Alexa Bliss Says Marilyn Monroe is a Big Influence on Her Work, Explains Why She Enjoys Being a Heel

– Alexa Bliss spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview discussing her work in WWE, hosting WrestleMania and more. Highlights are below:

On Marilyn Monroe being an influence on her: “I love Marilyn Monroe. And there is a scene in ‘My Week with Marilyn’ where she is this shy, timid person. Then she turns to the guy next to her and asks, ‘Do you want to see me be her?’ So she turns into Marilyn and her entire demeanor changes—and everyone recognizes her. That’s what I think of Alexa Bliss: she is not me, she is the complete opposite of me.”

On playing a heel: “I love portraying a bad guy. I can go the extra mile with all the creativity. Plus, you can expect a lot of sass. WrestleMania 35 was my WrestleMania. You didn’t know what was going to happen. It was all about me, because I was the host…I want to be booed and be hated. That dictates my style in the ring. If I were a good guy, I’d use a whole new arsenal of moves in the ring. The biggest thing for me is telling the story as a character, both in the ring and on the mic.”

On signing with WWE: “I did it my way, and I couldn’t ask for anything better. I knew what I was getting into when I joined WWE. There were girls who wrestled on the independent circuit, there were girls who were generational, and I came not really knowing anything. I remember telling my mom, ‘These girls are so good, I don’t think I can make.’ I knew I’d be an underwhelming draft pick to SmackDown [in 2016]; I wasn’t [one of the] Four Horsewoman, I wasn’t given the opportunity to have a TakeOver match, I’d never held a title. Being smaller in stature, especially at the start of our Women’s Revolution, I’ve worked extremely hard over these past three years. I went into my first WrestleMania as SmackDown women’s champion and my second WrestleMania as Raw women’s champion. It’s been a very fun journey, and I’m still enjoying the ride.”

On her time in NXT and call-up to the main roster: “When I first got onto SmackDown, I remember being so nervous. In WWE, if you’re given an opportunity but you don’t deliver, that opportunity may never come back. I remember my very first promo on SmackDown, and I remember knowing I had to deliver. The microphone has been my saving grace throughout my career, giving me opportunities like hosting WrestleMania. This is coming from the same person who cried in her first promo class at NXT. Dusty Rhodes and Ryan Katz helped enable me to do this, and I’m very grateful for my time with NXT.”

On her match with Nia Jax at WrestleMania 34: “I had so much fun working with Nia. It was the hardest but most fulfilling because we did this body shaming/bullying angle, and we’ve both dealt with body issues in the past. I’ve dealt with eating disorders off and on throughout my life, and I almost lost my life to it, so it was hard to say these things to my best friend. But we wanted to make that story as real as possible, and we felt very passionate about highlighting that and telling that story.”

On meeting fans: “I love meeting the people who support us. They’re why we do what we do. A lot of people don’t know how to take me at first because I play a bad guy on TV, so I’ve actually had a lot of kids too scared to talk with me. But I love interacting with people. So even though I play a bad guy on TV, I try to give the fans the best experience possible. I’m kind of the Hannah Montana of WWE.”