Tasha Steelz has turned into one of the top stars in the Knockouts division for IMPACT, but WWE didn't see her as such following her 2015 tryout.
Speaking to Tommy Dreamer on House of Hardcore, Steelz recalled how WWE offered her a job as a referee, which she turned down.
"When they finally got back to me, they offered me a referee position. I, immediately, was like, 'does this mean I shouldn't be a wrestler?' You just get so self-doubting at the time. I just let WWE be my end all, be all. I was like, 'no disrespect, but that's not in my heart. That's not something I want to do.' I had a couple of meetings with Mr. William Regal and he saw me at an Indie show right after my tryout and he knew what I could do. He really complimented me and said, 'I know what you can do, you're talented. If this is something you really want to do, you have to put your mind 100% into it and being a wrestler is no longer, you have to be a referee.' He gave me time to think about it and it took me a couple of days to realize this doesn't have to be my end all, be all. There are so many opportunities out there and so many places I can go. I respectfully declined and said, 'if there is anything wrestler-wise in the future, I would love to be part of the black and gold brand. In the meantime, I have to turn down this position.' He understood and there was no bad blood. That was good for me," she recalled.
Steelz would eventually make her way to IMPACT, signing with the company in 2020. She is a two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion alongside Kiera Hogan.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Tommy Dreamer revealed IMPACT pitched the idea of The Beautiful People coming in to face Fire N Flava. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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