Transcript

Marina Shafir | Close Up w/ Renee Paquette

From All Elite Wrestling · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 20 min · 3,505 words · 77 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Marina Shafir | Close Up w/ Renee Paquette", an episode of All Elite Wrestling published January 13, 2026 (20 min, about 3,505 words). It mentions 7 people, works and ideas, including Death Riders, Marina Shafir, Tony Storm, Black Bull Combat Club, Joshua Mi Bane.

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 3:00: Death Riders, Marina Shafir, Tony Storm
  2. – 6:00: Black Bull Combat Club, Death Riders
  3. – 9:00: Joshua Mi Bane
  4. – 12:00: Malddova
  5. – 18:00: Death Riders, Josh Barnett
  6. – 19:35: Death Riders

Notable quotes from "Marina Shafir | Close Up w/ Renee Paquette"

  • I'm pumped to be here to be able to isolate the only female of the Death Riders, get a little one-on-one with you. What is it like being the lone woman of this insane group with insane weirdos? I grew up with brothers and I just kind of.
    about Death Riders · at
  • Directions to go with this, but I mean looking at the year that you've had and the evolution of Marina Shafir to think of the matches that you were having, the position that…
    about Marina Shafir · at
  • Like the big factor to make that switch to where you're at now, wrestling, former AEW women's world champion Tony Storm, to being in these like main event situations, seeing…
    about Tony Storm · at
  • I think so. I think so. I think when I first came to Ae, the Black Bull Combat Club was very appealing to me.
    about Black Bull Combat Club · at
  • Yeah. What about working with Megan Bane? How did you how did this kind of come together? This teaming that I don't think any of us thought of you guys being together and then we were.
    about Joshua Mi Bane · at
  • What do you remember from that and how much do you think of being born in Malddova is still in you?
    about Malddova · at
  • Damn, is this a good idea? I don't necessarily know where, but my MMA coach Josh Barnett before any grappling match, fight, blood sport, he's in the back and kind of have like a face off and I just eye to eye and it's like you just have.
    about Josh Barnett · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

Companies & orgs

Places & events

Full transcript with timestamps

Well, if this ain't bad central, I am so excited to have you on today. I'm pumped to be here

to be able to isolate the only female of the Death Riders, get a little one-on-one with you. What is it like being the lone woman of this insane group with insane weirdos? I mean, I grew up with brothers and I just kind of the only thing I can relate it to is just I get to work with my brothers who have my back

who want me to grow and they want me to learn and just evolve as a as a wrestler, as a person. they care and uh it's kind of it's very very feels very uh family associated and I really am enjoying that because that's just what I'm about. I have so many different directions to go with this, but I mean looking at the year that you've had and the evolution of Marina Shafir to think of the matches that you were having, the position that you were in to where you're at now. This has been like what a leap for you. Has it how's it been for you to kind of like adjust to where you're at now?

Um challenging. Uh, crazy. Justing crazy. I I've never I never really was afraid to try and fail and to have the guts to just try and fail over and over and over again, especially in this business. Um, I don't know. It it's been wild cuz like everything is embrace it all, you know, just embrace

the bumps, the winds, it's all the same. Being able to keep your composure through the positives and the negatives

and still be present. It it it uh I I mean I can't even really talk about it right now because I'm still still very much in it all the time. Yeah.

So right now in this current state it's just um I get the luxury of being myself

with my brothers and I get to grow and evolve and I know that's a luxury. What has been sort of like the big factor to make that switch to where you're at now, wrestling, former AEW women's world champion Tony Storm, to being in these like main event situations, seeing you in Blood and Guts, to see you in all these different big moment spotlight moments. What has been kind of the switch for you to be able to to hang?

I just needed to remind myself that I always could. Yeah. I, you know, the only thing I have to relate to this is my MMA and judo journey. And I handled all the practices. I handled all the sparring.

You know, I was first one in, last one out. Those were habits that I created like a long time ago. Those are muscles that I've been flexing. Like if I wasn't doing this, I'd be doing I'd be working really hard at something else.

Yeah. And that muscle memory just kind of transferred over and I just now I'm around people who if I'm having a hard time reminding myself they remind me and then I am able to like stand on my own two feet and know who the I am every week multiple times a week

and that's just muscle memory. Is that something that you think kind of drew you to the Death Riders and kind of one of the core pieces of what the Death Riders is about, that work ethic?

I think so. I think so. I think um when I first came to Ae, the Black Bull Combat Club was very appealing to me.

Yeah. But on the, you know, hierarchy of things, I was very low on the list. So I just I saw th this group of people and they were just being authentically who they wanted to be. There was no overp production of anything. Yeah.

And it was just them uh policing themselves. And I just I wanted to do that for myself. I wanted to not come to work and feel like I had to give up my soul.

Yeah. You know, it was more of like what can I give from me and add to this, make this better. What do you need from me? Being selfless and being consistently selfless.

Yeah. That that's the That's the that I think drew me and into that. And like I I always go back to that one meeting, you know, all of the all the top guys just saying like, "Hey, if you need help, just come to us."

Is that how it all kind of started? Pretty much. Yeah. I just didn't want to I didn't want to turn into something that I wasn't cuz then that's just,

you know, it's a flash in the pan and I'm not a flash in the pan. I'm not that kind of gal. I've never been that kind of gal. And that's just where it all started. I asked for help. I just needed feedback. And that's kind of where it's like feedback that I could really resonate with. Not like you're trying to hit a mark like where

where are you now? And like what are the steps of growth from there? So, how has it been for you to to your point of like you didn't want to just

change who you are? you needed to stay true to who you are, which is not always an easy thing to do, but especially stylistically. You look at the way, you know, a majority of the rest of the roster is professional wrestling. Your background is different from that and you stayed so true to that with who you are in the ring. What are some of the ups and downs that you've had of kind of sticking to your guns on that instead of doing the alternative?

I'm not a flashy flippy toy. I'm a GI Jane character. I I don't think you're a GI Jane character. I think you are like that is who you are. It's not a character.

I appreciate it. I just I'm not what I'm just very different from the rest of the roster and I needed to understand that that was

special in itself and just learning how to fortify that and not, you know, just completely go left and start doing that I'm not good at. I'm not I'm I'm good at people up. I'm good at I'm just good ating people up. I'm good at standing my ground. And I want to draw like I've always wanted to draw something out of the women that was feral and messy and dirty and that's I feel like that is my purpose here.

Yeah. What about working with Megan Bane? How did you how did this kind of come together? This teaming

that I don't think any of us thought of you guys being together and then we were gifted this magical union. Yeah, I met her when she first came to AW. Really quiet, but she was this beautiful big and so athletic and she just wants to get better. She's a hard worker. She's she's just always trying to get better.

She works her ass off. She works hering ass off and I very much respect and appreciate that. So, when the opportunity came,

I was like, "Sign me up to the side quest. I will let me let me let me be hering little playmate with this. Like I I very much enjoy working with her. It was a gift, you know, and she's her own entity in her own little world and I I love it.

Yeah, she is. It's fun watching her. And again, you see someone be able to evolve before our very eyes. That is one of the really cool things here at AEW is we get like certain versions of people and then we're offered this growth.

Yeah. There's no one telling us no, you can't do this or you know, it's it's really cool to see when something works like that as well. It's it's really

she's authentic in her own right and I think it just works. I'm not trying to change her. She's not trying to change me. We're just trying to meet in the middle and up. You were talking about how you kind of had that work ethic built into you from an early age. Where does that come from? Because you are pretty rigid in in how your your work ethic is.

Um my dad my dad was like my strength and conditioning coach since I was like eight, nine years old, you know.

What was your dad's background? My dad was in the military. He was a professional powerlifter. He was like in the special.

He could be hitting those Bulgarians. No problem. No problem. And he would laugh. He would laugh at me if I told him it was 120. He's like, "Really?

Damn." Yeah. Damn. You guys missed it off camera. We were talking about doing Bulgarian squats cuz they're absolutely terrible.

You hitting them at 120 pounds. That's insane. But your dad doesn't care. Your dad would just laugh at you.

Yeah. My dad was always just reminding me that there's a capacity for more. And I think that's what also resonates with the group is like just building the capacity

to just do a little bit more. Yeah. Push yourselves a little bit further. Yeah. And then you know you you push it and it either works or it doesn't

and that's okay. Going with it anyway. You moved to the US at five. Mhm. What do what do you remember from that and how much do you think of being born in Malddova is still in you?

Um a lot. Um what I remember from that was my mom at you know 43 coming here with uh three kids but my oldest brother kind of ran away.

How old was he? I think 17 18. Okay. And um she was just stressed out. I remember my mom turning white like my her hair turned like white pretty much like white. She was just so stressed out. And we came over here with the help of like a local synagogue. We came over as refugees cuz my grandma, my my dad's mom was sick. And I just remember a lot of like fear-based stress, just survival mode.

Yeah. A lot of that. Yeah. So like to be sitting here with you is kind ofing wild,

right? cuz like you know I talk to my mom almost every day and she it's just even talking to her just it you you're reminded of like what could have you know and it just

there could have been a way alternate story. Yeah. Yeah. And for her to come over here with well with two kids cuz your older brother did not come over initially, right? Yeah.

What happened? She left him a plane ticket and said we'll see you there. pretty much she went to our neighbor and she said, "I don't know where the art is, but um if he shows up, here's his passport. Here's a ticket." And then I think like six six to eight months later, we get a phone call and then he finally flew over. I just remember my parents just being very mad at him.

Yeah. Yeah. Could you imagine as a mother going through that? I look at Troy every day and I'm like, "Don't youing think about it. I willing find you and you will not enjoy what comes next.

Okay. So, you're over here at five. You guys moved to New York. When did fighting in judo start to enter the picture for you?

When I was six. Okay. It was 20 bucks a month. Um the judo school was like 15 minutes away from our house and it just kept me and my cousins busy. Like we were just really active kids and that's kind of like where it started.

Your brothers were fighters too. Uh-uh. My middle brother played soccer. He was more of like the book nerd and he was very he was my brother my middle brother's reallying smart. Like he's just

he's just got the book smarts. And my oldest brother I think cuz he was a rebel in his own right. I drew inspiration from him.

Yeah. Yeah. When he finally did come here, like the apartment that we lived at, it was like a threetory building. We were on the second and our on our balcony. He hung a heavy bag. He would get his little Walkman. And we lived behind a a golf course and he would go out and run five miles, hit the bag. He, you know,

Yeah. He's the guy that I'd be like watching him do push-ups on knuckle push-ups on bricks, then hit the bag. Like he was my Rocky. like and him and my dad were just they just they were in their own lane when it came to that like they my dad was my dad always trained my brother always trained and

I don't know I just you felt some good en like I just they came back and they were good energy good

spreadable energy from that just being able to defend yourself is a good feeling

yes yeah god I yeah I wish I could defend myself but also my mom my mom would get into fights in school all the time with boys cuz they would cross boundaries. She would get kicked out of school all the time.

What does your mom think of all this? Uh I I just hope she's proud. Yeah. I just I mean I know it's wild. It's crazy. She doesn't want me to be away from my son.

Yeah. You know, cuz she was away from her son for so long, but um I hope she's just proud. She gets a kick out of it every week.

Yeah. Yeah. How do you juggle all of these things from being on the road here? You still go out and work independence. Like you are getting in the reps any place that you can, but you are still mom

and that's a lot. Like it is a lot to do. This job is taxing no matter what you're doing. But I think the pull of being a mother as well is something that's going to be able to fuel a different fire in you. But do you have a key to how you make it work? uh just kind of it and show up, you know, like I'm you know, you just don't ever I just I didn't know what to expect, you know? It's kind of hard to like plan two to three weeks out. So, it just I guess just how do I I don't know how I do it. Sometimes I think I'm failing all the time.

Yeah. It's hard. I think that's motherhood. Yeah. And like, you know, come home and my son is like, "Do you really have to go?" And I'm like, "I do." And you know it's all for you and that's and even that you know it it justing just

boils my blood a little bit. It doesn't make me sad. It just like revs me up. Yeah. Which can be useful.

Yes. Given your cortisol levels are all over the place. Love a good cortisol imbalance. Really into it. Um okay. So, you're joining you're part of the Death Riders, only woman of the Death Riders. What has been sort of the MMO for you guys? I mean, when you guys you guys obviously spent a lot of time together, you guys talk to each other all the time. You guys have been growing and developing together, but from you to Wheeler, Clauddio, John, Gabe, I mean, looking at all these guys, what is the one commonality you think you guys all kind of come back to?

They're always chasing growth and they're not afraid to learn. Yeah. And I just have so much respect for that because you have to have the balls to try.

Yeah. And then you have to have the balls to know who you are and then you have to just give it a shot. I think our mission is growth and amongst each other which resonates in the locker rooms. And I think that's way more powerful than a lot of other bullit going on.

Yeah. The pre-match slaps. Uh where how why did you guys start doing this? What gets you like in the zone? Because I see these and I'm like, damn, is this a good idea? I don't necessarily know where, but you know, my my MMA coach Josh Barnett before any grappling match, fight, blood sport, you know, he's in the back and kind of have like a face off and I I you know, just eye to eye and it's like you just have toing lock in. Nothing before matters, nothing after is going to matter. Like right here, you got to make a decision to either be there or you're not. And it's just a littleing

and then you're off off we go. I think the last uh blood sport that I did where I wrestled Jod Threat I think Mox saw that maybe I don't know and just kind of like us.

Is that where a lot of this started was through Josh? I mean you have your relationship with Josh.

John has his relationship with Josh and then also the blood sport stuff. Is that where it all kind of over overlapped initially?

I think that definitely helped thread it all through and together. Yeah. The first match I sent John was my my match with Masha from Blood Sport, my very first one.

Yeah. Cuz you know, I had just gotten released from the Fed and I didn't know what the was going to happen. All I knew was that

I had a mortgage to pay. I had to hustle. My son deserves the best education. And I need to fortify myself and like establish myself. And I that's what I did on that show. And I'm forever grateful for Josh cuz I think Yeah. I mean I think that was like the relating the the relating factor.

Yeah. I mean I remember John talking about that and him talking about you and see it's like damn look at her go. I mean obviously he had been around Ronda before in WWE and around Shaina and stuff but for him to be able to like see this thing in you and then you guys to blow it up into what it is now. But for you to step out of the Death Riders and have your solo missions, these matches that you've been having have been incredible. Uh, how does it feel when you're going out there by yourself?

I don't really feel alone. Um, it just feels like I just get to be feral and I get to be like just authentically me and

it's freeing, a little scary, but more exciting than scary. And um I I don't know. I've just been able to like it's more of a grounding thing for me. I uh it's kind of h kind of almost don't want to give it up like you know like I it's just everybody's got their own

and for me I just I just I'm starting to get closer and closer to freedom like the more not not even it's like off the leash type of thing, you know? Like I love I love

I love my I love my relation to the group, but when I get to go out there on my own, it's like we get to test some things we've been working on.

We get, you know, you got a hell of a precise kick, girl. Yeah, I sure do. Yeah.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Marina Shafir | Close Up w/ Renee Paquette"?

In order: 0:00 Death Riders, Marina Shafir, Tony Storm; 3:00 Black Bull Combat Club, Death Riders; 6:00 Joshua Mi Bane; 9:00 Malddova; 15:00 Death Riders, Josh Barnett; 18:00 Death Riders.

What is mentioned in this All Elite Wrestling episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Death Riders, Marina Shafir, Tony Storm, Black Bull Combat Club, Joshua Mi Bane, Malddova. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Marina Shafir | Close Up w/ Renee Paquette"?

The episode runs 20 min; the transcript is about 3,505 words in 77 timestamped sections.

More from All Elite Wrestling

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.