Lacey Evans On Marine Life Preparing Her For WWE, Her New Gig With Lifetime TV

WWE SmackDown's "Sassy Southern Belle", Lacey Evans, was a guest on this week's After The Bell Podcast. During the discussion, Evans expressed how surprised she is that she's done so much with WWE in her time on the main roster.

"It's just mind-blowing, some of the opportunities that I have been able to have since joining RAW," Evans said. "The WWE Draft to SmackDown, making history in Saudi Arabia, main-eventing pay per views, main-eventing RAWs. It's all just been incredible to me and it has been quite the journey."

Evans is a former military police officer with the U.S. Marines, and she believes that her days serving her country gave her great preparation for life on the road with WWE. Lacey also adds being a mother and wife to an already long list of responsibilities.

"[Being a marine] definitely prepared me for every aspect of what being a sports entertainer is all about," Evans said. "The travels, the early mornings, having to take initiative and having the confidence to put yourself in situations that most people would run from. The Marine Corp has definitely taught me the confidence and grit needed to be a WWE superstar. But also just the early mornings, making sure you are prepared, you're packed, you're ready to go and not complaining about this life because as you know this life can be hard. Especially bringing my daughter and having to juggle being a mom, and a wife, and sports entertainment, and the physical part, and the gym aspect. They want so much of you all across the board and so the Marine Corp has definitely given me the mindset to take this on full force and hit the ground running. So I am definitely blessed to have the training that I have to mentally be prepared for this."

As we reported back in July, Evans will soon be appearing on Lifetime's Military Makeover show. She mentioned how an additional TV show on top of an already-hectic schedule has inspired her to start keeping planners of what responsibilities are coming up.

"It never ends. Being a mother is the best title that I can ever hold in my life; being a wife is amazing as well," Evans said. "But we start our mornings with homeschooling. We've got chickens, we've got cows we have to feed. I take pride in taking care of my family. I take pride in taking care of my husband and being the wife that he deserves, as well as the mother my daughter deserves. I chose homeschooling so that way we can hit the road. We have commercials coming up, luckily with my baby which I am excited about that. [It's for] Military Makeover, as a host on Lifetime TV. It's a lot of traveling, so I have to prepare, and plan ahead, and be one step ahead of the game. And when I say game, I mean life in general because WWE expects something from me, and they pay me good enough to make sure they get that mentally, physically and emotionally – to get that character that they need.

"But with that same breath, I'm also a mother that my family needs, which they need so much from me," Evans continued. "There is a lot of planning involved. When the cameras aren't on me, I've got planners in my hands. I'm setting weeks in advance of what is going to be expected of me from all levels as a wife, a mother, and a sports entertainer. If we are not feeding our cows, our chickens, and taking care of our property, I am homeschooling my baby and me and my husband are working on our relationship, so I have a lot of different titles that I juggle. So if there's not a planner in my hand, then I'd be surprised, because that is what definitely keeps me ready for anything."

Evans has recently been feuding with SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley and her best friend, Sasha Banks. She is looking forward to getting revenge on Banks for bringing up her daughter on television, but also hopes to eventually take the SmackDown Women's Championship away from Bayley.

"What I am most excited about is getting my hands on Sasha Banks. I love my job," Evans said. "I love this career and love the opportunities that I am getting, but you do not talk about my daughter. The audacity to bring my daughter up in this line of work to me it is absurd and I will not regret what I physically do to that woman, so that is what I am most excited about. The fact that her side kick with the bob cut, Bayley, the fact that she is the SmackDown Women's champion, that is another goal of mine – to take that off of her.

"Because I am convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that I have what it takes to be a champion, and the face of this company to make a difference in a positive way," Evans continued. "So both of that combined, and like I said, the audacity of bringing my daughter up in everything else while working my ass off for this company. Is there anything else that she could have said differently that could have created heat and to tell a story? I think she took a low blow that she's not ready to defend and she's not going to have a choice but to defend it. I am most excited about that and most amped about that, but being able to be the Women's Champion at some point would be even better."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit After The Bell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Peter Bahi contributed to this article.