Today, the “Diva of Tomorrow” is the Diva of WWE.com!
The new NXT Women’s Champion Paige is spotlighted on the website in a new interview following her victory over Emma in the tournament finals.
Paige was first asked how it feels to be the first ever NXT Women’s Champion. As you can expect, she is overjoyed! She said:
“To be the first NXT Women’s Champion is such an honor. It’s so overwhelming that it hasn’t fully sunk in yet. Emma gave me a heck of a match and I have so much respect for her. We made history. I still can’t believe I can say that I’ve made history in WWE. I cried and cried when I won it and the support from everyone has been crazy. I’m getting goose bumps and teary-eyed just talking about it.”
Paige also reminisced on her start in wrestling… in the womb! Paige’s mother Saraya Knight was seven months pregnant and still wrestling when she discovered her pregnancy:
“I was born into the business, literally. My mum was seven months pregnant with me before she realized it so she kept wrestling like normal up to that point. I guess it’s safe to say I was wrestling as a fetus (laughs). I was always scared of wrestling before I started because I watched my family do it and saw the price they had to pay with injuries and all, but following in their footsteps always intrigued me.”
She described her first match, in which she was a last minute addition:
“One day my dad came up to me at a show and said that a girl had canceled last minute and that he needed a replacement. My dad already knew that I was half-capable of wrestling a match because my brother and I would wrestle at my dad’s training school during lunch breaks. He said I wouldn’t have to do much because there were seven other ladies in it. I said “Yes,” walked out of the curtain and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Paige also provided details on her two WWE try-outs, the first of which didn’t go to plan. She said:
“My first tryout was in November 2010 when WWE was in England. I had a match against another girl who was trying out. I was so nervous! I tried dressing the way I thought a Diva would dress, by wearing a lot of color, spray tanned, etc. I wasn’t me. After the tryout, we stayed for the show, which was an amazing experience in itself. After the show, I was brought into the office and they said to me, “We like you, but you need more of what they have. Please don’t give up, come along to the next tryout in April.”
She continued, “I was thankful for the chance, but I was heartbroken. I tried being what they are and that didn’t work out for me. So I went home sad but more determined. April 2011 came around and I had another tryout. This time, I was the only girl there in a ring full of guys and my brother who had a tryout, too. I felt like it went well, but at the same time I didn’t go there as a Diva, I went there as myself with piercings, black hair, black clothes and pale [skin]. I wanted to be able to prove that I didn’t need what the other girls had; I could be myself. After the match, the scout came in and said that two others and I would be offered contracts.”
Paige also discusses what NXT has taught her and the legacy she hopes to leave. You can read the entire interview by clicking here.
Are you happy that Paige is the first NXT Women’s Champion?
