Trinity Fatu has been lighting up crowds as WWE‘s Naomi for more than 15 years, but in Ash Avildsen’s new Mildred Burke biopic “Queen of the Ring,” Fatu finally brings her wrestling prowess to the big screen as Black wrestling pioneer Ethel Johnson.
“When I saw the audition opportunity come across, I was blown away, because these types of auditions and opportunities for me, in my situation, are once in a lifetime,” Fatu tells Variety over a Zoom call — still wearing a neck brace and wincing in pain from the injuries she incurred at WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view the previous weekend.
“Being involved in the sport for the last 16 years, seeing the evolution of it, and being part of the current evolution in women’s wrestling, I understood the significance of it,” Fatu says. “I already knew the story of Mildred Burke, but diving into this movie, I was definitely able to learn a whole lot more.”
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Fatu’s character Ethel Johnson is one of three sisters: alongside Babs Wingo (Damaris Lewis), Marva Scott (Cameren Jackson), the trio made history as boundary-pushing pioneers. “The fact that I even get to play her is crazy,” Fatu says. “She debuted around 16 years old, and she was the first African American Women’s Champion. She not only had the struggle of being a female wrestler when all-female wrestling was illegal period, but she also had to deal with being black, and that layer of segregation.”
“I can’t even wrap my mind around what it would have been like to be in her time,” Fatu continues. “To find whatever that was inside her to say ‘I’m gonna continue to do this even though it’s hard, even though we’re getting things thrown at us, getting death threats. We can’t drive to the shows without cops pulling us over and wanting to kill or harass us or put us in jail.’ It’s mind-blowing to me what they experienced.”
For Fatu, playing Johnson wasn’t just an exciting role, but a chance to embody a hero: “When I got this role, I was at a very strange time in my career, and I was struggling with whether I wanted to continue,” she says. “This opportunity came at the right time. Diving into it and learning more about her, it gave me so much strength. I feel like ‘Man, if they could go through that and push through and overcome and empower themselves and other women around them, then I gotta push forward. I have no excuse.'”
But Johnson and her sisters aren’t the only Black women wrestlers who inspired and influenced Fatu’s career. “Because of what I look like and what I represent, the first things that were shown to me were Jazz and Jacqueline Moore. Before them, there really was a period of time where that representation was lacking. It wasn’t there.”
“Those two came in and blew the ceiling off. They have become that pillar of Black excellence in the world of wrestling, they set the tone. To this day, I truly belive they are two of the greatest of all time, not just Black, but women wrestlers period.”
Fatu says she’s proud to uphold the legacy started in the ring. “Fast forward, even later, I’m making my own history. We have women like Mercedes (Moné). Bianca Belair. We have Jade Cargill, we have Athena, and many more coming. It’s not just one here or there every couple of years, we’re seeing excellence from women across the board in the world of wrestling.”
“I feel like it’s really hit a boom over the last decade,” Fatu continues. “But when you take it all back, it started from these women in the movie. I get a little emotional thinking about it because I’m like, ‘I wish they knew how important they were, and how amazing they were, and how special they were, and that it all wasn’t for nothing.”
Fatu isn’t the only active professional wrestler in the “Queen of the Ring” cast: WWE’s Mickie James plays The Fabulous Moolah, All Elite Wrestling’s Toni Rossall (aka “Timeless” Toni Storm) plays Clara Mortensen, Britt Baker plays Debbie Nichols and Kailey Farmer (aka Kamille) is the heelish June Byers — all active professional wrestlers playing real historical women’s wrestling pioneers.
“That was genius on Ash’s part to incorporate that,” Fatu says of Avildsen’s decision to cast current women’s wrestlers. “Because we’re women wrestlers of modern times, naturally you’re going to get some of that realness.”
Fatu says she hopes “Queen of the Ring” sparks a fire in audiences like the one it sparked in her. “I found so much inspiration from her, Babs and Marva. They were in it together, and they were the first Black women that broke through those barriers with Mildred. I am a direct result of that fight. Even decades later, I am a result of what they fought for, what they pushed for.”
“Now, in our time, we have our own battles. Women in the world of wrestling are still trying to prove that we deserve to be here. When you hear their experience and story, all you can do is continue to push forward and fight.”
“Queen of the Ring” hits theaters Friday.
