Taylor Wilde On Why She Decided To Become a Firefighter, Which Knockout Would Do Well At The Job

In an interview with Fightful, Taylor Wilde spoke about her decision to become a firefighter, which she did after her first retirement from wrestling. Wilde has since returned to the ring and competes for Impact. Here are highlights:

On becoming a firefighter: “Mental illness, probably. Nine years active. I’ll be running for captain in about a year. I just talked about this. I’m so inherently, my whole life, this dichotomy of being feminine and masculine. Your whole life as a young woman in the 80s / 90s is like, ‘Oh, you’re just a tomboy, you’ll grow out of it. Whatever.’ That’s not actually a thing. You can be both. I think I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, obviously. One of the most beautiful things I got to experience with WWE and with TNA years ago is working for Make-A-Wish Foundation and meeting children that are terminal or at the end of their lives and I just thought, ‘I’m so fortunate to be able to have this platform and live this life where I give somebody reprieve and a break from whatever’s going on in their lives.’ But I also have such a part of me that is such a first responder, that is a healthcare worker and it makes me appreciate life so much more. I’m just a dude on paper. That’s really all it is.”

On which Knockout would do well as a firefighter: “Oooh, Jordynne Grace. Totally. I’d want her on my crew and I’d be like ‘You know what, I’m gonna stand back and I’m gonna look at the big picture’ because I’m also one of those people, and this is what makes a good first responder, but when the building is burning and everyone is running out screaming and losing their mind, I get real calm. That’s how I know I got serious trauma.”