Lana describes how Paul Heyman has changed RAW, Edge's return to WWE & more (Exclusive)
I had the privilege and the opportunity to catch up with 'The Ravishing Russian' Lana ahead of WrestleMania 36. Speaking of which, if you live in India, you can certainly catch WrestleMania in all its glory on 5th, and 6th April at 3.30 AM only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3.
If you live anywhere else in the world, the action will be streamed on the WWE Network. Here is our entire conversation for you to listen to. If you wish to read certain parts of the interview, they have been transcribed below for your convenience.
How different has RAW become ever since Paul Heyman came on board (as the Executive Director)?
Lana: Paul Heyman is so incredible. Paul Heyman has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember since I was a little girl. He and Stephanie McMahon are the reason why I wanted to become a WWE Superstar because they are such compelling storytellers and entertaining, and they're really able to drive the story by being on the mic and talking and being entertaining, and smart and compelling. I feel he's really able to bring that to the table as well.
When he's a character and when he's on the microphone, he's able to tell those compelling stories, and he brings that as a showrunner. I feel like he's given so many people opportunities, who wouldn't otherwise have opportunities. And the way he tells the story across the show, I feel like everything's very intertwined and threaded.
I feel like that's a very, very, very interesting quality and that's how scripted television goes. Everything is threaded. And I feel like everything is a lot more threaded on RAW, which I really, really like, and I actually thankful that a lot of people are getting opportunities that haven't always had opportunities.
And I'm excited to see what's to come.
Do you think your storyline with Bobby Lashley brought back elements of the Attitude Era?
Lana: I think I push the envelope in everything I do, in all the storyline I've been in, in WWE. I feel like I'm very lucky to do some form of soap opera story. I just feel like soap opera stories, in general, are very relatable and everyone can connect to heartache. Everyone can connect with either being cheated on or know someone that's cheating or know someone that has lied in a relationship or know someone that's gotten a divorce.
Most people have broken up once in their life, at least. I just think that all those stories are relatable and people understand that. And people connect with it. Not everyone understands and connects with winning a championship or winning a title, or being the most athletic person or being genetically superior.
Like, I don't relate to being genetically superior. I've had to work my a** off to get anything in my life. And I know there are a lot of people like that. But most people have experienced heartache or betrayal or breakups at some point, so I think those stories are very compelling. I've been very blessed to be in stories like that, that have to do with issues of the heart.
And those are the stories I like the most on television if it's anything from Game of Thrones or Scandal or Grey's Anatomy. If you take something like Game of Thrones, within the war, within them fighting for their land, they still have the extra element of relationship drama within the drama, and those are my favorite stories on television. So, I'm always very excited to be on those stories on television, on WWE programming.