11 Things You Didn't Know About WWE's Tatum Paxley
10. Powerlifting Was “A Hidden Talent”
Again, cheer to powerlifting is some switch, but it worked out for Tatum.
She said on ‘Going Ringside’ earlier this year that she’s nowhere near as strong as she was when she was first hired by WWE in 2021. Being frank, Paxley doesn’t even know what she can deadlift nowadays, but she’s a former 2-time USAPL Champion who won the competition in 2019 and 2021. What an achievement that is.
Tatum really enjoyed powerlifting on the whole, but she'd readily admit to missing the performative side of life that cheerleading scratched for her. How ironic is that? She quit cheer because it wasn't scratching enough of an itch, then realised she needed some performance in her life or things would get boring real fast.
At one point, Paxley was deadlifting 400lbs+. Just look at the screenshot above - that's insane amounts of power to lift that sort of weight, then to hold it up without even really shaking around like some cowardly heel when they realise that WWE's top babyface is coming after them. Or Michael Hayes when he sees Chelsea Green in the corridors.
Seriously though, powerlifting proved to be (in Tatum's own words) a bit of "a hidden talent". Nowadays, she's strong in other ways. You have to show strength to be a successful pro wrestler. That comes with the territory and helps keep yourself/peers safe inside the ring. However, being able to shift 400lbs+. That'd be like Paxley picking Bam Bam Bigelow up off the ground whilst being sandbagged.
Crazy strong.