Julia Hart has been on the proverbial shelf for the last nine months, absent from AEW television after suffering a torn labrum in her right shoulder. The actual recovery from that injury wasn’t quite as bad as assumed, spending just three months away from the ring. The last six months of that absence involved Hart working back to 100 percent, hitting the gym each day, and training in the ring as much as she could.
While she was out of the ring, Hart was certainly eager to get back. But her perspective, especially for someone so early into their career, is refreshing. With a stacked women’s roster, she chooses to focus on herself, how she can get better, and outdoing herself each day to ensure she’s improving. When it came to dealing with her first major injury, there wasn’t too much anxiety about losing her spot either.
“I think because I’m so young, I know I still have so much time, so I wasn’t too worried about (being out of sight, out of mind),” Hart tells Uproxx Sports. “Obviously I missed it, and I was craving being out there, because I just want to wrestle but physically couldn’t. Not being in the picture, it’s okay, because then it gives other people opportunities to be on TV and show what they’re made of. I think it’s okay to always take a step back and look at what you’ve done and appreciate it and relax and rest and then when i’m ready to come back, i’m ready to come back.”
In her time away, Hart was able to be intentional in breaking down her matches and understanding areas of opportunity to grow.
“I think after a match happens, and if I watch it, there’s a million things I nitpick about myself. I just went back and rewatched a lot of my matches, and I was like, ‘oh, I can give myself some grace,’ I’m still learning, and I’m doing okay. Just trying to give myself more grace and just appreciate it more,” Hart says. “I always wish I was faster, just more athletic on some things. But that just comes with doing it more. So just trying to get in the ring as much as I can.”
While Hart was on the shelf, she was able to reflect on the last four years of her career and recognize how far she’s come, from cheerleader who was happy to be there to Princess of the Black Throne.
“I think (joining House of Black) helped me translate being more aggressive and more serious. And taking myself more seriously has definitely elevated me a lot more,” Hart says.
She complements Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews for taking her under their wing, and looks back on her run to the TBS Championship with nothing but gratitude.
“It was super surreal. I’m so thankful that I had the championship because it was just trusting that I’m doing something right and that I’m going down the right path. So just to keep doing what I’m doing and trying to elevate myself more and more each time,” Hart says.
Hart says over the last year she developed a bit of imposter syndrome and has worked to retain the confidence she’d built by watching her matches back.
“Just trying to remember who I was and how confident I was and just make sure to keep that confidence up and not show any type of hesitation or nervousness because fake it till you make it. And I’ve definitely been doing that my whole career,” Hart continues. “Just keep pushing and try not to overthink.”
As she prepared for her return, Hart’s vignettes were the talk of the internet, with a powerful story that she developed alongside friend, Dani Venen.
“She took all of my ideas, made them 10 times better, and made them come to life,” Hart says. “That was super fulfilling of what I was imagining she was able to get on video. And we were able to do what was going on in my mind. And then for AEW to allow for it to be on TV and for them to show that story was really special to me as well.”
Hart says she would love to do more creative projects like this, whether it be short films, YouTube videos, or more. Whether that means Hart brings cinematic matches to the AEW ring or not remains to be seen.
“If Tony (Khan) would want that, if he would be down for something like that, I would,” Hart says. “I’ll do whatever he asks and I will do my best to make it the best of my best.”
After picking up a win over Jaime Hayter at AEW’s Fight for the Fallen, Hart is thrilled to be back in the ring. Whether she’s in next week’s Casino Gauntlet match remains to be seen, but her focus is on taking her return to the ring one step at a time and an eventual showdown with Serena Deeb.
“I don’t have any set matches or dates that I want to do because I don’t want to hold any of that expectation. Wrestling happens,” Hart says. “Every match I have, I just hope I do something a little bit better than the last one is what I really want to focus on.”