{"id":65065,"date":"2018-08-24T15:09:32","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T20:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=65065"},"modified":"2018-08-27T13:19:55","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T18:19:55","slug":"interview-highlights-ember-moon-talks-with-lilian-garcia-about-her-debut-on-raw-dealing-with-bullying-and-accepting-being-different-repeated-wwe-tryouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/24\/interview-highlights-ember-moon-talks-with-lilian-garcia-about-her-debut-on-raw-dealing-with-bullying-and-accepting-being-different-repeated-wwe-tryouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview Highlights: Ember Moon talks with Lilian Garcia about her debut on Raw, dealing with bullying and accepting being different, repeated WWE tryouts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-687055828\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>The following are highlights of Lilian Garcia&#8217;s interview with Ember Moon on the latest episode of &#8220;Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia.&#8221; The transcript was sent to PWTorch.com by the show&#8217;s producer&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This week on \u201cChasing Glory with Lilian Garcia,\u201d Lilian sits down with WWE Superstar, Ember Moon. This episode dives into Ember\u2019s WWE journey from her NXT beginning, until her debut on Monday Night Raw, the day after Wrestlemania 34.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Ember also emotionally discusses growing up as a bullied child, how she was able to overcome those negative experiences, and how she was introduced to pro wrestling as a form of coping.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Ember opens up and reveals something she has never talked about before that stemmed from the years of being bullied, and why it\u2019s important for her to be actively involved in the Be A Star movement.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Moon also talks about her experience of training with Skandar Akbar and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, all while keeping it a tight-lipped secret from her parents. Hear about Ember\u2019s time in the independent scene while consistently getting turned down by the WWE, along with her dealings with TNA. All this and so much more in Ember\u2019s first exclusive podcast interview since signing with the WWE! It\u2019s about to get real, raw, and inspiring with Ember Moon.<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Making her debut on Raw: <\/b>(17:28 \u2013 18:22):\u00a0\u201cWe were the first match. I was introduced by one of my close friends, Nia and it was amazing. I think it\u2019s one of the few times that I\u2018ve<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>just taken a step outside myself and just enjoyed something in the moment and not thought about, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m gonna have to go down there, I\u2019m going to do this to this girl, I know her weaknesses, I know this.\u2019 My music hit and little kid in me was just jumping up for joy, teenage me that went through so much in middle school and high school. It was so amazing and to just know my grandfather who had always pushed me into following this dream when I had gotten older. It was great, it was like a sense of accomplishment, but never ever have I just sat there and just revelled in it for a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Being bullied as a kid: <\/b>(21:44 \u2013 23:00):\u00a0\u201cI tell people this all the time, I was maliciously bullied as a kid, which I why I\u2019m such a huge advocate of <i>Be a Star\u00a0<\/i>and I try to do as many as possible. I was bullied for being too small, growing up on the wrong side of town, liking video games, liking chess, everything that seems to be so cool now and seems to be accepted by the world-which I\u2019m super ecstatic that it is, that\u2019s what I was bullied for. There were only so many schools in the district once we all go to middle school which is grades 6th through 8 in Texas and when I got there, the kids from the bad part of town came too. I grew up in the suburbs and I never really had interaction with that part of town, never really went there, never had that interaction and vice versa. I remember the first day of school, I got into a fight with this girl because I wouldn\u2019t scoot my chair up so she could pass by. Vice versa, they had never experienced people from my side of town. So when you have this merger of different parts of the world coming together, obviously there\u2019s going to be a little chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Her suicidal thoughts and how WWE got her through bullying:<\/b> (30:02 \u2013 30:42):\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t think I ever would have gone through with it, but I was like, \u2018Man, if I just wasn\u2019t here, life would be better\u2019. God, I\u2019ve never told anyone that. Like I said, I\u2019m a big advocate of <i>Be a STAR <\/i>and this is for that reason because without WWE\/WWF at that time, I don\u2019t know if I would have been able to endure that going through high school. I became such a big fan of WWE.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Her grandfather\u2019s support of her wrestling dreams and his passing:<\/b> (38:47 \u2013 40:21):\u00a0\u201cI remember watching Monday Night Raw, girl\u2019s match came on. I had kind of been told he was fading, but I didn\u2019t quite comprehend what was going on. We were watching and I was just being crazy, fangirl me, and I remember him turning to me and saying, \u2018You really love this, don\u2019t you?\u2019 and I go \u2018Yeah!\u2019 and he goes, \u2018You really want to do this, don\u2019t you?\u2019 I go, \u2018Man I\u2019d love to do this, but nah, I won\u2019t be able to do it.\u2019 and he\u2019s like, \u2018Don\u2019t let anyone take that away from you. I can see you up there one day. You don\u2019t listen to anyone else. If thats what makes you happy, you do that.\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>A couple of weeks later, he passed away. That was the last time I saw him. He kind of talked me into it and for a year after that, I was angry. I was so bitter and it reminded me of being bullied because I didn\u2019t have that light. I love my grandma don\u2019t get me wrong, I went and spent tons of time with her, but there was just something missing. I stopped watching wrestling because he loved it so much, I felt like I couldn\u2019t be happy without him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Revealing her secret wrestling career to her mom before her surgery: <\/b>(49:44 \u2013 50:31):\u00a0\u201cI remember my mom had a tumor that may have been cancerous in her ovaries and this is how I actually told them. They cut this from the documentary, so you can see how terrified I was to actually tell my parents. So they had just put the anesthesia in, give it a good 5 minutes, they said, \u2018Hey, remember before they go under, you got a good 5 minute window where they won\u2019t remember a thing when they wake up,\u2019 and I was like, \u2018Mom, for the past 8 months I\u2019ve been wrestling. I love you so much. It was my dream and I had to do it, but I had to tell you just in case this goes wrong,\u2019 Boom, she\u2019s out. Told my mom!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Her reaction to not making her third WWE tryout: <\/b>(01:02:40 \u2013 01:03:37):\u00a0\u201cI got the news that they weren\u2019t going to hire me the third time right before school started, and I just took that semester off because I was just bummed out. I remember getting that phone call and they said, \u2018It\u2019s a no.\u2019 I said, \u2018Is there anything I did wrong?\u2019 \u2018Nah, it\u2019s just a no.\u2019 and beforehand when I\u2019ve gone to FCW, they were like, \u2018Oh, you just don\u2019t have a Diva look, you\u2019re not a Diva. Yeah you\u2019re cute, but look at them, look at you.\u2019 It was a different time period and those girls were drop dead gorgeous, but at the same time I\u2019m like, \u2018Man if I would have gotten hired then, I wouldn\u2019t be the person I am today, I wouldn\u2019t be the athlete and the entertainer that I am today,\u2019 because once WWE gave me that third no, I basically was like, \u2018Screw you, I\u2019m going to go make a name for myself on the Indies and I\u2019m going to make you take me. I\u2019m going to make you want me.\u2019\u201d<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2349651149\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><b>\u2022Her advice on being different and self-acceptance. <\/b>(01:12:54 \u2013 01:13:31):\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not afraid to be Ember Moon, I\u2019m not afraid to be Adrienne anymore, I\u2019m not afraid to be Athena, I\u2019m me and I\u2019m finally so happy to be able to say that. If anyone feels that way, just know there&#8217;s a light at the end of the tunnel and there is a light for you and it might not be the same as everyone else. I hated being different, but being different is what made me who I am today and I\u2019ve embraced that. Now I even try not to follow the status quo. I don\u2019t try to be like everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Listen to the full episode on <\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/liliangarcia.com\/chasing-glory-podcast\/\"><b>LilianGarcia.com<\/b><\/a><b> and on <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/R6x2XgINTUs\"><b>YouTube<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: solid 1px #dedede;\" src=\"https:\/\/app.stitcher.com\/splayer\/f\/199606\/55854155\" width=\"900\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/13\/interview-highlights-bobby-lashley-talks-with-lilian-garcia-about-being-mentored-by-heyman-transitioning-to-mma-growing-up-shy-being-a-heel-more\/\">Interview Highlights: Bobby Lashley talks with Lilian Garcia about being mentored by Heyman, transitioning to MMA, growing up shy, being a heel, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2350303745\"><div id=\"pwtor-3839751142\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The following are highlights of Lilian Garcia&#8217;s interview with Ember Moon on the latest episode of &#8220;Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia.&#8221; The transcript was sent to PWTorch.com by the show&#8217;s producer&#8230; This week on \u201cChasing <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/24\/interview-highlights-ember-moon-talks-with-lilian-garcia-about-her-debut-on-raw-dealing-with-bullying-and-accepting-being-different-repeated-wwe-tryouts\/\" title=\"Interview Highlights: Ember Moon talks with Lilian Garcia about her debut on Raw, dealing with bullying and accepting being different, repeated WWE tryouts\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,2,4247,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-prowrestlingnews","category-interview-highlights","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/07\/EmberMoonAthena_3x2TG.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65066,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65065\/revisions\/65066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}