Tatum Paxley Reflects On How Powerlifting Led To Her Joining WWE

Tatum Paxley recently looked back at her start in WWE and how it came from her work in powerlifting. Paxley recently spoke with ESPR about her start in wrestling, noting that it came from a connection she made as a powerlifter in Texas. That led to her interest in pro wrestling, and she her connection through a colleague served to get her name to WWE.

Paxley is the current NXT Women’s Champion, having defeated Jacy Jayne to win the title at Halloween Havoc. You can see highlights below:

On Transitioning From Powerlifting To WWE:

“Life works in such funny ways. Because powerlifting really like — powerlifting’s purpose in my life was to get me to WWE. And the best way I can describe how this all connects — because I love powerlifting. But at that time in my life, I just felt like I was missing something. I had no direction, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

“But me — being a powerlifter, actually got me a sponsorship through a sports supplement company called Dymatize. And there was an athlete at Dymatize who was a pro wrestler. And I remember, I was talking with her and I started to get kind of interested in it. Because I did not grow up with wrestling. I watched Total Divas with my mom, but I didn’t really watch wrestling beyond that.”

On How She Ended Up in WWE:

“After some time, about two years before I got signed with WWE, I started to get an interest in pro wrestling… I was like, ‘I think I can do this.’ But no way was I thinking on the level of WWE. Because I just didn’t think that was possible.

“I was messaging local schools in my area, I was in Texas at the time. And nobody got back to me. I was going to join the indie scene… I had messaged that girl that I met through Dymatize. And was like, ‘Where in Texas should I go?’ And she just kind of through word of mouth put my name over to a recruiter for WWE. And the rest was history. They got a hold of me, and they’re like, ‘Hey, in two weeks, there’s a trout in Vegas. Do you want to go?’ I was like, whoa, okay!’ And this is where I am now.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit ESPR with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.