What is modern wrestling doing right?
Right now I think IMPACT Wrestling is doing everything right. It’s a cool place to be, it’s a place everyone wants to be right now. They are signing some of the top talents off of the independent circuit like Brian Cage, Fenix, Pentagon Jr, Matt Sydal, Trevor Lee… people that are really ,really talented, some of the best in the world, and they are at IMPACT Wrestling. It’s a cool place to be, and I think IMPACT is doing everything right.
Do you stop and take a look at your success so far, or is there a goal that you still need to reach?
I would say that my goal isn’t to be with a certain company or to be in any certain place. My goal is to be great. My goal is not to be good, my goal is not to be passable, my goal is to be one of the best in the world one day. Right now I feel like IMPACT Wrestling is the place to be for me.
I’m learning from Gail Kim, Don Callis, Scott D’Amore, Sonjay [Dutt], people that are really brilliant in a lot of different areas, from in-ring and behind-the-scenes, they care so much about the end product that they don’t mind taking the time or being patient to get to that end product. They don’t want things to be passable, they want things to be great, and I really appreciate working people with that mindset because that’s my mindset. It’s something good enough but can be better, and we’re going to redo it and get there, do you know what I mean? That’s a really beautiful thing to be a part of, and that’s why I value working at IMPACT so much.
With the talk of the next step or evolution in women’s wrestling, is there a next step that you see for the IMPACT Knockouts division?
I would say we are taking it day by day, taping by taping. I think that IMPACT Wrestling, the Knockouts locker room, is one of the strongest. These girls are so willing, and I think that their capability is out of this world, it’s just a matter of getting the opportunity and we have the beauty of them giving the women the opportunity. In many places now, women’s wrestling is getting an opportunity; we’re getting that platform and show that we can hang, show that we can hang with the guys. We’re not ‘less than’, we’re right there. We’re on the same level, maybe in different ways—our intensity, our in-ring capabilities, behind-the-scenes work—it’s up to par. We’re not a bathroom break. We’re athletes, and it’s cool now that women’s wrestling is getting that platform to go and show that.
What is Tessa going as for Halloween?
Everyone keeps asking me that! There’s been rumors that I’m going to dress up as Taya Valkyrie, but that’s not true. I’m not going to dress up as Taya because I wouldn’t do that to myself. Tonight I am going to Halloween Horror Nights with a few of my friends that are in town from Australia. You guys are going to have to stayed tuned, look on my Instagram and see what I’m going to dress up as. It’s exciting, but I can’t tell you. [laughs]
