"...SA INTERNET kasi, hindi lang yung performance yung tinitingnan, minsan yung katawan mo kahit hindi mo gusto, binabastos ka online. Yun yung mahirap sa pagiging wrestler na babae."
Those were the words that Filipina pro wrestler Joya said during the Jam of the Joshis press conference, and despite the difficulties she endured, Joya's feisty personality reigns.
Her hot-headed nature is her in-ring gimmick, but being a pro wrestler in the Philippines requires that attitude to translate in an industry dominated by men.
"Pero pagdating sa kung ano yung kakayanan ng babae is kayang kaya makipagsabay sa mga lalaki," she reflected.
Joya is one of the female wrestlers in the Philippine scene, but when things started to emerge back in 2015, there was only one lone Filipina wrestler: Crystal.
The Queen speaks
"If you guys don't know, I'm the first female Filipina wrestler so when I started this whole journey nine years ago, I knew this was going to blossom into something more but now that I see it happening and having a women's-centric event like Jam of the Joshis," revealed Crystal in the press conference.
For the Philippines to host an all-female wrestling event is a stepping stone for the scene and Crystal recalled how things have changed.
"It feels heartwarming for me and I feel like all of my hardwork paid off because back then I had to say no to the naysayers na, 'Hey women have a right place in this ring' so I am so proud of these girls."
However it seems there are steps that needs to be done to further enhance the scene.
"I would like to tell PUSO or Dexcon or whoever, you know we need a (Women's) championship. I mean VPW has one and SPW has the Queen of Asia Championship, so why doesn't the Philippine wrestling scene have a women's championship? And PUSO wrestling has the most amount of Filipina wrestlers so why don't we have?" reflected Crystal.
"Hopefully that will be on the works and I know for the fact that us women are working our hardest to make a bigger scene in the Philippines."
The trans movement
And forging a bigger scene isn't just limited to women in wrestling, as Chelsea Marie spoke up and talked about her overall experiences as an LGBTQ+ member in the wrestling scene.
An emotional Chelsea Marie was on the verge of tears during the Jam of the Joshis event as she recalled the hardships she endured.
She may have lost her bout against Yuki Kamifuku, but she managed to touch the hearts of many.
"We've never seen a magazine cover with a trans model because they don't want us to be attractive or desired," started Chelsea Marie.
"When I came here I wasn't even expecting that I would last this long. This has been my childhood dream and I thought it will never happen because I am trans, but here I am now."
To be able to headline a women's event was indeed a great honor which was something that Chelsea Marie said after her match against Yuki Kamifuku.
But none of this would've happened if she didn't learn how to fight back against the tide. Before she took her talents to the bigger stage, Chelsea wasn't given a chance to test her mic skills.
Things changed when she moved to a bigger federation.
"...I never got a chance to speak in promos, but when I met Mr. (Stan) Sy, he made me realized that I need to own up and be ruthless because niceness will not get me anywhere."
Breaking barriers
And with these Filipina wrestlers striving for a brighter future ahead, Crystal encouraged female aspirants to follow their path.
"We are doing our best, we are receiving the best training that we can get and our coaches are giving us a safe space to train and all of the wrestlers and we feel safe and we feel that we have a home here."
"That's why we want to invite any young girls out there, if you want to wrestle one day, come to us. We'll show you the ropes and we'll make sure that this is a safe environment to train."
And when more Filipina wrestlers emerging, a bigger purpose awaits.
"When I started it was hard to break that stigma that Filipinas should be at home cooking, cleaning for their husbands. I really wanted to break that stigma. Ever since, I've always been a fighter, I did taekwondo, so I think it was very hard to break that stigma that a Filipina should be homesy and cutesy," Crystal looked back.
"We had to break that and to show that we have what it takes to be at the centerstage."
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