11 Things You Didn't Know About WWE's Tatum Paxley

11. She Dropped Out Of College Because…

…she lost interest in cheerleading, which was the main reason why she signed up for college in the first place. Yep, after one year in the place, Tatum realised that she'd fallen out of love with cheer and fancied doing something else with her life. She'd actually been doing it since she was a little girl, so maybe it was time to try some fresh direction.

That...probably wasn't how those close to Paxley viewed her decision at the time. She's never really gone into great details about what her family and friends thought about dropping out of college though. Hopefully, everyone was supportive, because let's be honest: College and university comes with a ton of pressure, and young people should be able to pivot if they feel like there's something else they'd be better off doing. Within reason, of course, but this wasn't as flaky as it perhaps sounds.

Remarkably, Tatum's next obsession was totally different. She went from cheerleading to powerlifting. That’s some change, but having something new to focus on helped her rediscover that spark. Paxley couldn't possibly have known this back then when she was stumbling around post-cheer and feeling rather lost, but she was making beneficial decisions about her future, and that'd later lead to WWE.

Try explaining that to any lecturers at college! Being fair, they'd have been concerned that Tatum didn't give things long enough, but she was about to show off a sneaky talent and strength nobody really knew she even had. That's worth applauding/celebrating with the benefit of hindsight.