As the only Welsh wrestler left in WWE, Tegan Nox has the weight of an entire nation on her shoulders.
The young woman from Bargoed has had a tough time in WWE, with three separate knee injuries keeping her out of the ring for huge periods of time.
She was even released by the company in 2021, before being brought back last year by new boss Triple H, who saw huge potential in Nox.
She still has all the time and talent to become a big star in the WWE, although her dedication and love for pro-wrestling is something you have to thank Tegan Nox’s grandfather for.
Tegan Nox Became A Wrestler Because Of Her Grandfather
Welsh Superstar Tegan Nox has often cited her grandfather as her biggest inspiration in wrestling, alongside Molly Holly and Kane.
However, he was not actually a professional wrestler.
No. Instead of inspiring her inside the ring, it was Tegan Nox’s grandad who first introduced her to the sport.
The pair would watch all the shows together on TV, in her little hometown of Bargoed, in Wales.
She remembers fondly the times they would stay up until 4 o’clock in the morning to watch the Royal Rumble pay per views.
Tegan Nox revealed in an interview with WWE’s The Bump that it was her Grandfather who introduced her to professional wrestling.
She shared a love of wrestling with her Grandad, who hid this fact from her parents. He would have her sleep over her Grandparent’s house for Royal Rumble weekend, with the pair staying up until 4am to watch the annual event.
She cites eating popcorn with her Grandad and watching the Royal Rumble as “a really fond memory of mine”.
“Well, he always kind of snuck me up. He would never tell my mother that there was a Royal Rumble event and that we were going to stay up till 4 o’clock in the morning watching it ’cause I had school the next day. Um, ‘school,’ I was always sick funny enough after that,” she chuckled.
“But yeah, he would say, ‘Steff is going to sleep at my house tonight.’ I was like, ‘Sweet. Yeah, I am. Let’s go.’ We would make a lot of popcorn, and you know, it was a great old time with him. It’s a really fond memory of mine.”
Her Grandfather, who has since passed away, was a huge inspiration for a young Tegan Nox.
Her appearance in the 2020 Royal Rumble match was a huge milestone for the young Welsh wrestler, and is something her Grandad would be immensely proud of.
Tegan Nox’s grandfather passed away in 2006. She reveals this in an interview where she claimed she won the Queen of Southside title from Kay Lee Ray on the 10th anniversary of his death.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Tegan Nox said;
“I won it in a ladder match that involved Kay Lee Ray; she was the champion at the time,” Nox says. “She’s one of my best friends, so that match was cool. That was the first title I won, so it meant a lot to me. It just happened to be on the 10-year anniversary of my grandfather’s death that I won the title, which made it that much more special.”
See where Tegan Nox ranks among the greatest Welsh wrestlers in WWE history!
