wrestling / News

Teal Piper on Why She Signed With WOW, Finally Starting a Wrestling Career, How Her Dad Probably Wouldn’t Have Let Her Do It Before

September 7, 2019 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris

– Speaking with Jeffrey Harris for the 411 Interview Podcast, new WOW – Women of Wrestling star Teal Piper, the daughter of wrestling legend Roddy Piper, who discussed why she signed with WOW and more.

Piper will make her in-ring debut for WOW at the September 18 and 19 events in Los Angeles, California at the Belasco Theater. The second season of WOW-Women of Wrestling debuts on AXS TV later today (Sept. 7) at 8:00 pm EST. Highlights from the discussion, as well as the full podcast, are below:

Teal Piper on how her signing with WOW came about: “Well, a mutual friend of ours, Barry Bloom, was looking for helping me find a place in Los Angeles to train. And he set me up with David McLane over there. And I came down to their training center, and I just fell in love with the company and everything that they’re doing for Women of Wrestling, and the show that they’re putting on, and the talent they have there. Then I bamboozled them into a job with their show.”

Why she finally made the leap into pro wrestling: “For me, when my dad passed, it was like a part of me died, and another part of me, Teal Piper, was born. And I wanted to connect with him more and see more what that was. It’s one thing watching outside the ring, but I wanted to live it. And once I decided to make that definitive choice, and to have everything that’s been happening for women in the sport across the board in the last couple years, it’s just the timing was right. Once I did [make the decision], I realized how truly I love it beyond just trying to connect with my dad. And that’s kind of how I ended up doing it.”

Teal Piper on not thinking about trying wrestling before: “Not on a serious level. I thought about it. I always admired the sport and picked up little things along the way, but I never really thought about it the way that I do now. I don’t know that my dad would’ve let me to be honest [laughs].”

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Introduction (0:00)
On how she ended up signed with WOW – Women Of Wrestling (0:36)
On why she decided to make the leap into pro wrestling and if she’d considered it before (1:13)
On when she realized her father was a wrestling star and a heel (2:32)
On if she watched any wrestling when she was young and becoming more of a fan as she got older (4:03)
On what AXS TV and WOW are doing for women’s wrestling (6:55)
On Tessa Blanchard and her accomplishments in the industry so far (8:23)
On what makes wrestling so unique in how it connects with fans (9:28)
On the weight of her father’s legacy and if she feels the pressure of it when trying to walk her own path (10:45)
On the evolution of women’s wrestling and women getting more opportunities in the industry (13:21)
On the impact her dad had on people like Ronda Rousey and his mark in the business (15:51)
On learning to take bumps (16:58)
On her other projects and where to find her online (17:57)