't wrestle that often, as he is featured far more often backstage than in the actual ring? While it's hard to say, considering it's a case-by-case situation – for Steele, it appears to be all three – with the WWE ID program now in place, wrestlers like Steele who don't want to work five-star matches on IWTV have a path to television too.