How Pinay wrestlers continue to bash stereotypes, make waves in the ring
Filipina pro wrestlers are geared up for a long fight—inside and outside the ring—to prove that women can equally shine in male-dominated spaces.
From headlocks and arm drags, to takedowns, wrestling is undeniably one dangerous and physical sport where two (or more people) face off in a ring to take down their opponent. But for Manila Wrestling Federation's (MWF) Patricia Ligaia, wrestling is more than just a fight.
“On the surface, it looks like it’s violence, but the thing is when you’re in pro wrestling, you’re given the instruments [and] skills to develop kung paano lumaban,” she told PhilSTAR L!fe.
Ligaia has debuted on the scene after undergoing training for two years. She didn't plan on lacing up a pair of wrestling boots, especially since she didn't have an athletic background growing up.
But when she went to a Pinoy wrestling show in 2018, she fell in love with the sport.
“Parang may sinasabi sila na kapag nakapanood ka raw ng pinoy wrestling for the first time, makukuha talaga yung puso mo. I think ‘yun ‘yung nangyari sakin,” the 24-year-old said.
She first started as a “backstage chismosa,” interviewing the audience during the match, but later decided to undergo training to become a pro wrestler.
Observing the industry for six years now, Ligaia noted how much energy wrestlers pour into the support, especially with its “unpredictability” as they can sustain injuries.
“Sa wrestling, buong puso mo nilalagay mo; Commitment talaga siya [and] dedication,” she said.
Another wrestler, Super P, grew up watching WWE and in 2018, decided to follow in the footsteps of her idols Lita, Natalya Neidhart, and Japanese wrestler Kairi Sane.
Since she was also a comic lover growing up, she decided to make her wrestling persona a heroine she would want to look up to when she was a child.
“I want to be my own superhero, gusto ko ako yung magiging role model for my younger self,” she told L!fe. “That’s the essence of being Super P, ikaw yung magiging hero para sa sarili mo.”
ICYDK, professional wrestling is a sport mixed with theater—aside from the athleticism displayed, the personalities you see in the ring also tell stories through their characters and moves.
Taking space in the wrestling ring
Female pro wrestlers have always been around, just take a look at the biggest wrestling promotion, WWE, where women have wrestled alongside men since the 80s, although they weren't as featured. Women would usually fight in shorter matches than men, and they were usually portrayed as objects of the male gaze.
The sport has come a long way since then as female athletes continue to fight for their spots on the card while subverting stereotypes.
“In the 90s, or early 2000s, iba yung itsura ng women’s wrestling, iba ang trato sa kanila," Super P said.
"Like they are being treated as for male entertainment so yung mga matches that were created for them mga pa-sexy matches, but now for the past couple of years, we’ve seen women headline WrestleMania which is biggest international pro wrestling event."
2019 marked the first-time ever that WWE's WrestleMania featured women in its main event.
Despite the progress, male wrestlers still outnumber active Pinay wrestlers in the MWF but this shouldn't discourage Filipinas from trying to step into the ring, Ligaia said. She furthered that a female wrestler's training routine is the same as a male.
“Ang mark of being a wrestler is not about the gender,” she said. “Talagang heart and commitment ang basehan, hindi sa what you are born with or what you grew up with,” she added.
Mira Guanio, Chief Operating Officer of the MWF, said that while the MWF as a whole is a safe space for women, Pinay wrestlers are often subject to discrimination that they cannot win against their male opponents, and worse, they are targets of unwarranted sexual comments.
To address this, Guanio said that they have established internal guidelines to maintain proper decorum both in physical and online spaces, while “fighting” the bashers with kindness.
“We don't engage with the bashers, we don't fight with them,” she said. “If the comments are really bad, we choose to hide them because keeping them online will encourage other people to comment the same thing,” Guanio explained, adding that such comments are not good for wrestlers’ “heart and mind.”
“We fight with kindness, [instead] we invite them to our shows because watching MWF live is so much different from watching it online,” she said.
Kaya namin i-keep ‘yung femininity namin. Kaya namin i-keep 'yung individuality namin habang nakikipag-sabayan sa mga lalaki sa ring.
On femininity and finding their own identity
For Ligaia, a heavily physical sport like wrestling is one of the ways she shows her femininity. The Pinay athlete expresses herself through her ring gear and wrestling persona—doing cute makeup, incorporating heart designs, and putting pink on everything.
“[Femininity is] something that we should define, not something we should follow,” she added.
For Super P, femininity is about embracing and being empowered despite all the challenges being thrown at her as a woman.
“[It] is being comfortable with the idea of being a woman, it’s not necessarily being girly, it’s not necessarily being sexy, it’s about you accepting that ‘I am a woman, this is the life that I have to live, these are the challenges that I have to face, and believing that I can do it,’” she stressed.
“I hope you see na kahit some of us, sobrang girly ng suot, some of us nerdy, and some of us hindi kasing laki ng guys na nakakaharap namin, lumalaban pa rin kami,” Ligaia added.
The Pinay wrestler continued to say that she hopes more people and fans would watch their women's matches to see how tough they can be.
“Panoorin niyo muna kami, sana bigyan niyo kami ng chance na patunayan na kaya naman ng mga babae na pagsabayin ang pagiging feminine at pakikipag laban,” she stressed, stressing, “Na kaya namin makipag sabayan sa mga lalaki.”
