Tenille Dashwood on the Origin of the ‘Emma Dance,’ How Her WWE Release Was a Shock

– Tenille Dashwood spoke with Chris Van Vliet for a new interview discussing her time in WWE, the famous “Emma Dance” and more. As Emma in WWE, Dashwood was very popular during her time in NXT, with fans mimicking her weird dance move that she did when she came out to the ring. She had a tougher time on the main roster and headed back down to NXT for a bit. She eventually returned to the main roster in 2016 and in late 2016 to early 2017, a new character for her named “Emmalina” was teased. That gimmick was abandoned and she returned in her original heel persona before she was eventually released in October of that year.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full video, are below:

On where the Emma Dance came from: “Yeah, it was me along with Byron Saxton, actually at the time. And it was when Dusty was — we were all at FCW and I picked this new music. At the time, the music that we used was that music. But it was like, ‘This is very strange, almost like a little alien-like, wierd [song].’ So I was like, ‘What do I do? I have to do something when I come out, I can’t just like, walk out.’ So I ended up doing this weird thing with my hands, and they were like, ‘Don’t do that. But maybe a little more like this’ and we kind of adjusted it, and I just kind of kept trying it and trying it. And it evolved from that.”

On the dance becoming popular with fans: “Yeah, which was crazy to me. But the NXT crowds were, and still are, awesome like that, where you’re their own product, basically. And they kind of just caught on and kind of grew with me. So then before long, the whole crowd would be doing the dance with me. It just made it so much more fun because I didn’t feel like an idiot anymore. [laughs] And I was like, ‘People like this! All right!'”

On her WWE release: “No, actually, it wasn’t me [who asked for the release]. It was actually a really big shock for me. I had no idea … At the time, I was in a feud with Asuka and we had just done the PPV. And that was her PPV debut. I think it was her actual debut as well. And we had an awesome match, I remember everyone loved it and then we had a match on RAW the night after. And then basically by the end of the week, I had a call saying I was released.”

On if she was told why: “From what I heard, it was just that — honestly, I don’t even know what [it was], because I feel like there is more to it than what I was told. And it was kind of a very brief conversation, and not necessarily everyone agreed, or whatever it was. But basically I think the boss wasn’t happy with something, and that was kind of it. And I was very shocked, because I literally was packed to go on the European tour. So a two-week tour overseas, had my bags packed. I was going to the airport, it was on a Sunday. I was on the way to the airport basically and got a call and was like ‘What?'”

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