After several years of trying to work her way up the AEW ladder, Marina Shafir found her niche as a core member of the Death Riders in 2025, especially after strong performances in Blood & Guts and Anarchy in the Arena. Appearing on “Close Up with Renee Paquette,” Shafir talked about her rise, and revealed that she had connected with the Death Riders long before they were the Death Riders, having resonated with the group’s modus operandi back when they were still the Blackpool Combat Club.
“I saw this group of people, and they were just being authentically who they wanted to be,” Shafir said. “There was no overproduction of anything. And it was just them policing themselves, and I just…I wanted to do that for myself. I wanted to not come to work and feel like I had to give up my soul. I was more of, like, ‘What can I give from me and add to this [and] make this better? What do you need from me?’ Being selfless and being consistently selfless, that’s the s**t. That’s the s**t that I think drew me into that.
Shafir credited a talent meeting from several years ago, where she asked Jon Moxley for advice on how to improve, as the catalyst for her steady growth as a performer, and her opening into joining the Death Riders.
“I just didn’t want to turn into something that I wasn’t, cause then…that’s just…it’s a flash in the f*****g pan, and I’m not a flash in the pan,” Shafir said. “I’m not that kind of gal, I’ve never been that kind of f*****g gal. And that’s just where it all started. I asked for help. I just needed feedback. And that’s kind of where it’s…feedback that I could really resonate with, not like you’re trying to hit a mark, but ‘Where are you now and what are the steps of growth from there?'”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Close Up with Renee Paquette” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
