If you’re a genuine fan of quality women’s pro wrestling, and if somehow in the year 2011 you didn’t hear of
Taeler Hendrix, don’t worry…2012 is rapidly shaping up to be her year, and you’ll be learning much more
about her in the months to come.
In a relatively short span of time, this young phenom has battled her way to the summit of the indy mountain,
winning the prestigious Ohio Valley Wrestling Women’s Championship in late ’11. But don’t be fooled into
thinking she’s just some flash in the pan; Ms. Hendrix pulled herself up the ladder rung by rung by virtue
of her dedication to the sport, determination to succeed, and with sheer, undeniable talent.
LadySports Online is proud to introduce Taeler to fans worldwide in this, her first interview!
THE STATS:
Height: Five feet, seven inches
Weight: One hundred and twenty pounds
Hair: Red
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
LADYSPORTS: Welcome to LadySports, Taeler! Tell us, when did you first get into the sport?
TAELER HENDRIX: That's a very funny story, actually! Anyways, I tried getting into the wrestling when I
was 14 years old. I won tickets at the Whaling City Festival in 2003; I was with a friend who had these gigantic... well,
I will let you imagine what I'm talking about, for the sake of being appropriate. So the station gave her and I the tickets.
I went to a Smackdown show in Rhode Island, and there were people handing out flyers, for Slamtech Wrestling School by Bob Evans.
It said they started training people at 14. I thought it was perfect!
I emailed Bob Evans... he said to come on down, and my Mom said no. Tried again when I was 15, Mom said no. 16, same thing.
And finally at 17, I met my ex, Brandon Webb, and he took me to BrickHouse Baker’s wrestling school. But my official breakout
year wasn't until 2009 or so.
LS: And who trained you?
TH: I trained for a little while with BrickHouse Baker, then Top Rope Promotions where I trained briefly with Spike Dudley, and from there Matt West, Kyle White and Evan Sixx, who used to help run New England Championship Wrestling. After that I made my way to a former student of Bob Evans, Dan Freitas, who was the trainer for LPW. After that I finally made full circle to the trainer I always wanted, Bob Evans. It took me a few years but I finally made it. I owe him so much for all I've got.
Now currently, I have an awesome trainer as well at Ohio Valley Wrestling. I get to train every weekend with Rip Rogers, and I get to work with Al Snow a few weeks a month. It's fantastic, all that we get to learn!
LS: Who have been your biggest inspirations to be a wrestler?
TH: Growing up, I absolutely adored watching Victoria, Sensational Sherri, and Velvet McIntyre…I have taken a lot of what I do from them and kind of turned it into my own thing, with my own style and spin. My favorite male wrestlers are Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, and Jericho. But I love just plain old wrestling!
LS: What are you like in the ring, personality-wise?
TH: Personality, I like to think I'm fiery, full of energy! A lot of people always count me out, so I like to show what I'm capable of, being the underdog in this business.
LS: Describe a typical day of training for you. What is most important in your workout?
TH: A typical day at wrestling training usually starts off with Criss Cross drills for a warm up. Then we do a series of a high spot drills, which definitely is a blow up drill! We each have three bumps that should be creative but simple, and then, we'll do an ‘everybody in’ drill, where one person is in the middle, someone on the outside calls a move, and a person running in takes it. Then possibly we might watch a match or two of old 70's and 80's matches. We might also after that do some more varying drills, and we end practice with promos.
Learning all I can is the most important!
LS: How would you best describe your ring style?
TH: I don't have a style. I take different things and morph them into what I think is me. A little of this and that... I like to do flexible things, its fun to me. So if you see a kick, then know I can probably throw it…and have!
LS: Who have been your toughest opponents to date?
TH: My toughest opponent to date is Lady Jojo. Second would be Mistress Belmont. They always seem to be teaching me something, and I have to keep coming back stronger and better.
LS: And who have been your biggest allies?
TH: OUCH!! Tough question! I could write so much about this one! But I'm not a real shooter, so I'm going to leave a lot out...! Without a doubt, my biggest ally is my boyfriend, Michael. He never holds me back, always supports me in what I love. He tapes my matches, edits my YouTube videos, helps me with my bookings. He's simply amazing. I'm so grateful!
My other huge supporter and ally is my best friend, Catherine K. I'm always going to love the Hawaiian Princess Kimaya. She's been my strongest supporter in everything I do in and out of the ring. She was very under rated and under appreciated back home. We were instant friends the day we met at a Terry Taylor Seminar!
My other biggest allies? I honestly haven’t had many allies coming into this business early on. But I’ve always worked hard; I'm the person I am because of every single person I met, both good and bad...I don't believe in negativity, it's not my style. In the end my toughest opponents have also been some of my best allies. They indirectly helped me be the wrestler I am, so I do have to say ‘Thank You’ to Lady Jojo and Mistress Belmont. With those two, I had to earn it. And Luscious Latasha and Barbie…I freaking love those girls! They don't get enough credit!
Antonio Thomas has helped me out with putting matches together and how to represent myself! Billy King is always in my corner, lifting me up when I need a good push! Bob Evans has helped train me and consistently helps me out; he helped me get to Ring of Honor, OVW and towards TNA, Kevin Kelly is always helping me with my mic skills, and Les Thatcher has been so wonderful with critiquing my matches. I'll cut it here because I could go on…!
LS: What has been your most memorable win?
TH: My most memorable win hands down has been me winning the OVW Women's Championship! It's my first title and I'll never forget it! It's made everything I've ever gone through worth it. I'll always remember it.
LS: And how about your worst loss?
TH: My worst loss was against Sara del Rey in my debut for Ring of Honor.
LS: Who is the one wrestler you would most like to face in the ring, but haven't yet?
TH: Victoria. She's given me some good advice, and I'd love the opportunity.
LS: And if you had to retire tomorrow and could have only one more match, who would you most like to wrestle?
TH: One match left! Oh my goodness…geez Louise! Umm, I honestly have no idea. Too many to choose from! You'll have to randomly ask me that again sometime!
LS: What is your favorite style of match?
TH: I don't have a favorite. I just love wrestling. All kinds.
LS: Have you ever been injured in the ring?
TH: Oh, yes! I've had three concussions: one by a girl who kicked me twice square in the back of the head, two by guys. I've had two bruised ribs from a girl who booted me in the side. There’s a shattered bone piece in my right cheek from a girl who decided she wanted to forearm me in the face, and my tooth was punched inward by the same girl. And I have a problem with my knee from another girl.
Geez, I've taken a lot of beatings!
LS: If you had the power, what one thing would you do to improve the sport?
TH: I would make my power a super power! So that I could do multiple things, like take a majority of the bitter indy workers off the message boards/internet so they can stop making everyone else look bad. I would tell girls to go to training, because when you don't train you make girls wrestling look worse than it already is. I would change how exposed the business is, so that way we could have the amazing diehard true fans like in the 70's and 80's…insane fans! I would make everyone have some sort of gimmick, and yeah, I could go on….
LS: Any other sports you enjoy?
TH: I love sports! I like to bowl, I do Tae Kwon Do, volleyball, softball, swimming, and I love to run!
LS: Any regrets?
TH: No regrets! Everything that's happened made me who I am, and I'm grateful for it all.
LS: What would you do if you couldn't be in wrestling?
TH: I would finish my degree. So if I wasn't in pro wrestling I right now would be finishing up my internship in the White House. I was studying to work in the Secretary of Defense's Office Specializing in International Foreign Environmental Relations. It's basically a U.S Diplomat for Environmental Foreign Policy. It's something I thoroughly enjoy. I'm a huge nerd!
LS: Can you tell us what the one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out in the sport would be?
TH: You can learn something from everyone, whether it's what to do or what not to do. Go to as many seminars as you can. Bob Evans told us all this and it made sense to me; in summarization…and he meant this literally and figuratively…dress up. Represent yourself and the company. Dress for the position you want, not the position you have.
LS: What is your personal motto?
TH: "Attempt The Impossible In Order To Improve Your Work..." -- Bette Davis
LS: And lastly, anything else you'd like to add?
TH: Umm, sure! For any more information about me, or for booking information you can email me at TaelerHendrix@yahoo.com,
Stop by and visit me on twitter@Taeler_Hendrix and if you are so inclined, my YouTube channel! youtube.com/TaelerHendrix
LS: Thanks so much for speaking with us, Taeler!
TH: Thank you so much for having me for this interview! It was my first ever interview! Peace and Smiles!
Photos courtesy of Ms Hendrix
