"I DIDN'T see anything from her. I told my partner, she'd probably quit around six months," that was Fabio Makisig's initial assessment when she started training Filipina wrestler Patricia Ligaya.
To begin with the circumstance was never favorable for the pink-dressed pro wrestler. She wasn't even a fan of professional wrestling, plus she came all the way from Nueva Ecija, traveling back and forth to Quezon City to train.
Eight hours of travelling just to chase the pro wrestling dream? Does she have what it takes?
"I was riding the bus to my province in Nueva Ecija. I remember I was crying and I was thinking, 'Was this worth it? Am I going to keep up using my energy to continuously train, travel four hours towards training and four hours back?" Ligaya contemplated during the Dexcon WrestleStorm 2 press conference.
At one point, she thought about quitting as things would've been easier if she decided to throw in the towel.
But instead of letting her situation overwhelm her, Patricia Ligaya moved on and showed that her ability to hustle will gain the loyalty and respect in the industry.
"It was something where I had to decide if I should keep going because at one point, life was going to be easier...But there's just this hunger in every Pinoy especially Pinay wrestlers to just keep going to continuously prove yourself," Ligaya reflected.
Ligaya never had high hopes about her chances yet she ended up defying everyone's expectations. It was her drive and passion that pushed her through.
"I wasn't just doing this for future me, who will step in the ring for the first time. I was doing it for past me who couldn't even believe that I would be training in the first place, that I would survive," she began.
"I started as a PWPC trainee which is Coach Fabio (Makisig's) prepatory course, and I didn't really think I was going to keep going because I was from the province. During my first day, I was doing the rolls and the drills and I was like, 'I'm dying but I'm enjoying this."
Super P's kryptonite
But she wasn't the only one who overcame the odds stacked against her as her bestie, Super P, also encountered a massive hurdle in her career, an ACL and miniscus tear during the pandemic.
"When I tore my ACL and miniscus during the pandemic, I had to do surgery for that. It was a painful year for me because wrestling had just started again after the pandemic. People were starting to train again and that's when my injury worsened and I was not able to be a part of the initial resurgence of Philippine pro wrestling."
To make matters worse was the fact that she never made her official in-ring debut. It seemed fate would argue that this wasn't meant for her, but like most superhero narratives, her willpower would say otherwise.
"For a year I did all of my rehab, I worked really hard to come back to the ring. I haven't even debuted, all of my hardwork in training wouldn't come into fruition, but I realized that the answer was from me. It will only come into fruition if I do something about it."
And just like her in-ring persona, her belief in the power of friendship moved mountains.
"I'm very grateful to everyone who helped me financially because that was not a cheap surgery. I worked my way through rehab, made myself stronger, even better than I was pre-pandemic."
With her lighting up the Philippine wrestling scene showcasing her superhero persona, Super P ended up fulfilling her dream. She may be small, but her heart is as big as the entire universe she aspires to defend.
"I'm small, I'm quite unathletic so I just wanted to be that person that people like me would look up to especially if they're little girls who are into wrestling...That's why I wear this mask because I try my best to be a hero for those little girls, the hero that I wanted to have when I was small."
"Now here I am now, I'm still working my way to be stronger, to be better," said Super P.
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