Thekla Says She Gets Away With a Lot More On AEW TV Than She Thought She Would

Thekla says that in terms of creativity, she is able to get away with a lot more on AEW TV than she initially imagined. The former AEW Women’s World Champion is known for pushing boundaries on AEW TV and leans into doing and saying some pretty horrible things, including (but certainly not limited to) when she spit on the STARDOM logo in the lead up to Forbidden Door.

During her interview with TV Insider, Thekla was asked about why fans have found a connection with her villainous character and how much freedom she has to say what she wants. She said that she can say pretty much whatever she wants outside of the “whole list of words that we get fined for.” She also spoke about her inspirations for her character. You can see the highlights below:

On Why People Have Gravitated To Her Despite Her ‘Despicable’ Character:

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with people. Honestly, I always thought I was living on my own planet, with my own sense of humor and the things I like that not everybody else needs to like. Maybe people gravitate towards me being people who are just unapologetically themselves. I think that’s something that everybody strives to be, themselves, but it’s really hard. I guess that’s kind of something that’s entertaining to people, when they see somebody that is full-fledged whatever it is I’m f**king doing, I don’t know.”

On How Much Freedom She Has To Say What She Wants In TV:

“Apart from the usual stuff they try to make sure I don’t say on TV? It’s very hard for me not to say on TV that whole list of words that we get fined for. Other than that, I get to say pretty much what I want. I take a lot of inspiration from what I really like, and what I really feel, and what I think about people and myself. I get a lot more creativity than I thought I ever would. I get to choose more stuff than I probably should as well. So I get away with a lot of s**t.”

On Where She Finds Inspiration:

I watch a lot of movies. I love a good movie and going to the cinema. I like books. I read a lot of autobiographies of people I find interesting. I’m a huge music person. I listen to a lot of music and the type of music then kind of inspires the way I feel. Right now, I’m in my Hispanic, Latin reggaeton phase, which might be surprising to some people. Then again, if you watch the way I’m having matches right now and dancing around the ring, maybe not. I’m just constantly listening to music in my head in general. My heroes are people like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, you know, kind of like 60s, 70s, punk idols. I also love unapologetic characters. I like television. I’m also a big Quentin [Tarantino] fan. I’m watching a lot of old gangster movies from the 70s now. The type of Godfather type of stuff.