Taylor Wilde Turned Down Opportunity With WWE

Taylor Wilde has been a professional wrestler since 2003 and although she did train in WWE’s developmental territories, Deep South Wrestling and FCW, she never actually got that main roster call-up. She was released initially in 2007. It seems though, that she would get another chance.

Taylor Wilde opened up about a second opportunity she had to pass on with WWE on a recent episode of Wilde On. Her guest was Tegan Nox – the recently released WWE superstar. She states she was invited the the Mae Young Classic, an event in pro wrestling that definitely carries some weight.

“I was invited to that first Mae Young Classic. I hadn’t been wrestling, this was like six, seven years retired, I was like, ‘yeah, okay f*ck it. You don’t get this opportunity all the time. WWE’s going to run this all-women’s tournament. If there’s any reason to get my ass out of retirement, this is it.’

So I start training, I am a firefighter now and I am a lot stronger and healthier than I used to be. So I went to run to the turnbuckle, dude was going to pop me up, land on the top rope and I can’t remember what I was going to do. He pops me up, but I overshot him. I basically could have done it myself, I overshot the turnbuckle, headbutting the beam. My face was all mangled. I landed on my feet and I was like, ‘I’m okay.’ But, it was the first time I had post-concussion syndrome. So I was like, ‘that’s enough.’

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I made it six years professionally with a career on TV, here I am at 30 trying to get back in gear and I knock myself silly and have to get my face glued shut. I was like, ‘Nah, pass. Everything happens for a reason. I wasn’t ready then and it still took me a few more years, but I’m back now. A career for a female wrestler is different now, 35 is not the kiss of death anymore. I feel like I have a lot more to give.”

Wilde has tried to retire many times throughout her pro wrestling career. The first time was after her FCW release back in 2007, but she often returned, her love of wrestling winning over. She currently wrestles over at Impact Wrestling – familiar territory for her. She wrestled there initially from 2008 to about 2011 and was officially retired before her return in 2021.

*Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the quote.