Jazzy Yang credits Mickie James for Freebabes creation; discusses huge opportunity at NWA Empowerrr (Exclusive)
"I want to be the next John Cena." - That's what Jazzy Yang told me the first time I ever had the chance to speak with her.
That was two years ago when she was getting ready to start her junior year of high school. By that point, she had already wrestled her first match overseas, alongside her father and trainer, former WWE and WCW Superstar Jimmy Wang Yang.
Fast forward to today, Jazzy Yang is done with school and just days away from the biggest opportunity of her young career. She will team up with Miranda Gordy and Hollyhood Hayley J as they look to capture the women's tag team titles this Saturday night at NWA Empowerrr. The trio, known as the Freebabes, will take on Red Velvet and KiLynn King in the semifinal round of the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling earlier this week, Jazzy Yang revealed that it was Empowerrr Executive Producer Mickie James who came up with the idea for the trio to pay homage to the Fabulous Freebirds.
"Mickie James actually had the idea with Miranda Gordy being the daughter of Terry Gordy and all of us being second generation wrestlers. It just made sense," Jazzy Yang said. "Miranda Gordy will always be a Fabulous Freebird and that tag team was monumental in wrestling; we wanted to honor them but with our own spunk and flavor, and therefore we became the Freebabes."
The Freebabes individually have all had varying levels of success so far in their pro wrestling careers. Collectively, they are already gelling nicely as a unit in their short time together, according to Yang:
"I love working with Hollyhood Haley J, who's a two-time OVW Women’s Champion. The Badstreet Beauty Miranda Gordy is the first ever SWE Women’s Champion." Yang continued, "All of us have history of winning gold and all our personalities working together is just a ultimate dream team."
Mickie James recently appeared on an episode of the Shining Wizards podcast and spoke about the selection process for NWA Empowerrr and how she really wanted to create some new opportunities for women who haven't really had them yet.
Since graduating from high school earlier this year, Jazzy Yang has been working on the indie scene alongside her father. But this Saturday night, live on pay-per-view, she'll take part in the biggest match of her career to date.
"I feel all of the emotions. I feel like this is a make-or-break moment, so that’s nerve-racking. But I also feel that I am ready." Jazzy Yang added, "I'm ready to show the world what I got and there's no better way to do it then on NWA’s first all women's pay-per-view headed by Mickie James!"
If the Freebabes capture the NWA Women's Tag Team Championships on Saturday, Yang says it would make the hard work and sacrifices made during her teenage years worth it.
Jazzy Yang is looking to carve her own path in professional wrestling
It's only natural to grow up a fan of the business when you spend parts of your childhood watching your dad put on banger matches on SmackDown with the likes of Chavo Guerrero, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, and Brian Kendrick.
That said, it was only after she had that first taste of in-ring competition herself that Jazzy Yang realized this was going to be her career path moving forward.
"After doing the match in Japan and experiencing the high you get when wrestling, then the aftermath and buzz after, that just hooked me in. I knew I wanted to keep performing," Jazzy Yang stated.
Jazzy made her decision at 15 years old and has been putting in the work ever since, with her dad 100% behind her. Being a second-generation wrestler has both its advantages and disadvantages. Jimmy Wang Yang has a dedicated cult following that hopes to see WWE's Asian cowboy have one final ride in the big leagues.
While people may hope 2022 is the year we finally see that surprise entrance into the Royal Rumble, these days, every decision Jimmy Yang makes in pro wrestling is with his daughter in mind. The Wang dynasty lives on in her. Just don't expect to see her in jeans and a cowboy hat any time soon.
"The only thing country about me is that I like Luke Combs, so that character doesn’t fit me at all. I’m a kung fu master... He has his character and he had his time, which will always be great, but I’m my own character," Jazzy told Sportskeeda Wrestling. "This is my time and I plan on establishing myself, Jazzy Yang, the shoyang of wrestling."
Jazzy Yang may have big dreams of selling out arenas and seeing kids across the country wearing her shirts, but she knows she has a long way to go and a lot of work to put in to get there. This weekend's pay-per-view is just the starting line.
You can catch Jazzy Yang's NWA debut this Saturday night on Empowerrr. The show gets underway at 8 pm EST on FITE TV.