Billie Starkz Discusses Her Character’s Origin, Inspiring Young Girls To Follow Their Dreams

Billie Starkz is famous for getting into professional wrestling when she was barely a teenager, and the AEW/ROH star recently reflected on her wrestling journey. By the time Starkz graduated from high school in 2023, she already had over five years of wrestling training and experience under her belt. She began training at the age of 13 and signed with AEW shortly after her graduation.

Starkz is now a mainstay of ROH and a former Women’s World Television Champion. She spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview and you can see the highlights below:

On Starting Training At 13:

“I was a huge fan growing up. My father and I would watch anything and everything we could get our hands on. Then he found some local independents and started taking me to them. He started doing photography from the crowd and then as time went on promos in the back and ringside, giving me access to ask questions and watch stars before they were stars to everyone else. I dressed up for Halloween as wrestlers and wore their merch almost daily.

“I had a deal with my mom that when I went to college, she would help me pay for wrestling school. Well, I was at a Girl Fight show run by Mad Man Pondo and asked him about training. He introduced me to Too Tuff Tony who had a school in Jeffersonville, Indiana about 20 minutes from my house called Grindhouse. I talked to Tony that night at the show and he talked to my mom and invited me to drop in to training and see what it was all about.”

On Finding a Trainer At Such a Young Age:

“At that age I hadn’t really thought about it, I knew most schools you had to be 18 so I was just waiting it out, but I learned it never hurts to ask. I went to a Grindhouse class and watched. I met my first trainer there, Rudo Raul LaMotta. When I walked in, he was so confused, but at the end of training asked if I wanted to get in and try. I never looked back.”

On Coming Up With Her Character:

“About a month before my debut match. It was time to advertise and make a flyer. My family calls me Lilly, so Billie was close to Lilly. When my mom messes up cheering people don’t notice. Starks is my dad’s grandmother’s name. I switched it to a Z because I had gone by Beanz for years so it was a way to keep a little part of me.”

On Deciding To Go Professional in High School:

“I always wanted to be a professional, I have a deep love for the independents, so AEW was perfect for me. I get to be me and be part of all things wrestling. I had support from the beginning of my career for the most part from my peers, family, and friends. Explaining to high school teachers trying to help you find your long term career was challenging, but I had a great drama teacher and Japanese teacher that understood my dream and helped me along the way.”

On Who Has Helped With Her Development:

“Being able to work with talent like Athena, Toni Storm, Mercedes Moné, Jamie Hayter, Willow Nightingale, and all the other women at AEW have helped me. Having so many eyes and ears around in and out of the ring has helped me grow on a personal and professional level. I am still young and trying to navigate what life looks like so having so many people to support and guide me with an understanding of this crazy world is nice.”

On Being Inspirational For Young Girls:

“I still don’t fully understand it. I’ll receive an email or DM from a parent thanking me, and it seems unreal because I spent so much of my life being that little kid. I am happy I can be an inspiration, but I just hope I can continue to help people push for their dreams and that everything is attainable with passion and hard work.”

On What’s Next For Her:

“I just want to stay healthy and keep wrestling. I want to add new states and countries, participate in as many matches as possible while having high caliber matches, and hopefully I can be a belt collector soon.”