Glamour. Is. Forever.
Before the current NXT star was bringing glamour back into the WWE, Blake Monroe was tearing it up on the independent scene as Mariah May. Most notably, May’s star rose throughout her time in World Wonder Ring Stardom.
But May wouldn’t become a mainstream success until her time in AEW. She was instantly thrusted into a top program by being one of Toni’s sidekicks before turning on Timeless Toni Storm after winning the Owen Hart Cup tournament in 2024.
Together, Storm and May would have one of the best women’s feuds of this generation. It’s certainly the best women’s feud AEW has ever had. And there’s an argument that it's the best women’s feud from any promotion.
Once May was done with Toni Storm then she jumped ship to WWE. It’s always been her dream to be a WWE star and May revealed during her recent vlog that was filmed during her debut weekend at The Great American Bash just how overwhelmed her experience has been (transcript courtesy of Fightful)
“I can only do my best. The people who love me are going to love me, and the people who hate me are going to hate me, no matter what. I feel so overwhelmed about it. I left my house five or six years ago with this dream of being a WWE superstar [tears up]. I used to go to all the WWE shows, save all my money, and travel to go to WrestleMania and Royal Rumble. I don’t even want to talk about stuff because I feel like every single thing I say gets yanked and taken out of context for these articles and Twitter.
I made a vlog before my debut to try and speak about these things, and I feel I’m scared to talk about it because people take it the wrong way or take me as ungrateful or anything, but I’ve had the most amazing wrestling journey. I’m so lucky. I’ve been able to travel the world and wrestle some of the best wrestlers, tell amazing stories, work with amazing writers, work with amazing people, have people take a chance on me and not for one second would I ever change anything or am I ungrateful. I’m so grateful.
Everything that May did prior to WWE would hopefully lead her down the path into the biggest company in professional wrestling.
“I’ve given 110% of my life and myself to every single wrestling job no matter what. I can say that and retire one day knowing that. If you watch my work, you can see that. I don’t want anything to be misconstrued, though I know it typically will. My wrestling journey was also not easy. It is not easy to leave home and leave behind your family, friends, and support system, and live in a foreign country by yourself and chase this crazy dream.
For me, to be in WWE, this is something I wanted as a little kid, so actually living this, some things are super familiar. Filming a vignette, doing a meet and greet, I’m used to this and it feels normal to me. Moments like seeing myself on the wall in the Evolution store or being on shirts with Nikki Bella and Trish Stratus and these amazing women, that’s a pinch me moment.
I feel really proud of the kid who wanted to do this, and the teenager who had a really hard time wanting to do this, and the young adult who grew up and traveled the world and wrestled for like nothing on the indies, drove everywhere, moved to Japan, and scrubbed dojo floors. Japan was like the best time of my life, but it wasn’t easy.
Living in Japan was a piece of cake compared to America. May doesn’t go into depth about why coming to America has been so tough for her, but her dream of wrestling in WWE has kept her spirits alive.
“Moving to America, I thought, would be the easiest, but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know if it was the age I was or knowing that this was hopefully, potentially, forever, realizing it was just going to be me for the rest of my life in this foreign place. It hasn’t been easy, but to be able to look at that girl and be like, ‘You did it. You are going to wrestle on WWE.’ It’s crazy.
Everything I’ve done in my career, there are some really big and special things that I’ve done. I’m so grateful and really proud of her for not giving up because a lot of people wanted me to and sometimes I felt, not like giving up, but really unhappy. To be able to be here, I’m exhausted because I’m so emotional, but to be here and be able to talk to you guys before my debut is a dream come true. I’m really proud, and I wish I could find 17-year-old Mariah and be like, ‘You’re gonna actually do it. It’s definitely not going to be easy, but it’s going to be amazing and I’m proud of you.'”