WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss Explains Why It’s Cool to Be ‘Uncool’ With New Podcast

Alexa Bliss entrance
WWE

Those who follow Alexa Bliss on social media know about her love for all things Disney, boy bands and the nostalgic goodness of the 1990s and 2000s. The WWE superstar embraces these interests in her new upcoming podcast series Uncool with Alexa Bliss, coming to audio streaming, WWE Network and the company’s YouTube channel

Starting September 22, the former women’s champ sits down with a plethora of guests including The Miz, the Bella Twins, Jon Heder, Lance Bass. Nikki Glaser, Taylor Hanson, Ryan Cabrera and James Iglehart. Each Tuesday Miss Bliss will get these celebs to share awkward moments, first dates and embarrassing stories as a way to show audiences how it’s cool to be uncool.

“We found that talking about the past and embarrassing stories was entertaining to listen to,” the host said. “It morphed into this 1990s, 2000s sort of thing. It didn’t start out that way. Once we started getting the guests I wanted to talk to, it just happened to be people I watched and idolized growing up. It has been a lot of fun. My set has a bunch of my old toys from the 2000s. It’s great.” 

Here the “Goddess” is put in the hot seat to discuss her foray into podcasting and character evolution on SmackDown.  

Alexa Bliss

WWE

Do you remember the first time you felt uncool?

Alexa Bliss: I was always the girl who hung out with all the boys in middle school and high school. I had a lot of guy friends. I remember I was in middle school and one of the boys I was sitting next to at lunch just happened to be like, “Oh yeah, that’s the cool group.” I said, “Oh, so you think I’m cool?” He was like, “Uh No, you’re sitting with us.” It was one of those moments. You never know if you’re cool or not. He solidified I am not cool. 

I don’t know about that. Lance Bass of *NSYNC is one of your first guests. Being such a boy bands fan, what was that experience like?

I also interviewed Chris [Kirkpatrick] and Joey [Fatone] as well. Theirs is going to be used for behind the scenes content, or maybe fingers crossed, on a Season 2. It was great. I’ve met Lance before. We hung out. Him and his husband are super sweet. I knew that I wanted to get him on the podcast immediately.

Growing up I loved  *NSYNC, but I loved Lance. I was not a Justin [Timberlake] girl. I was a Lance girl. I was at the *NSYNC concert in Columbus, Ohio. I yelled out, “Lance I love you.” And he didn’t respond. I called him out on that. We talk about a lot of cool stuff with Lance like growing up in the limelight, having the opportunity to hear about being in arguably the biggest boy band ever. I know a lot of Backstreet Boys fans are going to hate me for that. Feeling the way he felt growing up in those teenage years. We talked about his first dates. It was a lot of fun. 

You also interview your boyfriend, Ryan Cabrera. Given how close you are, how did it go putting him on the spot?

From day one since we’ve met, he has never had a filter. He doesn’t care. He’d rather be open and honest about the embarrassing things that have happened in his life. A lot of the stories we talk about I’ve already known. But to hear him talk about them and be ready for the world to hear them is actually really funny. We talk about how he would go door-to-door to sorority houses and play for them in hopes they would come to his show later. We talked about his encounters with celebrities. How embarrassing they were.

We talk about a lot of fun stuff with Ryan. It’s definitely a different side of him than people see. The whole main point of the podcast is to talk about things that celebrities have not said in interviews. I know Miz for example, when we did his, he told me he has never told anyone these stories. I’ve gotten that a few times from people I’ve interviewed. That’s what is going to make it different. Stuff people don’t necessarily want to tell because they are embarrassing stories, but they tell them because they don’t want to keep them a secret their whole lives. 

Is there a particular reason why The Miz was chosen for the premiere?

I think Miz and I get along so well. He has such a big personality, and you have to kick it off with a strong personality. The stories he tells, it’s a perfect episode to start it out. It shows this is what the podcast is and about. The Miz is the perfect debut episode because his stories are so relatable to what the podcast is about. 

This is a project where you get to branch out and show a different skill set. What is it like to work with WWE on things outside the ring? There is all this talk right now about WWE’s reaction to superstars working on projects outside the company and the freedom you have in doing that.

The WWE umbrella is so big that there really isn’t anything we can’t do. It was something I was surprised about, especially with the podcast. There were certain things I thought about like, “Can I say this? Can I not say this? Can we talk about this?” They were like, “Yeah, talk about whatever you want.” It’s my first podcast and something I’m doing outside the ring and the talk show you see on Raw and SmackDown.

This is something very real. The one thing I would hate it to be is censored, so it’s great that it is very uncensored, real. Just really two people talking and me fangirling out over some of my guests. People don’t realize how big the WWE umbrella really is and how much opportunity there is within that. We have UpUpDownDown and other podcasts. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more things coming out of WWE. 

Alexa Bliss Meets The Fiend

WWE

We’re seeing a subtle evolution of your character on SmackDown after interacting with The Fiend. How has it been for you to really dig into a new story?

I love anything that is different and out-of-the-box. I love being able to evolve and change the character and spike people’s interest. I think that is what we’ve been doing with The Fiend. Everyone knows I love promos and to be able have a microphone and portray a character. It’s my favorite thing to do, so the fact I was able to try something new I’m having a lot of fun and excited to see where it goes. 

You got a chance to participate in the cinematic “Swamp Fight” between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. That must have been fun to shoot.

I thought it was really cool how it came across. I didn’t know I was going to be in that. When I was told I was, it was really cool because it was something different. It was something I’ve never done. I love how it turned out. 

With your partnership with Nikki Cross, it started out in an organic way and took off. Nikki has benefited from working alongside you. What do you think of her success?

I’m very proud of how far she has come. If there was ever one thing I would tell her no matter what make it real, whether it was being nervous about a promo or something else. If you believe what you’re saying, everyone else is going to believe it. That’s my thing I always tell everyone. Feel what your character is feeling. Act the way your character would act. It’s super relatable, which is why I think people have been able to connect with her on a different level now because she truly believes what she is saying. 

That’s great. Our match together was a lot of fun. It was really the first time we had a match together. We had one three-minute match in NXT, but it was during the Download Festival in the UK. It was not televised. That was the only singles match we had leading up to it. The match was a lot of fun. I think it is super important to have the support because what we do is tough. You can sometimes get in your own head and be nervous, especially if you are newer. Even if you aren’t newer, but trying something different, it’s good to have the support of someone else next to you. 

You’re known to be a Disney fanatic. Have you gotten a chance to go back to parks yet?

I’ve gone back multiple times. Ryan and I are such Disney people. I’ll even say he is slightly more of a Disney fanatic than I am. That’s how much he loves it, but it goes back and forth. They take your temperature and you wear a mask. They sanitize the rides. They make you feel safe and use sanitizer before and after you get off the rides. We’ve gone, I want to say almost 10 times since they reopened because we’re people you can’t keep away from Disney. 

I just love the fact you can ride “Avatar: Flight of Passage,” and it’s only a 10 minute wait.

I did that yesterday. I rode it yesterday. 

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross

WWE

I’m sure Disney will come up on your show fairly often, but who is on your guest wish list?

The podcast team and Ryan also helps me get some of the guests. They did such a good job. I had a wish list of people, and they were able to make it happen. I would say Aubrey Plaza. I’d love to have her on because I think she is such a fun character. I would love Sebastian Maniscalco. I think he’d be hilarious. I would like to have more actors because I feel like actors have a lot of funny stories we just don’t know yet. That’s because many actors did drama in high school and acted in middle school. 

I just watched Aubrey on Muppets Now getting interviewed by Miss Piggy, so I know she would be a great guest.

I’d say she would be good. Oh, and anyone from The Office. If there is another season of this, I’d love for that too. 

WWE SmackDown, Fridays, 8/7c, Fox

Uncool with Alexa Bliss premieres Tuesday, September 22. Listeners can subscribe to Uncool with Alexa Bliss on all audio streaming services including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Pandora. Full-length videos of each episode will be available the following week on WWE Network and WWE’s YouTube channel.