In her first-ever appearance in a Toronto ring, at a Destiny World Wrestling show in April, “J-Rod” Jessica Roden ended up with a never-ending line of kids wanting to meet her at intermission.
And Roden had even lost to Tiffany Nieves to boot.
There’s just something about the relative newcomer to pro wrestling. An “It” factor.
Maybe it’s partly because of The Bloodline?
Hang on, it takes a little explaining.
Roden was not a wrestling fan growing up in Ohio, but she was athletic, competing in volleyball, softball, cheer, track, gymnastics—which explains the “The Ultimate Athlete” nickname.
She started at the University of Alabama studying early childhood education, because Roden wanted to mentor kids. That wasn’t working out so she switched majors until settling on business and marketing; Roden earned a Bachelor’s degree, graduating in 2017.
A lot of thought went into Roden’s choices, and that was evident in a wide-ranging in-person interview with her.
“I finally switched to business because it is a more general but then allows you to do anything. But it also was like a more secure type degree,” she told SlamWrestling.net. “I implemented that into, ‘Alright, what is it that like I can fully pursue as far as my gifts and abilities, my strengths, work on my weaknesses, because I just want to continue to be the best version of me? What is it that I can do that implements all those things?’ And professional wrestling is what it came to.”
To chase the new dream, Roden moved cross country, to Los Angeles, where she signed up to train at KnokX Pro Wrestling, under Reno “Black Pearl” Anoa’i and Rikiski—hence the tie-in to WWE’s top stars, The Bloodline. She has training for a little over four years, but really only out on the independent scene for just about two years.
There’s a vintageness to Roden, though she is by no means old at 31.
“I really hope to withhold the integrity of the business because it is instilled in me, the old school mentality and the respect, and learning to take your bumps and doing the fundamentals before you can even do anything else,” said Roden, choosing her words carefully. “So many people get in there now, I feel like, and just want to do cool moves and tricks and stuff, but there’s so much more to it. It’s so much deeper, and it’s about the story and about emotion. That was really instilled in me by the Bloodline. And as you can tell at WrestleMania, they’re main eventing and they’re kicking butt, so I’m definitely going to listen to what they have to say.”
Roden was actually at WrestleMania in Philadelphia, and has been purposefully making the rounds, hopping over to Ohio Valley Wrestling, appearing on Ring of Honor TV (losing in the first round of the ROH Women’s World TV title tournament to Queen Aminata), or working a weekend jaunt from California to Florida then up to Toronto for the Destiny show, her second time in Canada after a card in Vancouver for BOOM! Pro Wrestling.
There’s always something to learn. In AEW, Dustin Rhodes was the agent for her match (teaming with Sandra Moone in a loss to Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose in January 2023). In OVW, Mickie James helped her.
“Just working with the people that have been in the business for a really long time … getting their feedback after a match on how to improve” is the benefit of the chances in the bigger promotions, said Roden. “A lot of the time, I’m my own worst critic, so I’ll do something in the moment—even tonight … I want to just keep getting better and keep trying to be the best in the business.”
New to the Toronto crowd, she won them over and at intermission, couldn’t get away from people wanting to meet her; one fan even bought her some tacos.
“Every crowd is completely different. It’s a challenge to be able to come somewhere new, this was my first time here, to be able to get the crowd behind me was an incredible feeling. It’s just one of those things, you’ve got to learn how to connect,” mused Roden. “And that’s a big thing too is not a lot of people are taught that, or, some say that it may be a gift, but it’s one of those things like, I’ve always been in the service industry, I was a bartender, a server, I’ve worked my entire life. I feel like I am a people person and have that connecting gift. I just hope to continue to use that and touch people’s lives all over the world.”
She knows that she is fortunate to have an employer who appreciates her hustle. At her “big girl job” Roden has a business development role with Spine & Sport Physical Therapy, based in San Diego. “I have a territory and my job is to get referrals in the door. It’s kind of like wrestling, it goes hand in hand; instead of asses in seats, it’s clients in the building, but it goes along the same lines,” she said.
There is little doubt that Roden is a people person.
“I love every aspect to this job, the storytelling, the traveling, the meeting new people and going all over. It’s just honestly like every single aspect,” she raved. “When I found wrestling, I was like, this is it, I can be a mentor to young kids, I can travel, I can go where I want to go, dream as big as I want to dream. But also just not settled, because I’m big on, like, there’s something bigger for us all. And I think that we should all dig within ourselves and really just shoot for the stars, dream big.”
Or dream of She-Hulk.
“I’m actually a huge fan of She-Hulk, because I have a business degree and She-Hulk was Jennifer Walters. She’s an attorney during the day and then turns superhero at night. So having that business background and then feeling like when I come out to the ring, I become J-Rod, The Ultimate Athlete, is kind of my Jennifer Walters turns She-Hulk, businesswoman Jessica turns J-Rod. That’s kind of what I’m going for,” fan-girled Roden.
“If you look at my gear, it’s very She-Hulk inspired. A lot of thought goes into it. I love pop art and primary colors, the reds, the blues, the yellows, so I kind of took my She-Hulk gear, and I implemented the primary colors within it, and it ended up being a pretty cool gear turnout. I hope to continue coming up with some really cool gear ideas and themes. You’ll see some more cool cool J-Rod gear in the future.”
In the more recent comic book runs of She-Hulk, and in the Disney+ series, she broke the fourth-wall.
“That’s something too, like I want to break the fourth wall within wrestling, in that way of implementing even that small storytelling even within promos, being in a promo like straight business and then rip off my suit and fight crime,” laughed Roden.
Like She-Hulk, Roden is happy to beat up anyone.
“I do like working with men. I’m a big girl. A lot of the times, I’m the bigger girl in the match. Sometimes when I go head to head with these guys, I can show off some of my bigger moves that I’m not able to necessarily get in on some of the smaller girls,” said the 5-foot-10 Roden. “But it also allows me to do some cool things with some of the smaller girls because I’m a strong, concrete base.”
Roden knows that she can’t do it alone. There’s the support from her trainers, her peers, and a higher power.
“God’s opening doors in different ways … like being backstage at Mania and having different WWE tryouts, different things like that,” she said. “God is saying, ‘You are doing what you’re supposed to do.’ I pray before each match. And no, knock on wood, no big injuries. Like He’s literally protecting me and guiding me and putting me in the position to be what I’m supposed to be.”
Religion is not always on the table in a first-time interview. She clarified her beliefs. “I would say I’m more spiritual than religious because I do think there’s a God and a bigger power, but I’m not that Bible thumper,” said Roden. “I think the core of every religion is love and hope and I think that if you dig into any religion, that’s what you’ll find. So I just want to continue to be that light and shine that within every promotion and every place that I go.”
TOP PHOTO: “J-Rod” Jessica Roden at the Destiny World Wrestling show at Alliance Banquet Hall in Toronto on Sunday, April 14, 2024. Photo by Bryan Weiss #WeissShotMe #Ishoot4me
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