Sylvia Sanchez, aka “The Exterminator,” is a powerhouse force at WOW. After being recruited by Arianna Gambino to join The Alliance, WOW fans have seen a new, harsh edge to Sanchez in and out of the ring. Nigel Zane attempts to get a few answers out of Sanchez regarding the future of her wrestling career as well as any insight into The Alliance’s goals at WOW, but Sanchez follows orders and all secrets stay within the Family.
Sylvia Sanchez on The Alliance: “We’re all a team, we all have different strategies that we bring to the table…but you don’t need to know all our stuff Nigel, mind your own business”
Sylvia Sanchez on Reina Del Rey: “We compliment each other, we work well together, and that’s what you need as a team.”
The Alliance have dominated the WOW sphere, competing in the first ever 10-Way Elimination Match in WOW’s history! Coincidentally, the majority of competitors in the match shared Latina heritage, and Sanchez says it meant a lot to bring her culture to the WOW ring.
Sylvia Sanchez on the 10-Way Elimination Match: “Just bringing our culture out there, you know, like a lot of Latinas aren’t out there…just having all those women in that match was just a battle back and forth…we all had something to prove that night.”
Nigel goes on to ask Sanchez about her initial start in wrestling, and Sanchez notes that she’s coming up on her 15 year anniversary in the industry! Sanchez reflects back on watching Ric Flair, Goldberg, [Ricky the Dragon] Steamboat with her great grandfather. Coming from a small town, Sanchez wanted something different for herself, so she applied to the Texas Wrestling Academy at age 17, but was ignored until she reapplied at age 18 and was accepted.
Sylvia Sanchez on what drew her to wrestling: “What can I say, I’m a La Bandida born and raised, violence raised, you know. Having your fans come in and forget about all their problems, that’s what I wanted to do.”
Sanchez goes on to rapid fire a list of her wrestling mentors which ends up sounding like an all star roster!
Sylvia Sanchez on her wrestling mentors: “Of course my husband Rudy Gonzalez is always there to support me, Francisco Ciatso, Tom Prichard, Les Thatcher, Al Snow, Ivelisse, Maria Padilla, Ricky Reyes, Mercedes Martinez, of course Selina Majors, Mr. Iguana, Jazz, Thunder Rosa, Brian Kendrick, Paul London, Daga, TJ Wilson, Bobby Fish, and Tokyo Kahagas. If I missed anybody I apologize but those people have been in my life and been there since when I first started.”
Sanchez shouts out Selina Majors for giving her the confidence to start training wrestlers on her own. Sanchez also speaks about opening up space for female wrestlers to train, saying that it’s important for women to be trained by women, and learn the sport through the eyes of someone who can speak to the specific differences in female versus male wrestling styles.
Sylvia Sanchez’s advice for the next generation of wrestlers: “Work hard, be better than everybody else, the thing is, talent will get you so far, but it’s about the traveling, being dependable, reliable, trustworthy, if you can do all those things and not be hard to work with then you have it made.”
Sylvia Sanchez on WOW’s next season: “I can’t wait for Season 5, like we should be there right now!”
