EXCLUSIVE
92 MacDirectory
I am," she said. "I'm dyslexic, I have
gotten one yes for a hundred no's.
That's one of the reasons why I
wanted to be on the show."
In addition to having the opportunity
to show her real self to the world,
Perry was given the opportunity to
work and be surrounded by women
who challenge her, understand her,
and motivate her to keep pushing
forward.
"We get to go on fun trips and
hangout with each other. I would
say probably that I am surrounded
by strong women, Naomi, the
Bella Twins, all these women are
women who have defined all odds.
We are all so uniquely different.
One common thing is that we
defy our odds and dare to go
after our dreams. When we do get
discourage, we encourage each
other," she said.
"We are not always eye to eye, but
we do have each other's back."
And like any good reality show
there is drama. Perry has bonded
with Naomi (Trinity Fatu) since day
one. "We both have a dancing
background. She is my Yin to my
Yang," she said.
"We balance each other out."
Other cast members who have
helped Perry along the way are the
Bella Twins, Nikki and Brie. "The
Bella's have inspired me. They went
through so much. At one point they
were just pretty little models, and
now they are some of the most
popular WWE women of all time.
They have helped guide me."
On E!'s Total Divas, just like in real
life there will be people who push
your buttons, for Perry, that is
Natalya (Natalie Neidhart-Wilson).
But despite their disagreements,
Perry likes to think of Nattie like her
little sister. "She drives me nuts,"
she exclaimed.
While Perry is not a stranger to the
public eye, she explains how the
criticism she gets from Total Divas is
different than when she is on WWE.
"When doing Total Divas people
judge you for you," she said. "When
people don't like you for being you,
that hurts a little bit more. But I
would rather be hated for who I am,
than loved for who I am not."
This is Perry's third season on the
show. When she joined the cast on
season six, Perry was going through
her first match, she got married, in
season seven you see her mature,
and in season eight Perry will be put
through some trials.
"You see me working at my craft. I
am very passionate about WWE and
wresting. You go on that journey
with me. That's life," she said,
"Life is sometimes going to knock
you down, and it's going to hurt
and it's ok to cry. You gotta dust
off your knees and keep going."
"You will see that on season eight,
disappointment is part of life," she
explained.
The cast of Total Divas started
shooting season eight this spring,
which is set to premiere this fall.
"You will definitely see me flush
through some rough things in my life
and how I deal with disappointment.
We are all going to through hard
times, and I hope it inspires some
people."
To follow CJ "Lana" Perry, visit:
twitter.com/lanawwe
To like her page, visit:
facebook.com/WWELana
To follow her, visit:
instagram.com/thelanawwe
