After several years of attempting to work her way up the AEW ladder, Marina Shafir found her area of interest as a core member of the Death Riders in 2025, especially after strong performances in Blood & Guts and Anarchy within 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 once they were still the Blackpool Combat Club.
“I saw this group of individuals, they usually were just being authentically who they desired to be,” Shafir said. “There was no overproduction of anything. And it was just them policing themselves, and I just…I wanted to do this for myself. I desired to not come to work and feel like I had to provide up my soul. I used to be more of, like, ‘What can I give from me and add to this [and] make this higher? What do you wish from me?’ Being selfless and being consistently selfless, that is the s**t. That is the s**t that I believe drew me into that.
Shafir credited a talent meeting from several years ago, where she asked Jon Moxley for advice on tips on how to improve, because the catalyst for her regular growth as a performer, and her opening into joining the Death Riders.
“I just didn’t wish to turn into something that I wasn’t, cause then…that is just…it is a flash within the f*****g pan, and I’m not a flash within the pan,” Shafir said. “I’m not that type of gal, I’ve never been that type of f*****g gal. And that is just where it began. I asked for help. I just needed feedback. And that is type of where it’s…feedback that I could really resonate with, not such as you’re attempting to hit a mark, but ‘Where are you now and what are the steps of growth from there?'”
If you happen to use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “Close Up with Renee Paquette” and supply a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription