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 By
Mike Altamura
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There’s something special about
this 5’3”, 137-pound
French-Canadian diva known on the wrestling
circuit as
Precious Lucy. Her unique and unprecedented
hardcore
style of grappling essentially has multitudes
of
critics branding her as a “pioneer”
and “leader” of
women in wrestling. However, in a recent
interview with The USA! Indy, Lucy
remained quite modest about it all:
“I
don’t know if I’m a pioneer
but if that’s the way people feel
about me, well, I must say that I’m
really honoured. Maybe all the pain,
blood, sweat and tears means something
after all. The only thing that matters
to me is to make the fans happy and
enjoy what I do.”
Lucy has battled through all the hard
yards and been subjected to many undue
hardships as a result of the rigid path
she’s followed to stardom. So,
it’s no wonder she’s quite
restrained in recommending a similar
road for female grapplers in the coming
years.
“In a way, I really hope that few
women will walk down the same road I
did but, on the other side, I wish that
they could go a different way. It was
so hard [coming through the ranks] and
sometimes I’m asking myself if
it was really worth it. It would have
been
so much easier for me to act like all
the girls you see on TV and try to look
like a Barbie doll and do a few flips,”
Lucy candidly told USA! Indy.com.
She proceeded to inform us on why she
took such a hard ridden path rather
than simply walking down the glamorous
lane of ‘T & A’ like so
many others.
“All my life, I’ve been challenged
by guys (I was the only girl in my neighbourhood)
and the saying ‘you can’t
do this or that because you are a girl’
just made me sick. I guess I developed
the bad syndrome of ‘what you do,
I can do better’. I went through
hell because I’m that kind of woman
who wants to make this world better.
I want to be unique and I’m a terrible
perfectionist. I have to push the limits
to feel good and complete as a wrestler.”
And, over the past 4 years, Lucy has
more than just pushed the limits; she’s
reached sky heights and worked numerous
positions within the wrestling industry.
Whether it’s as a wrestler, commissioner,
manager, valet or a referee, Lucy knows
how to fulfil the job with aplomb.
Lucy credits her initial role in wrestling,
a manager, as helping her dramatically
in her interaction with the crowd and
how to play to the audience. However,
when it comes to valeting, she’s
quite frank in stating it clearly is
not for her. “I felt so stupid
[valeting]. The ‘be pretty and
shut up’, or ‘scream as much
as you can’ job is definitely not
for me.
Usually, when I was entering a new promotion,
that’s how promoters would bring
me in, then I would turn on my man and…
well, beat him up. Sometimes, the transition
from valet to wrestler was so long that
I would get tired of the promotion.
Some girls are really good as valets
and they do a great job, but I just
feel so bad when I’m out there
around the ring.” On the other
hand, Lucy has thoroughly enjoyed being
in “the middle of the action”
as a referee and credits her commissionership
role as helping to develop her microphone
skills and techniques. As for her job
as a wrestler, Lucy revealed to WG that
“it developed everything I can
imagine and actually made me a better
person. I’ve learnt to accept myself,
be confident and so much more.”
Precious Lucy is no slouch in the ring;
always willing to go through tables,
take chair shots or be on the receiving
end of a death-defying bump by a much
larger male counterpart. Needless to
say, such an intense style comes at
a price. Lucy was recently sidelined
due to knee complications, but fortunately
the injury hasn’t been as severe
as first expected.
“At the beginning, the doctor
thought that my knee was completely
ripped but after going through many
tests (too many), the verdict is that
I did suffer from a torn meniscus, pulled
muscles and ligaments… well, everything
you can imagine I guess,” Lucy
amusingly stated. The good news is that
she’ll be back and kicking in centre
ring before you know it. “I’m
glad nothing was ripped and that time
will heal the injury. No surgery needed!
the Hardcore star optimistically said.
Lucy, however, realises that she’s
a tough girl…maybe too tough: “Since
I usually don’t listen to the doctor’s
orders… unfortunately... I was
back in the ring a week later (after
the check-up).”
Despite the knee injury, Lucy is quick
to assert that her body, physically,
is intact. “I’m pretty impressed
about my physical condition. When I
went to see the doctor, he made a complete
check-up of my bones and everything
is perfect. I really thought that something,
at least one thing would be wrong…
but nothing at all. The only things
that I consider a bit
weak are my knees.” As for competing
against much larger foes and the battering
that causes on her body, Lucy fearlessly
said, “it never has been a problem.
My body has a
pretty good reaction to pain. I’m
not saying that I love pain but I can
deal with it.” The driving force
behind Lucy’s desire to keep on
breaking the foundations for women in
wrestling no matter what the physical
ramifications are is chiefly her will
to prove people who’ve doubted
her wrong.
Precious Lucy made her wrestling debut
in mid 1997, donning the name Lucifer…
a mystifying, gloomy and dark persona.
She recalls the coming together of Lucifer
and the development of the gimmick.
“Lucifer was inspired especially
by my teacher’s new gimmick. When
he changed his character for ‘The
Devil’s Machine’ I thought
that Lucifer would be a perfect manager
for him (and wrestler later). I was
dressed in black only, and I was not
smiling a lot although I was complaining
all the time to make the crowd angry.
My entrance music was Darth Vader’s
Imperial March… I just love Star
Wars and I always had a big fascination
about the Dark Side and death. Maybe
that’s because my father died when
I was so young.
That’s the main reason why I loved
the Undertaker so much. There was a
bit of myself in his character.”
Lucy furthermore remembers how she
used the character to cover up some
insecurity within her at the time. “The
colour (of Lucifer’s clothing)
black was also to hide my body. I didn’t
like the way I looked back then and
it was really hard for me to go out
there and
perform looking the way I used to. I
used to be 187 pounds of pure fat. I
just hated myself…that character
just represented the way I felt about
myself.” Lucy straightforwardly
outlined to The USA! Indy that
if she had to go back to such a gimmick,
she “would certainly change a few
things”, in particular the way
she looks, although, on the other hand,
would retain the dark coloured clothing.
Lucy proceeds to state; “black
is a good colour for me.” Then
comically says, “there is no way
I can wear colors like white now…
they’ll turn red anyway.”
If I had to go back to such a gimmick,
I would certainly change a few things
but I thought about it many times. I
want to change the way I look and I
have a pretty good idea of what I want
and yes, it is inspired from that first
gimmick. Anyway at the tender age of
19, Precious Lucy would rocket to stardom
in 1999, appearing on various TV shows,
publications and wrestling events nationwide.
However, don’t be fooled…
the year was full of arguably more lows
than highs for wrestling’s number
one hardcore queen. In essence, the
sudden rise to fame wasn’t the
cause of Lucy’s low morale but
instead a feeling of being held back
and having restricted freedoms.
“What was hard to deal with is
the fact that sometimes, people would
not let me talk and say what I wanted
to,” Lucy recalls from the hectic
period. “I had to say what the
promoters wanted me to say even if it
was not the way I felt about a situation
and even
if the interview was about me and not
the promotion. When I watch some of
the old interviews I notice that a promoter
was interrupting me so he could answer
for me and talk about himself instead.
Because of this, even talk show hosts,
when I was mentioning about how hard
wrestling was for a woman and what I’ve
been through, would stop me. It was
as if they didn’t care, and didn’t
want to see the truth not to mention
that few of them were pissed off because
I couldn’t talk.” When given
the opportunity to speak though, Lucy
thrived on the publicity: “all
the interviews I did one-on-one with
the host were pretty good and they helped
me a lot.”
Many of the problems Lucy faced in 1999
can be related to her brief stint with
Jacques Rougeau’s ‘International
Wrestling 2000’. Lucy initially
met Rougeau on a TV show focusing on
Combat sports and soon after became
an IW2000 commodity. No matter how hard
she tries to recall vivid memories from
her time with IW2000, the bad ones will
forever outshine them.
“ He wanted me to be his “Miss
Elizabeth” and I tried very hard
but couldn’t,” Lucy told The
USA! Indy in regards to the image
Jacques Rougeau had set out to derive
from her at IW2000. “I could not
use chairs, tables… nothing I like.
It had to be a family show and in the
year 2000, I think this thing is way
behind. I’m not judging his ideas,
it’s just that I don’t feel
good being involved in things I don’t
like or don’t believe in. I felt
like I
was being held back. Plus, Jacques didn’t
want me to wrestle for anybody else
but [at the same time] he is producing
only 2 to 3 shows a year. I love my
job too much to only wrestle 2 or 3
times a year.”
Also, after about a year of working
for him, Jacques told me that he didn’t
want me to wrestle for anybody else
but he is producing only 2 to 3 shows
a year. I love my job too much to only
wrestle 2 or 3 times a year. The final
straw in her association with IW2000
came after an office meeting with Jacques
Rougeau, Lucy revealed to WG. She remembers,
“one day, he (Rougeau) asked me
to come in his office to talk about
the
possibility to fight guys on his shows
because it was too hard to find decent
women workers. He said that no hardcore
would be allowed and that it was OK
for me to
fight men but I had to give him one
thing in exchange… I would have
to lose a match against a midget and
they would shave my head bald. There’s
nothing wrong about
losing but shaving my head and losing
my daytime job was not a good idea.
I decided to leave the company and it
was a great move in my career.
Through all the pain and agony endured,
Lucy still remains appreciative of Rougeau
and what he provided her with. “I’ll
always be thankful for what Jacques
did for me and the great advice he gave
me but it just couldn’t work. I
was not happy at all. I would give up
anything for this business, but not
my daytime job. I have bills to pay
and unfortunately, wrestling doesn’t
help with those bills,” she stated.
2001 has been a year of sensational
highs and lows for Lucy. On the optimistic
side of things, she’s thrived when
pitted against 433-pound mammoth, J.C.
Owens. Lucy declared that what makes
their matches so unique is the utter
“difference in size”, some
297 pounds! Lucy recalls when first
asked to work with J.C.: “I never
thought such a match could happen and
I almost had a heart attack when a promoter
told me I was
fighting Owens. I really thought it
was a joke. But when I realized it was
true I must say I was really happy about
it because it would give me a chance
to know what I could do against such
an opponent.”
Lucy was essentially compelled to alter
her wrestling style against Owens, and
their two matches have been nothing
short of enthralling. “I definitely
can’t bring him (Owens) down on
the mat with usual moves I perform so
I had to find another way,” Lucy
said. “It
was a great challenge. I must say that
for a man of his size, he’s pretty
impressive and he moves! He is the best
super-heavyweight around without a doubt.
On our first encounter I won a belt…
but on the other I got really beat up
but it’s still a good memory anyway.”
In one of her more notable showings,
Lucy was worked into an angle with wrestling
great Tony Atlas, however, the one-on-one
matches between the two unfortunately,
never took place. Nevertheless, Lucy
recalls the ‘angle’ and her
experiences with Mr. Atlas quite vividly.
“As he was wrestling another guy,
I showed up, spit on him, kicked him
and punched him many times in the face…
for real. This whole thing was to set
up a shoot match between the two of
us, Lucy stated about the initial proceedings
of the ‘angle’.
She then jokingly backed her stiff in-ring
action against Atlas by outlining that
“Tony liked to get hit, what can
I say?”
As for the lessons learnt from the
first confrontation with Mr. Atlas,
Lucy said, “I learnt that I was
a pretty good hitter because his face
was so swollen that I could not recognize
him. I think it helped me to develop
a shooting and stiff style.” Although
the ‘angle’ came to an untimely
and premature end, Lucy still is extremely
fond of Atlas: “Tony is a
great guy and I had a lot of fun with
him. He had always encouraged me to
push the limits and be strong. I haven’t
seen him in a while and I miss him very
much.”
When asked who her dream in-ring opponent
would be, Lucy without hesitating believes
it would be Chris Benoit. “Definitely,
it would be Chris Benoit. I feel that
I could learn so much from him. He’s
such a great technical wrestler. All
the combinations of moves he
knows just amaze me,” Lucy told
USA! Indy.com. On the hardcore side
of things, she considers legend Terry
Funk as the ideal opponent. “I
would like to know how much pain I can
take and I think he would be the man
I would have to go through to find out.”
Finally, Lucy would like to wrestle
a man who combines both technical and
hardcore wrestling in Steve Corino.
As a youngster, Lucy was an ambitious
and ever-talented singer and musician.
“I used to sing and play bass in
a band before wrestling came into my
life. I was doing pretty good back then
and I think I could have gone somewhere
in the business, Lucy informed WG. Her
decision to quit her music aspirations
and focus on wrestling still lingers
in her mind. “I quit everything
for wrestling… I just hope I made
the right choice although many times,
I
regret it. I still play guitar once
in a while and I sing a lot in the car
when I’m on the road. I’ll
even participate in some karaoke just
for fun.”
Outside of the wrestling scene, Lucy
is quite an artistic woman. “I
love to create web sites and arts. I’m
creating my own outfits and I like to
draw people. The human face has so many
features; it’s pretty interesting.”
Lucy is also a fitness fanatic away
from the ring.
“I’m always in the gym and
dieting because I’m afraid to get
fat again. Too bad it’s like an
obsession now.” Moreover, she’s
currently passing down some of her wrestling
savvy to referee Sweet Cherry, who she’s
formed a close bond with. “She’s
like my sister and
has a lot of potential [as a wrestler],”
Lucy stated.
She considers her fearless attitude
and drive to give the fans whatever
they want as her greatest attributes
and revealed to USA! Indy that
when it all comes down to it, she’s
very emotional… an aspect of herself
which she inevitably dislikes.
An open attitude follows Lucy wherever
she goes. As we found out, she’s
quite content just to work for any federation
who gives her an opportunity to perform.
Not much to ask now, is it? “ I’ll
work for anybody I can. Anybody who
will give me a chance, trust me on what
I can do and where I can give it 110%
is a great promotion to work for,”
Lucy
stated.
Lucy is not hung up about wanting
to think what the future will present,
but openly said that she’s thinking
about it “all the time.” She
reminisces on some hearty words of inspiration
she received from an ex-ECW worker in
May this year when thinking of the
future. ‘When somebody will give
you your chance and let you do what
you do best, well, this person will
be rich, so as you,’ are the exact
words of the former ECW performer. Lucy
is quite comical and rational on her
chances of furthering herself in the
wrestling
ranks: “I just hope it will happen
soon. Wrestling being my full-time job
would make me the happiest person on
earth… but I have to be realistic.”
It seems only a matter of time before
this hardcore queen explodes globally.
Just make sure to see her in action
when you get the time… it’ll
be well worth the trouble.
Mike "Kryptonite" Altamura
is a freelance writer currently living
in Australia. He can be contacted via
email at icemanalt@aol.com.
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