Pinky Montoya was nowhere close to being a seasoned wrestler when WWE threw her onto LFG. The former Haze Jameson says she had only been wrestling for around three or four months — with just a handful of actual matches under her belt — when WWE put her on the reality series.
Montoya broke down just how fast everything happened during her appearance with Tommy Dreamer on Busted Open Radio. She was discussing the beginning of her WWE career and how quickly she went from learning the basics to appearing on television alongside coaches like Bully Ray, The Undertaker, Booker T and Michelle McCool. Montoya said she had barely gotten started when WWE LFG came knocking.
“Um, I think it was about three or four months of wrestling and like stepping into a ring at all until LFG started. For me being on season two, I had, I think before that like two or three matches possibly. And very fresh, very green still in like the beginner’s class. And that’s all that I, my knowledge and extent of wrestling training that I had at the time.”
That meant Montoya wasn’t entering LFG as somebody with years of independent wrestling behind her. She was essentially learning how to wrestle while being thrown into a television environment where WWE legends were watching and judging everything she did.
“So going in very green and honestly like not knowing what to expect at all out of the season, or not expecting like anything other than like growing my knowledge and understanding of wrestling as a whole. But it was definitely, um, for how green we were. It was definitely a unique situation and it was very fun and I’m so grateful for it.”
Montoya competed during Season 2 as Haze Jameson and ended up on Bubba Ray Dudley’s team alongside BJ Ray, Zena Sterling and Elijah Holyfield. Ringside News covered the full WWE LFG Season 2 team selections as the cast was divided between Bubba Ray, Booker T, Michelle McCool and The Undertaker.
The way Montoya found out she was officially part of the show wasn’t some dramatic sit-down meeting either. She says WWE initially told her that she might be included, but couldn’t confirm anything.
“They kind of just let you know. Um, they, I think I got, I had like, we have like this app and it like, they kind of like told me like, possibly we can’t confirm it yet, but like, we’re thinking you’re gonna be on season two. And I was like, ‘Okay. Like that rocks.’”
Then one day she looked at WWE’s internal scheduling app and suddenly realized she had recurring LFG bookings.
“And then I just got a notification one day on my phone. It was like every Wednesday and Tuesday, like, be like, booked for LFG. And I was like, ‘Okay, that means it’s official. Like, let’s go.’ So that’s honestly how I found out was like confirmed finally was the notification in my app.”
Dreamer couldn’t resist pointing out just how much WWE has changed. He joked that the app essentially replaced legendary WWE ring announcer Howard Finkel, who used to personally call wrestlers to tell them where they were booked.
Montoya’s story also puts her WWE run into a much different perspective. She wasn’t a long-time wrestler who finally got a shot after years on the indies — WWE put her on national television while she was still in the beginner stages of learning the business, and she was expected to develop while the cameras were rolling.
What do you think about WWE putting Pinky Montoya on LFG with only a few months of wrestling experience? Do you think that kind of pressure helps young talent grow faster, or throws them into the deep end too soon? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
