What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s one of the most common questions we’re asked when we’re young, and even as adults, we’re often left without an answer. Being a WWE wrestler is a pretty normal response for any kid who grew up watching sports entertainment on TV, but that wasn’t the case for budding superstar Tatum Paxley.
Not long ago, the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion had no idea what her future held. But fast forward to today, and just over two months have passed since Paxley’s main-roster debut on “WWE SmackDown” in August.
Paxley turns 30 at the end of October, and her goals have grown rapidly throughout her first five years in the business. She claimed her first WWE main roster title alongside teammate Alexa Bliss on Oct. 10, checking another box off her list and showing exactly how far she’s come in such a short period.
“Oh man, I don’t know if I’ve had a better week in my life,” Paxley told Uncrowned. “It’s one of those moments that is very ‘pinch me, I’m dreaming.’ I can remember it so well, standing in the ring, holding my title up, hearing the pyro. I just remember slowly looking over, and there’s Alexa Bliss.
“It’s just so unbelievable. It’s truly a dream come true for me, because she was such an inspiration for me getting here, and to be able to do this with her, and then to have Charlotte [Flair] in the back supporting us — it’s just a dream come true.”
That shiny gold title hasn’t left Paxley’s side since she and Bliss beat the former champions, Fatal Influence — Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid. For Paxley, it’s her third title under the WWE umbrella overall — she also won the top Women’s Championship and North American Championship of the promotion’s developmental brand, NXT.
Paxley falls into the rare bucket of a modern-day talent who essentially fell right into place with her WWE tryout in 2021, like two puzzle pieces that unknowingly needed each other. Attempts to start a run on wrestling’s independent circuit didn’t necessarily fail, but Paxley wasn’t even sure how to approach local schools to express her interest. With her cheerleading and powerlifting background, however, WWE eventually caught wind of Paxley’s attempts and gave her a tryout, leading to her life-changing run with NXT.
The drive to adapt came fast for Paxley, and she quickly learned that the performative nature of an endeavor like wrestling was perfect for her personality and athleticism. Normally, the jump from NXT to a WWE main-roster show like “SmackDown” can be jarring, but the change has fit Paxley like a glove, and she knew it was inevitable.
“It has been super seamless for me. Personally, the transition from NXT to ‘SmackDown’ has been super calm,” Paxley said. “I feel like it’s just because I knew how ready I was. That’s not to say that I was rushing by any means, but I just knew for a long time, when I get that call, I know who I am, I know how to connect with the audience, I know how to go in the ring. Like, I’m going to be ready. Then I get the call, I have like some of the best people that have taken me under their wing [with] Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss. It has just been super seamless. It just feels right.
“So the nerves haven’t like eaten me alive, like I thought they would, because I just know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Tatum Paxley is already a champion early on in her WWE rookie year.
Paxley likes not having a plan; she’s built her career with blinders on, to an extent. That may almost seem counterproductive in a business as calculated as professional wrestling, but Paxley took it so far as even insisting on staying in the dark ahead of her WWE debut in August. She recalled thinking that producer Michael Hayes was ribbing her when told she’d premiere in the long-awaited Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill match.
“I’m someone who doesn’t really like to know the plan. I don’t like to know the direction. I like to really live in the moment,” Paxley said. “I have the quality to really overthink something. So I find the less I know, the better.
“So when I originally got word that main roster was looking at me, I was like, ‘Cool. Don’t tell me nothing,’ and just kind of just went about my life. People would slowly start kind of telling me what they knew and who I would be [working] with, so I had a little bit of an idea of what was happening. But I tried not to hear it. I don’t believe it’s happening until it’s happening. And I also have this theory: If we talk about it, it won’t happen either.
“So I wouldn’t overthink it. I wouldn’t talk about it. … I didn’t really allow myself to feel it until the debut happened, and it was done. And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, what are we doing?'”
It’s admirable to see how comfortable Paxley has been in a career she didn’t plan or predict. In her own words, Paxley admits “I was so lost” before she found wrestling.
The current tag-team champ took a gap year after high school to sort out her life and focus on work as a gymnastics coach teaching children. While she enjoyed it, Paxley missed cheerleading and figured it was worth trying college for a year.
But one year was enough to take its toll on Paxley, particularly given the cost.
“That was just a mess. Because you’re paying all this money and they’re going, ‘What do you want to be?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know!’ OK, well, this class cost $1,500, and you don’t know what you want to do with it,” Paxley said. “So then I dropped out. I was like, you guys are asking for too much money for a girl that has no idea what she wants to do. And I’m not paying you guys to put me somewhere.”
After college, Paxley worked for supplement company Dymatize and did some personal training. Ultimately, though, her powerlifting hobby kept her motivated to pursue something else that could stick.
It’s funny in hindsight, but Paxley recalled taking one of those tests in high school to help pinpoint a career. You know, the ones with the drop-down boxes and countless occupations, ranging from electrician to rocket scientist. Paxley laughed when she got comedian as her third option, which she took to mean she’d not just be a comedian, but a bad one.
She might not make audiences laugh exclusively today, but Paxley’s performances do entertain and elicit emotion. So in a bizarre way, that test wasn’t overly far off.
In the end, Paxley is unapologetically herself, and that’s how she wants to be remembered years down the road. She knows this year is just the beginning.
“I just want people to look back and think that they could relate to me. I want to be as relatable as possible,” Paxley said.
“When people are watching me, I want them to feel something. I want them to feel what I feel. If I am sad, if I’m happy, I just want them to feel that. So when they think back to Tatum Paxley, that’s what I want. I want them to go, ‘She was just so relatable. I related to her.’ That’s my biggest goal.”
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
