SoCal Val interview w/ Denise Salcedo ahead of Dresslemania II

[Chris]

Credit: Denise Salcedo

With WWE WrestleMania 38 right around the corner, that means WrestleMania week is also approaching -- an entire week loaded with independent wrestling shows, meet and greets, and more.

One of those events is Dresslemania II, set for Saturday, April 2nd at The Fairmont in Dallas, Texas. Created by GAW TV hosts Mickie James, Lisa Marie Varon and SoCal Val, the event first took place virtually last year, featuring an online auction where female wrestlers donated dresses for charity.

The inaugural Dresslemania raised nearly $10,000 for GirlUp.org. Last year, women such as Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Trish Stratus, Paige, Natalya and others helped out by donating gowns for the online eBay auction.

This year, all proceeds will go to NAMI via Tag Me In, created in October 2021 by professional wrestlers worldwide to help normalize the conversation surrounding mental health.

Dresslemania II, is being promoted as a cocktail reception. On top of the auction, the event will also include access to a live filming of an upcoming GAW TV episode in addition to photo ops and autographs for purchase from all 3 GAW TV hosts. They are also accepting donations at the event.

I spoke with SoCal Val ahead of Dresselmania II, the full interview of which can be seen above.

"This year with the unfortunate passing of our friend Daffney {Unger}, we thought 'We have to do something to honor her. We have to do something to get the stigma of mental health away. We have to talk about it and have to talk about Tag Me In," she said.

"This one was really really personal to us. We just wanted to honor her and her family and make sure that people were donating for a cause that we know would go to the right place," she continued.

She said this year, they have a lot of women and men both from Impact Wrestling and NWA that have signed up to help and donate as well.

While they are keeping some of the auction items more secretive this year, Val did reveal that Molly Holly has donated her WWE Hall of Fame dress for the auction.

"We want it to be a really fun and inclusive event for everybody," she said.

Tickets to Dresslemania II are still available.