Sol Ruca shares hardest WWE lesson she’s had to learn
Character work has been the hardest thing for Sol Ruca since transitioning to pro wrestling from a college career in athletics.
Ruca joined the WWE Performance Center in 2022 after competing in acrobatics and tumbling for the University of Oregon. She’s done well as one of the top prospects in NXT, but she’s still figuring out how to be a pro wrestling character.
“Just being a character,” Ruca responded on “What’s Your Story?” when asked what’s been the hardest WWE lesson to learn. “Just being able to be less, like, stoic and serious in the ring. I feel like that was really hard to figure out, just with sports having to be so serious all the time. Yeah, being able to show emotion and to be silly at times. I still, I really struggle with that, especially if I have to do a promo where I’m, like, angry, I don’t know how to do that yet…
“Yeah, being a character was really, really hard for me.”
Some of the advice Ruca got was to be a version of herself with the volume dialed up. That didn’t come naturally, though Ruca is starting to get the hang of it.
“It doesn’t make sense to me. Because I am myself, like, this is how I would react,” she said. “If I’m this but up, then I’m not myself, you know? So, yeah, I feel like that was really hard. But I feel like I kind of have been understanding it more and more.”
Stephanie McMahon noted that being yourself with the volume turned up is a good way to start, but Ruca could go in the opposite direction and play a character that is totally different from her real self. Personally, McMahon hates being a babyface and thinks playing a heel is both easier and more fun.
“You get to try all different kinds of stuff. And you can’t really do anything wrong, because if they hate it, good. You’re supposed to hate me,” McMahon said. “So it is much easier to be a heel. But for the same reason, it’s hard to be sort of yourself as a babyface and then when people don’t like you or it’s not working, it’s like, ‘What’s the matter with me? Why don’t they like me?’ But they never really liked me from the jump. So it’s okay, I just played into it.”
Ruca is a babyface in NXT and feuding with Zaria at the moment after Zaria betrayed her. They’re both set to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship in a triple threat match next Tuesday.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.