Add as a preferred source on Google Tatum Paxley opened up about the development of her character in WWE NXT, saying her partnership with Lyra Valkyria played a key role in helping her finally show who she was on the brand.
In a recent interview with Jimmy V3, Paxley explained that she arrived in WWE as a “blank sheet of paper,” still trying to figure out how to connect her growth in the ring with a real identity in front of the cameras.
“It’s something I’m super thankful NXT has helped me with, because when they found me, I felt very like a blank sheet of paper, and once you get an opportunity like WWE it’s ‘hey show us who you are times one million’, but what if you don’t know who you are? So there’s that ‘oh gosh I’ve got to figure this out right now.’”
Paxley also recalled that being paired with Valkyria gave her the opening to experiment with the darker, more unstable side of her personality.
“While I’m also trying to learn the in-ring ability part of it, I’m also trying to learn what is me that I can show people, because if you pick something or do something that isn’t authentically yourself, people are gonna see right through it. So it took some time for me to be like ‘who am I? Who is Tatum Paxley?’”
“NXT has really allowed me to find that within myself and given me the stage to throw it out there. Dating back to when they paired me with Lyra Valkyria was ‘hey, now’s your time to show us who you are,’ that’s all that was right away, lets see what this looks like. We didn’t know what the future held for us, but lets see what you can do.”
“I was like ‘perfect.’ I’m ready, I know it now. I was begging and begging, I know what I can do, and they said ‘fine, we’ll let you do it, but lets see how well you can do this.’ They gave me the ball, and I just took it and I ran.”
Paxley is now in the most important stretch of her WWE run. She is the reigning NXT Women’s North American Champion, having won the title on March 7 at Vengeance Day by defeating Izzi Dame.
More recently, the champion retained the title against Blake Monroe in a Casket Match at NXT Revenge.