Lana on How Rocky Gave Her Inspiration for Training Against Asuka, Promises to Kick Asuka’s Head & Become Champion

– Speaking to WWE Ahora earlier today for the Hell in a Cell preview show, WWE Superstar Lana discussed her recent title match against Asuka and her training for the match, including eating raw eggs. Below are some highlights and a video from today’s show:

Lana on eating four eggs for her training against Asuka being inspired by Rocky Balboa: “Well, I felt like — I just felt like I’d been training so much. And then I won the battle royal, which was so incredible. It was literally a dream come true for me to win a battle royal. I always wanted to win one and then win the No. 1 contender spot. I’m just — it was just proof that working hard does pay off. It’s always been my dream to fight Asuka, especially for a championship, the Raw women’s championship. It was just really a dream come true, and I just really felt like — I was really inspired by Rocky because he was always the underdog, you know? He’s always — he was always facing the tough Russians or whatever. And I’m like I feel I resonate with that story. I resonate with the person that might be smaller, or not as strong, or not as tough, but like has that work ethic that’s going to just keep on getting back up, that’s going to chase their dreams, and no matter what, if they fall flat on their face, they’re still going to get back up. And that’s what I love about Rocky. He got beat up so many times, and he lost so many times, but he still got back up and he still persevered. And so, it just really resonated with me. And so, I then started to do a bunch of things that I felt like Rocky would do.”

Lana on her training with wooden boards: “I trained with many different people. And one of the trainings that I had done when I beat Bayley in the Mixed Match Challenge was breaking boards. And I was training your hands, training your legs, training to just like shatter things. I knew that Asuka is so, so good, but I was like, ‘If I can train my kicks to be so good to shatter boards, to crush boards, maybe I can kick Asuka’s head off and take the championship.'”

Lana on what she needs to work on for the next time she faces Asuka: “I think — I think my kicks need to be better. I think I’m just going to keep on training on my kicks. You know, Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey with an upset of a kick to the head. I mean, I am talking about the undefeated Ronda Rousey. I mean she is incredible. She paved the way for women to main event in the world of fighting, you know, and proved that women are stars, and women can put butts in seats. That we can sell out tickets, and she was always so inspiring to me. And then, I saw Holly Holm, who also was a pastor’s daughter. My father was a minister, so I really connected with her and how she took her out with a kick to the head. And then she lost her next fight, but that was like the upset, literally, of the century. And I look at that as like, okay, if she got that lucky, I’m going to keep on training because I am going to get lucky one day. I’m going to get that kick right in the perfect spot to the head one day, and I’m going to become champion.”

Her thoughts on Bayley vs. Sasha Banks: “Well, I’m extremely excited about it. I mean, Kayla will tell you, I’m definitely that likes drama and a good glass of hot tea. And so, I mean that’s why I love watching reality television, and I love watching Total Bellas and just so many of our shows because there’s always some hot tea going on. And that’s what Bayley and Sasha’s relationship is right now. It’s like a really, really, really nice glass of hot tea. In the morning or at night, pick or choose. They are some of the best in-ring competitors. They are incredible, so their match is going to be absolutely incredible. I love them wrestling, but it’s about so much more than just that. It’s about a friendship. It’s about betrayal. It’s about jealousy. And I think that all of us understand that, and it resonates with all of us because at some point in our life, either we’ve been jealous, or someone has betrayed us or they have been jealous of us. So I feel like we can relate to it.”

If using the above quotes, please credit WWE Ahora, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.