Pro-wrestling star Janai Kai recently spoke with Post Wrestling’s Andrew Thompson about a wide variety of subjects, including her thoughts on her short stint with Ring of Honor, and how she hopes to work with Thunder Rosa’s Mission Pro Wrestling again the future. Highlights are below.
On her short stint with Ring of Honor, and how the women’s locker room felt like a family:
Yeah, so from what I can say, so the first day when I got there [Ring of Honor]… this was legit after the cuts happened [ROH’s hiatus announcement] that I was there and so it was already kind of like that type of situation where I really don’t know what’s going on and then I’m new and I don’t know what’s going on with how they’re gonna be treating the women’s division and what’s gonna be moving forward so the first day when I got there, there was like a full meeting with the women only and Maria [Kanellis-Bennett] was there, Bobby [Cruise] was there so we’re just talking overall about just different things like they don’t know which way things are heading but it really did seem like it was a tight family and I felt welcomed. Everyone just had this special kind of love and it was a very emotional moment too as like you’re going around and sharing different things and different stories and just, you know, really hoping that this is not the end of all of them together. Yeah, I kind of felt that for sure, but you know, it’s unfortunate but at the same time, we hope that this is definitely not going to be something that is just over with because the women’s division was really building up to something special in Ring of Honor to where it finally seemed [like] something more of a focus and we really have to thank Maria for that too and Bobby, and Maria, she feels very strongly about this so, yeah. I overall just like the experience there, just being around them. They really made it feel very comfortable.
Says she is hoping to work with Thunder Rosa’s Mission Pro promotion again, talks about the professionalism within the promotion:
Oh yeah, 100 percent [I could feel the camaraderie at Mission Pro Wrestling] and being a part of that locker room, that whole experience overall was just very professional, very welcoming. It was definitely like a family right off the bat. It was just kind of crazy to even experience it that way because I haven’t really experienced locker rooms in that way. It’s always just been like, ‘All right,’ just show up. ‘Okay, you’re good, you already wrestled, leave. We’ll pay you.’ Just being over there, it was just like — we were all just like — it was just way too tight in a sense. It was definitely like a family and [Thunder] Rosa really — I know it’s obvious that she feels strongly about women’s wrestling but like, from the beginning to the end, it’s just been like I felt that and I believed it and I believe that Mission Pro is really heading to like maybe even a top-type of promotion in the future if it keeps going on this way because it’s just way too special and being around the women there is kind of like the same type of situation when I was at Ring of Honor but like, it’s like these women that are just starting out at Ring of Honor, most of those women already have that kind of face, they already have been places but, over in Mission Pro, it’s mainly women that are just kind of starting out. They’re like — we’re all kind of like around the same range when it comes to how many years in we’ve been doing this so we’re all trying to build and to try — we’re trying to, you know, make a name for ourselves so, being in Mission Pro is that stage for us to learn and to develop each other so I appreciate that because there’s not many promotions like that, especially all-women’s promotions and it’s great and they already started traveling. They’re not staying in one spot so, the fact that they’re new, an all-women’s promotion and already traveling, that’s great. That’s better than most that have been around for a while so, I know for sure this year, there’s gonna be a lot more craziness. Just craziness in a good way. Just great stuff coming from Mission Pro so, I’m looking forward to it and I’m looking forward to actually coming back in the future because this is a very special thing going on.