Aliyah On Why She Wants To Wrestle In Saudi Arabia For WWE

Smackdown Superstar Aliyah recently sat down with Denise Salcedo to discuss her excitement heading into her first Royal Rumble match and what she expects.

"Oh my goodness, it feels incredible. Because growing up, I used to watch Lita, I used to watch Mickie James, I used to watch the Bellas," she said. "You know what I mean? So it's just so cool. Then, on one hand, I get to see all these legends, and then, on the other hand, I look to my right and I'll see Liv Morgan, whose been my best friend forever. I'm just so excited, it's going to be a great time and I'm ready to go in there and kick ass and win."

Aliyah also dished on why the Royal Rumble is special to her and her favorite thing about the event.

"It's going a crazy amazing dynamic, my favorite part about the Rumble is just not knowing who is going to come out next," she stated. "There's still a bunch of people that haven't even been announced, so just the surprise within that I am so excited for. That's always been my favorite part."

Aliyah's focus also extends beyond this year's Royal Rumble. The SmackDown discussed her goals for 2022 and hopes to become the first-ever Arab female superstar to perform in the Middle East.

"We're heading to Saudi for Elimination Chamber, and no matches have really been announced. It would be an honor to be the first-ever Arab female superstar to perform in the Middle East. That's always been a huge goal of mine."

During the interview in an effort to get to know Aliyah better, she was asked details on who inspired her wrestling character and ring gear.

"Trish Stratus, Mickie James, a little bit of Dolly Parton. Earlier on when I started getting newer gear when I first saw the first season of Euphoria I was obsessed with that show. So I kind of pulled, there's this character named Maddy, I kind of pulled a bunch of things from her."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.