Airica Demia: Pro Wrestling Spotlight
- Marian Richardson
- Mar 17
- 6 min read
Welcome to Pro Wrestling Spotlight! Today I'm honored to chat with the anime and wrestling champion herself, my Hero, your Hero, our Hero, Airica Demia!
Hey, Airica! Happy Women’s History Month! I know it was your dad, The Legend of Solar, that got you into wrestling and I gotta thank him for that, but I’d love to know if you have any favorite women wrestlers or anime characters that also inspired you to step into the ring!
Yes, my dad did get me into wrestling! However, to be honest with you...even having grown up with wrestling, I didn't know TV wrestling existed until 2015 [with] NXT! My dad introduced me to that, too. And let me tell you, I loved it! It wasn't what I grew up with at all, really, but everything was so big and colorful and larger than life! I instantly fell in love with Bayley. The whole "hugger" thing? I loved hugs so much (still do by the way, haha). Bayley is actually the reason that I had pants for my first set of gear (and technically second, too)!
I love being surrounded by driven people. And the women on television have taken all of that to the next level. I do my best to use that inspiration to keep me moving forward, closer and closer to my goal! As far as anime characters go, when I first started wrestling (and training) my main inspiration was Deku (also known as Izuku Midoriya) from My Hero Academia. I still draw inspiration from him, but I've thrown in some more feminine characters now. Like Sailor Moon, Kagome (from Inuyasha), and Excel from Excel Saga! If ya haven't seen that [last] one, watch it at your own risk. 😅
I adore Bayley and Kagome, too! Two very determined women, just like you when you became the first woman to graduate from the Palmetto Wrestling Academy! Tell us about your training and how it led to your debut in the ring.
Thank you! That's definitely an accomplishment that I keep in the back of my head a lot! You ask how training went for me…I was a 100 pound, un-athletic, super socially awkward 15-year-old girl starting at the Palmetto Wrestling Academy in a class of a bunch of grown men [who] had played some kind of sport so they were at least a little athletic. Some could say I had some pretty dramatic odds against me. I was terrified of everyone! I was afraid to walk up and shake their hands because I thought they were gonna be mean to me. It took several classes for me to say, “Hi” [to them].
When it came to actual classes, I wasn't picking up on anything quickly. I didn't have pretty rolls, I couldn't jump as high, I wasn't as strong, it took me almost a year to do a body slam for the first time. But I kept going. I was failing my [high school] sophomore classes, but I didn't care. I stayed up way too late to attend the extra classes. I had to work harder than [my classmates] if I wanted to debut at some point. But I even had that against me. See, in the state of South Carolina, there is an Athletic Commission [through the government]. And that Commission states that you have to be 18-years-old to get the license required to officially wrestle on shows. By the time my class graduated, I had just turned 17...so I had to watch them go on without me. Left in the dust.
[But] I worked and worked until it was my turn. My 18th birthday. I stuck it out and now it's my turn to live my dream. But wait…“What do you mean our shows are shutting down indefinitely? I'm supposed to debut next month! Oh no...what am I gonna do?” My whole world shattered right there. So, what happened? My trainer had me debut on a different show. A new show. And debut I did.
Wow, that just goes to show that if something is meant for you…it won’t pass you by. And I think I can speak for every fan who admires you and your hard work that we’re glad you made it! What do you think are some of your other traits that your fans admire about you?
In an ideal world, it would probably be something like “she's a hero.” However, if we're being realistic, at least as far as my online fanbase goes, that's probably the last thing on their minds [because] being a 20-year-old anime girl on the internet is bound to attract “attention,” wanted or unwanted. Honestly, I won't complain if somebody says I'm pretty or anything like that, but sometimes being recognized for hard work is a better compliment than saying something about the way I look. That's the aura I want to give [to my fans]. Hardworking. Resilient. Undeniable.
A catchphrase I've been using my whole career is “Go Beyond.” But in recent months I've realized that “Notice Me” has been more so my go-to. I've been feeling pretty overlooked for quite a bit of my career, so when I say “notice me,” I'm not begging anymore. I'm telling people to notice me. I've worked very hard and I don't want to think of myself as undeserving anymore. I've put in the effort and if I didn't belong here, I wouldn't have made it here in the first place.
Cheers to that. That’s why you’re our Hero! I think your aura feels very powerful yet bubbly, but tell me how you describe your aura in wrestling and in the ring? What song captures it?
Oh, thank you! The aura I want to give off is someone who stays true to herself no matter what. Whether people are with or against me. I am doing everything in my power to stay strong and keep going. Or as Deku would say, “I'm gonna hold my head up high and plunge forward!” I want to be the best…being a Hero doesn't make that [goal] any different!
As far as a song goes, it would be “Becoming the Bull” by Atreyu. I’m evolving as a performer and this song encapsulates what I'm about. No matter what's happening or what's going on, I am grabbing the bull by the horns and going after every opportunity that I can.
I know that’s right! Reminds me of when you once said in an interview that during your training, you observed the way other wrestlers took bumps and knew you could do it better. I love that. Is that competitive edge what led you to becoming a triple-crowned champion today? Let me just list them off for our readers! You’re the HCW Women's World Champion, the IGB Super Champion, and VPW Women's Champion. Whew! What about competition drives you to be the best you can be?
Here's a quote that I really like that I feel can help me answer this question. Deku once said, “If I match pace with all of my peers, then I will never be number one.” That is honestly how I feel a lot of the time. I am constantly surrounded by people who are better than me. And I like to keep it that way for the most part because if you're the best in the room, you're in the wrong room. The goal is to always be improving. Yes, the end goal is almost always to be the best. Everyone wants to be the “top guy or girl.” But I don't want to just be the top guy or girl. I want to be the most universally recognized wrestler ever. And I'll never get there without...studying [my competition].
It's what's gotten me to where I am. Having three belts [and] having wrestled in 15 states in only two years of wrestling on shows. And it's what's gonna get me to my end goal. “I have to work harder than everyone else if I'm gonna be the number one Hero.”
Follow Your Hero! ↓
Are you a wrestler and want to be spotlighted next? Shoot me an email here!
Comments