Pro wrestling a fun outlet for barista
Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Vicky Rosenow of Moses Lake puts on a wrestling glove during an interview about her enjoyment of the sport.
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake barista Vicky Rosenow focuses on making espresso and serving customers during her day job at a local coffee stand.
But the fashionable purple necklace she sometimes wears hints at a professional wrestling hobby she enjoys after work.
Her necklace’s initials within its pendent stand for two professional wrestling brothers named The Hardy Boyz, whose athletic antics she enjoys seeing on TV. Brother Jeff is her favorite, though.
Taking her hobby to the next level, she recently attended a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) show with her two teenage daughters in Spokane.
“It’s pretty exciting for me to see a live event and take my kids,” Vicky said. “It’s kind of crazy how big wrestling is now.”
She believes the fan base is growing because shows previously weren’t held in Spokane.
Wrestling started out as being popular in the South and now it’s spreading to other countries, she explained.
Many years ago, Vicky says she told her daughters, Brandi, now 13, and Danielle, now 18, the violent parts aren’t real.
At home, they watch the sport on the TV show “Monday Night Raw.”
“It’s like a soap opera at the same time,” she noted. “But it is part of what makes the rivalries and stuff good. Someone will get mad at someone else and someone will fight each other.”
“One day they’ll be friends and the next day they won’t,” Vicky explained. “It’s kind of like regular TV in a way. (But) it’s not like anything else on TV.”
Her favorite wrestler, Jeff Hardy, of The Hardy Boyz, is feuding with his brother Matt. They have been part of the WWE for 10 years, she said.
“I like Jeff. I think he’s really talented,” she said.
She pulls out a magazine photo showing Jeff doing a “swanton,” in which he flies through the air and lands on his opponent. The move is his, she said.
In a recent show, Matt got upset and bashed Jeff in the face with a chair.
“Even though it’s not real, you get emotional about it,” she explained.
On the show, Jeff’s been through many personal problems. His house burned down, his dog died in the fire and he experienced issues with drugs, she said.
His house actually burned down in real life. “Some of it is real,” she said. “He goes through a lot for his job, I think, more so than a lot of other guys. He did have to go through this. It’s heart wrenching to know.”
In the show’s story line, Matt got tired of caring for Jeff and didn’t want to be his brother anymore.
“I think a lot of regular people can relate to him (Jeff),” Vicky commented. “It’s what makes him so popular. He’s coming on TV, pouring his heart out on TV. I think that’s what makes me respect him so much.”