Tatum Paxley Says Retail Job Was ‘Killing Me’ Before Alexa Bliss Inspired Her WWE Career

TLDR

Tatum Paxley revealed on Going Ringside that she was managing a supplement store and competing in powerlifting before discovering professional wrestling through a friend in the sports supplement industry. Paxley, who didn't grow up watching WWE, spent two years studying women's matches on YouTube and credits Alexa Bliss as her primary inspiration for pursuing a wrestling career. She said Bliss's ability to tell stories through facial expressions and emotions made her realize wrestling offered the perfect combination of athletic competition and performance that she was missing from powerlifting and retail work.