In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, WWE SmackDown Live superstar Charlotte Flair discussed several topics, including being featured as part of the upcoming ESPN body issue.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of the issue and growing up as an athlete, it was very encouraging to see that strong was being shown as sexy. So, the athletes very much inspired me and I guess almost helped me full comfortable in my own skin. I’m an athlete, I am sexy. It was obviously a bucket list but a WWE superstar had never been in the issue, so when I found out that they were going to have me in the 10th anniversary issue, I was like is this real? I kept annoying our talent relations department like, ‘I really am picked, they aren’t going to change it? For sure?’

Up until the shoot, I kept checking in. I was just so excited and the fact that the women have worked so hard for WWE for so many years to be more than just eye candy, more than just the women are divas. Just to show the world that we are athletes and have so much to offer. The Body Issue reaches a whole different demographic in that they can see wow, women’s wrestling has come this far and she’s an athlete. I hope this opens doors for more women to be represented in years to come in the issue to a whole new demographic. I was very honored and very excited and it also made me feel proud to be an athlete because I know when I first started, I had such a hard time. How do you do your makeup? How do you look like a star? How do you dress like a diva? And here I am almost six years later and I am so proud I grew up playing sports and that I have an athletic body and I just hope it sends that message all over.”

The interview is available in full at this link.