Eve Torres interview

                                                               Eve Torres

When Eve Torres bid farewell to the WWE Universe in January, some people might have thought the three-time Divas Champion and WWE’s 2007 Diva Search winner would be taking things easy, reflecting on her many accomplishments and kicking back at her Los Angeles home.

As it turns out, those people don’t know Eve Torres.

WWE.com recently caught up with the indomitable beauty, who filled us in on her inspirational new mission, dished about “Total Divas” and offered some crucial advice for WWE’s current (and future) crop of female competitors.

WWE.COM: What have you been up to since we last saw you on WWE television?

EVE TORRES: Well, aside from building a house and planning a wedding and all of that real-life stuff that I’ve finally gotten around to, I’ve been teaching a lot of women’s self-defense classes at the Gracie Academy. Since January, I’ve pretty much been teaching Gracie Women Empowered self-defense full-time, working with women from all walks of life. We’ve got grandmas in there, we’ve got mothers with their daughters, and we’ve had several contracts with the U.S. Air Force.

Also, this summer I actually filmed my first movie. I did a really fun fight scene in [“Scorpion King: The Lost Throne”], which will be coming out next year. I was so excited to be a part of it. Ellen Hollman is the actress I worked with, and she is just incredible. We got to incorporate some wrestling stuff, too. I pulled out some of my old tricks in there. It was a lot of fun to shoot.

WWE.COM: What sparked your passion for women’s self-defense?

EVE: When I first started traveling with WWE [in 2007], I had just won the Diva Search and I didn’t really have any riding partners yet. So, I was making one of the loops by myself. I was somewhere in the Northeast and, just like we always do, I had to stop at a gas station to get some water and snacks, and fill up on gas. I walked in, and there were three guys in there that immediately started heckling me, harassing me and telling me to go with them. They were just kind of trying to poke fun or whatever. I ignored them, and they just progressively got angrier and angrier. It got to the point where they were yelling obscenities at me and calling me all kinds of names. They were threatening me.

WWE.COM: Was there anyone else around seeing this happen?

EVE: I looked at the guy at the checkout desk, and he didn’t know what to do. I didn’t buy my stuff. I threw it down on the counter and I got out of there. They followed me out, still yelling at me.

I think they felt that I was really terrified, and I think they fed off that. I got into my car, locked the door and I took off. I pulled over, I was shaking. I couldn’t believe that had just happened. It’s one of the first times I realized that even though I’m a woman who’s in shape, who has an education and a good job, any man that wants to end that for me or hurt me in some way can do that. Unfortunately, men are just stronger than women.

WWE.COM: That night led you to learn about self-defense?

EVE: I told a girlfriend about it, and she suggested that I start training at the Gracie Academy. Interestingly enough, my brother trained in jiu-jitsu in high school, so I knew a little bit about it. I never really thought it applied to me that much. I had done other forms of martial arts, but it was more for fun. I really didn’t think about the self-defense aspects of it. So I started training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and my mind was completely blown away by what I thought was possible for women. All of a sudden, I realized that there was a way for women to level the playing field. I felt like I needed to share this with others.

All women can do this, which I think is important for women to know: You don’t have to be a WWE Diva or an MMA fighter to be able to defend yourself.