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#Post#: 31851--------------------------------------------------
Chat with Leva Bates. Talks Blue Pants, NXT & More
By: ChrissiCalvert Date: July 15, 2015, 2:22 pm
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So, how did you first get involved in pro wrestling?
Perseverance really got me to this point. I went to college and
graduated with a degree in theater and radio/TV production; I
double majored, with a minor in dance. I always knew I was going
to perform one way or another. I found a lot of odd jobs all
over the place. I worked at dude ranches, I worked at theme
parks, I've worked all over. One of my best friends was moving
to Florida and she said it would be perfect for me. So I went to
Florida, got a job at Universal as an entertainer, doing
characters and dance shows and all that jazz. I've always been a
huge fan of wrestling. A couple of my friends I met working
through Universal were involved with TNA, and so I would go to
the TNA shows that used to be taped here. They said, "You do all
this other stuff – acting, dancing – maybe you'd like
wrestling." And I was into the idea. So I looked for some
wrestling schools, and found FXE. It was run by Matt Bentley, AJ
Gallant and D-Von Dudley. D-Von left to go do his own school
with Bubba, and I left to go with them. I've pretty much been
there ever since. From there, you train, you start doing local
shows, and the next thing you know, you keep working at it, and
the magic happens.
How did NXT happen? Did they contact you?
They have a recruiting page online, and I filled it out and they
got a hold of me through that. Actually, my first time I did
anything with WWE was being a Rosebud. So when they called me
for NXT, I assumed it was another Rosebud gig, which I was all
for. Then they told me I was going to be on NXT doing a match.
That's kind of how it went down. They actually called me the day
of the show, so thank God I was local. I ended up just leaving
Universal and going straight there.
Most enhancement talent get no intro – how did 'Blue Pants'
happen, with that dramatic introduction provided by Big Cass?
Enzo and Cass were doing a tag match, and the team that they
were wrestling against (Sylvester Lefort and Marcus Louis) ended
up turning on each other, so they don't do a match at all. So
they were already in the ring, and they needed to bring me out.
So they call out the girl they saw in the back, Blue Pants.
"Blue Pants" wasn't supposed to be my name at all, it was just
kind of a joke, Cass calling out the girl in the blue pants, but
the crowd picked up on it. And when I came out, a lot of the
crowd recognized me because they've seen me wrestle before, so
they started chanting "Blue Pants." I just played off of that,
in a tongue-in-cheek way, and they played right along. And then
Blue Pants just went nuts. It was really a unique situation.
Really, the stars just aligned for me that day.
Are you surprised you've become a Full Sail favorite?
It was definitely unexpected. I didn't expect to be called Blue
Pants, I didn't expect it to catch on like it did. And then when
I got called back the second, and even third time, I didn't
expect for the chants to keep happening. Whenever I get those
"Blue Pants" chants, it just blows my mind. I think part of it
was Carmella though, whenever her character would be disgusted
with me, and then I'd come out all excited, the crowd just ate
it up. It really was just right place, right time; the stars
aligned, and now the sky's the limit.
You've now wrestled six matches on television. Most recently,
when you wrestled Emma, it seemed like you got the biggest pop
of the night – on a show that featured Samoa Joe's in-ring
debut. How did we get to this point?
I honestly don't know. I think it's partially because each time
they use me, I get a little bit more into the character. I get
to show off a little bit more each time. I look at Blue Pants as
the everyfan, the ultimate fangirl. She's the embodiment of what
it would be like if a fan got called out of the audience to
wrestle. That's how I picture Blue Pants. She's just happy and
excited to be there. I think the crowd really connects with
that. She's just one of them.
Some wrestlers are concerned that if they are enhancement talent
on a regular basis, that's what they become. Are you worried
about that?
Not really. I'm getting a lot more attention now. I've gotten
more opportunities in wrestling, my fans have increased, a lot
of doors have opened for me. I still do a lot of things outside
of NXT, and people get that. Some of my fans have actually
gotten more upset about that than me. They talk about how I'm
not Blue Pants, I'm Leva. But I really don't mind it. I have a
lot of creative ideas, and I don't think Blue Pants will hinder
those ideas, even if they get to know me as her.
How has Blue Pants changed what you do on the indies? Has anyone
wanted to book you as Blue Pants, or is it still always Leva
Bates?
I'm still pretty much always Leva. I don't want to step on any
toes, so if they want, I say the companies can say "Also known
as Blue Pants," but I'm Leva. I do get booked sometimes where
they ask me to wear the outfit though. It actually is easier,
because I don't have to bring a new outfit every time, though I
don't mind doing that.
Speaking of the outfits, they're a big part of your gimmick.
Obviously the Blue Pants outfit is inspired by the X-Men. What
gave you that idea to bring a cosplay element to your wrestling
act?
That's just me. That's 100 percent who I am. When I first
started, I wanted to do that. At the time, and this was before
AJ Lee joined WWE, there wasn't really anyone doing that in
wrestling. There was nobody combining geekdom with wrestling, so
I wanted to do that. That's just me. I make costumes in my free
time, even for no reason. I would go to parties in the costumes.
I went to a party as Buffy once. It wasn't a Halloween party, it
wasn't a costume party. I just went, because I thought it would
be fun. I'm probably the biggest geek you'll ever meet, and so I
went with that. And it makes sense if you think about it. There
are so many wrestling fans who are also into comic books and
video games and things like that. Why not tap into that?
Besides the outfits, how do you incorporate that aspect of
geekdom into your character?
If you watch over the past few years, I pretty much do all my
shows in different costumes. When I do the costume, I
incorporate aspects of the character into my match. When I
dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, I actually wrestled as I
thought he would wrestle, in a drunken master-type style. If I'm
doing Spider-Man, I'll do more agility and high flying. When
I've done Purge stuff, it's way more aggressive and angry. That
just goes back to the acting degree I have. I just incorporate
it all. It's one thing to dress in the outfit, but to then show
traits from that character, that's different. I'm still Leva
Bates, but I can incorporate all these other things as well.
Really, as much as anything, I do it to entertain myself, and
hopefully everyone else is entertained while I'm doing it.
So was it just sheer luck that you had the X-Men outfit with you
at NXT instead of a different outfit?
I actually had that outfit, and one other, which was just a
generic superhero outfit, with me at the time. They're the
outfits I have if I need to do TV, since they don't have any
logos on them. I showed Sara [Del Rey, NXT trainer] both
outfits, and she told me to put on the blue pants to go in the
ring. So that's how the girl in the blue pants came about. If
she had chosen something else, I could've been black pants, or
red shorts.
Have you sensed any jealousy backstage in regards to the
reactions you're getting?
No, not at all. I do hear a lot of disbelief that I'm as over as
I am, but everyone has been really nice and supportive. One
person even told me that I make superstars, or villains, which
was really cool. Everyone has been super nice; they even
celebrated my birthday the last time I was there. All of that
caught me off guard. That was incredibly heartwarming. The thing
is, if one person succeeds, it proves that success is possible.
Everyone just stays positive there, which is great for me, since
I'm a super-positive person.
You still have your job at Universal Studios. Has that helped
you in the ring?
Well, if there's ever a slow period in wrestling, it definitely
helps pay the bills [laughs]. But, I perform every day. It's a
great way to get out there and try different things. What will
make people laugh? It's very hands-on, because you're not just
doing shows, a lot of times you're doing meet-and-greets and
signing autographs and whatever else. It's honestly helped me
more in wrestling than I can imagine. Just being onstage, in the
public eye, allows me to constantly grow.
With your profile increasing, has anyone ever recognized you
onstage?
No, nobody onstage. I'm usually wearing full costume and full
makeup. So never in a show. I have been recognized while I was
walking around. I'll be waiting in line somewhere and I'll hear,
"Leva!" or more recently, "Blue Pants!" That happens a lot. It's
pretty funny when I'm with someone and someone yells "Blue
Pants" at me, because if they don't watch me in wrestling, they
get pretty confused. I have to explain what Blue Pants is all
about. That's really fun.
I know that you've started to get used on the house shows for
NXT, instead of just the TV tapings. Has there been any talk of
getting a developmental contract?
We've talked about doing more house shows in the future, which
is a lot of fun. I think I'm kind of creating something new with
them. I'm sort of a free-agent regular. I can do my things, but
also appear on their shows. If they do offer me something
though, that would be awesome. If they don't, that's still
great, because I get to live my dream. I get to work with WWE.
That's always been a dream of mine. I'm just looking at
everything positively. You have to enjoy the moment. I could be
sitting here concerned about if they're going to be offering me
a contract or not. Instead, I'm enjoying every time they're
calling me. I can say I've won a WWE match now! I can cross that
off my bucket list. I got to wrestle the NXT champion! I got be
on Raw! Cross all that off my bucket list. Instead of worrying
what comes next, you have to enjoy what you've accomplished so
far. I think so many people, especially wrestling fans, are
concerned about what comes next. I don't know what's going to
happen, I just ride the moment. You never know when it's going
to end. I've had an awesome ride.
You talk about checking all these things off your bucket list.
What's still on yours?
I want to travel more. I've wrestled in Mexico and Switzerland,
but that's pretty much it as far as international. So that's my
next big step. I want to go abroad. I want to see other
countries. That's part of why I'm in entertainment, is that
opportunity to see the world. I'd love to go to Japan,
Australia, England – all these places. I've been blessed so far
to see so many parts of this country; now, I want to see other
countries.
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