Taylor Wilde made her triumphant return to professional wrestling after being away for several years, and now she explains what brought her back to the squared circle.
Taylor Wilde made her comeback at IMPACT Wrestling‘s Rebellion pay-per-view event, saving Tenille Dashwood from a beatdown at the hands of Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo. Wilde recently sat down with Steph Franchomme of Steelchair Magazine to discuss all things IMPACT Wrestling, including why she felt like it was finally the right time to step through the ropes one more time.
“It’s really crazy, it was simply a matter of all the stars aligning and women’s wrestling started to become really attractive to me again,” Taylor Wilde said. “When I left wrestling, I was really burnt out, I wanted a different job, I needed a new passion, I wanted to start a family and wrestling wasn’t catering to any of those needs anymore. In that span of 10 years, I have my beautiful son, I am a full-time fire-fighter in Toronto and I’ve been doing that for over 6 years.
“I really grew up into this person I wanted to be but, at the same time, I’ve watched all my friends grow in wrestling over the years and a part of me really missed that whole world. I feel like I had unfinished business and I’ve been lucky because I’ve always had a very good relationship with Impact Wrestling, formerly TNA, and I just had that fire burning again and they were in need, so again all the stars aligned and I think it’s worked out really well. I’m having more fun now and I feel better in the ring and physically and mentally than I did when I was in my prime in my 20s, so I think it was all meant to happen.”
When asked about her goals now that she’s back in IMPACT Wrestling, Taylor Wilde says becoming Knockouts Champion again is a benchmark she’d like to reach:
“When I started my career in TNA, within the first month I became TNA Knockouts Champion,” Taylor Wilde said. “At that time, I became the youngest Knockout in history to ever hold the TNA Knockouts title and then I was one-half of the first-ever TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions. Coming back to this second chapter of my career, that is definitely a benchmark I would like to reach. I think I am a very good competitor for Deonna Purrazzo, but I’m not in a rush. She’s a really incredible wrestler, she’s an incredible champ, she’s held the title for some time. It’s also a massive responsibility but it is something I would like to accomplish in the second chapter of my career.”
While she’s still focused on performing as an in-ring competitor, Wilde says she could also see herself working as a producer in the future.
“Absolutely and that’s something that’s really changed in the past 10-15 years, women having careers outside of being professional wrestlers. Ten or 15 years ago, there were no female agents, there were no female producers, there weren’t any females sitting on the Creative team, that’s just something that’s coming into fruition now, so that is absolutely something that I want to spread my wings with. I love wrestling, I love being back in wrestling but there’s no way my career as a professional wrestler can be as long as it was in my first chapter because I am 35. I started wrestling when I was 18, I did it full time until I was 25 and it really takes years off of your life because it is so hard on the body. I think I still have some gas in the tank but I would like to elongate my career and learn other trades of the industry because I think there need to be more women in a managerial role or in a creative role to help elevate women’s wrestling because it can’t all be done in the ring.”
Big things are coming.
LET’S GET WILDE! ???@impactwrestling @axstv #prowrestling #womensupportingwomen #knockout #og #wildeon #podcaster #wildeon #rebelgirl #misfits pic.twitter.com/9PNrB6w8BD
— The Real Taylor Wilde (@RealTaylorWilde) September 6, 2021
Wilde’s return to the ring was more than a year in the making, as she told WrestleZone that she was originally in talks to make an appearance at IMPACT Wrestling’s Lockdown event in Toronto in April 2020. That event ultimately got canceled due to COVID-19, but Wilde waited until more stable protocols were put in place so she could travel from Canada. Check out our full interview, including her picks for potential opponents, at this link.
Have you enjoyed Taylor Wilde’s return to professional wrestling so far? Who would you like to see her in the ring with next? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
