My coach would push us off the balance beam and teach us how to fall. That helps with your body awareness, your air awareness, but even the training I had in cheerleading, gymnastics, bodybuilding, nothing prepares you for what you go through in the ring.
— Alexa Bliss
My character isn't supposed to be flashy and be over-the-top. I'm supposed to be dirty in the ring. I'm supposed to kick and punch, and I'm supposed to cheat and find ways to win at all costs.
It was a lot of fun working with Braun Strowman.
I'm pretty anti-social. I don't go out.
You have to take control of the crowd because there have been times when they have scared people. The 'Bayley: This Is Your Life' segment - the girl who was Bayley's best friend, the crowd was yelling at her. They were like, 'Boring, what?'
I like to say whatever comes to mind when I am in the ring and work off the reaction from the crowd.
I noticed the more muscle I put on, the more cushion and padding I had, the better my performances were getting. I decided I could be this little, stick-thin thing out there and be hurt all the time, or I could show my athleticism, and if it comes with a little bit of weight on the side, it is what it is.
It took me forever to get comfortable. When I first started NXT, we had promo classes, and I used to get so upset because I couldn't get in front of a crowd and talk. I was terrified.
My dad is the biggest Lexie fan - ever since I was in gymnastics, he went to ever gymnastics meet, every cheer competition, every bodybuilding show.
I'd like to wrestle for as long as I can.
I got a lot of motivation from my character of people-watching. And if they do something that annoys me, I steal it and do it because I know it annoys other people. If it annoys me, it's going to annoy you.
Bodybuilding helped me to realize that I don't have to look like the girls in the magazines and that it's OK to feel good about my curves.
I like to be sparkly! It makes me happy. I love to stand out and embrace my uniqueness, and I am very lucky I get to incorporate that into my gear. I hope the sparkle and glitter that I spread makes other people happy, too.
Blake & Murphy were winners, I was a winner, and winners usually gravitate toward each other. They helped me, so I helped them in any way I could. I knew they were able to retain their NXT Tag Team Championship on their own, but when the matches weren't going the way they wanted, I made sure to step in. We were an unstoppable group.
When it was time for me to get in the ring, I was ready.
Ronda Rousey is coming to WWE at such a great time because we're a big family here, and we try to help everyone succeed. She has passion for it, which is awesome, and she respects the business, which is awesome. Everyone has been helping her and walking her through everything.
I love doing the in-ring promos more than doing the backstage promos because I love being able to interact with the crowd.
I wasn't featured in NXT. I never had a TakeOver match. I never held a title. I wasn't a featured athlete. I knew, going in to SmackDown Live, I had to kick down the door and take every opportunity for what it was, and sometimes in WWE - and in life - those opportunities don't come back.
When I was in NXT, I was still training every day. I was still in the ring every day and working every live event. And just because I wasn't on shows that were taped for NXT TV, I don't think people knew what skills I could do.
I guess people would describe me as the character I portrayed in NXT when I threw glitter and wore tutus and was very bubbly, because that's what I love.
I've said it before, that I think if we can have any woman from any other background to come into the WWE, it makes it better for the performers.
It doesn't matter how much time you do in NXT; you never stop learning.
If someone does something that makes me mad, well, chances are it'll probably make other people mad if I do it, too. I like to think, 'What's the meanest thing, the rudest thing I can say right now?' Or how can I completely discredit someone? That's just my mentality.
I think every woman on the roster wants to be at the main event for Wrestlemania. And if we ever get the opportunity to, it should be a match where every woman is involved.
There's nothing appealing about the Elimination Chamber. When I first walked into it, I was terrified. You start out the match in these pods, and you're just watching everyone go at it, waiting for your time.
I didn't feel that I was ready to leave NXT. When I was called up to SmackDown, I was very nervous. I hadn't done many of the things at NXT that I thought I was supposed to. I didn't have a TakeOver match. I never held the title. I only had a few matches on NXT TV and to be called up and told, 'Well, here you go!'
I've always liked watching wrestling, but once you are on the other end of it, you develop a certain passion for it and respect for it, and I would like to accomplish everything I want to before calling it quits.
When I came up with the Alexa Bliss character, I wanted to be the girl that everyone knew. There was always that girl in high school who was mean to everybody. She was mean and rude, but everyone still voted for her to be homecoming queen. That girl. And I wanted to portray that girl.
Bodybuilding gave me a healthy way to gain weight and learn to balance my life. Earning my pro card within a year, I got to do something I enjoyed and be healthy at the same time.
When I debuted at NXT, I was naive, and look where it got me. I was overlooked and underestimated.
Blake & Murphy and I used to be best friends. They helped me discover who I am. They taught me that Bliss was good, but bad is better. Because of the boys, I was able to really express who I am instead of being the pixie princess I was pretending to be.
It was a great time being with Blake & Murphy. I always made sure that, even if their matches weren't going the way they wanted to, they went the way that I wanted to.
Everyone wants to be inclusive in the Women's Evolution.
I feel like it's harder to perform in front of a smaller crowd sometimes still than it is a larger crowd.
NXT prepares you for literally everything for the main roster. They probably over-prepare you.
My ideal night for me, personally, is watching Disney movies and drinking a glass of wine by myself in the hotel room. That's my ideal night.
There are times that I see comments on Instagram and Twitter - if you are bashing my character on television, that is fine. I am totally cool with that. I'm a bad guy for a reason. You are supposed to hate me, but when you disrespect me or my work or myself as a character as me personally, that is not okay.
I love to talk. Everyone knows that you don't want to start a conversation with me unless you want me to end it the next day, because I never stop talking.
I enjoy seeing how many boos I can get.
I remember, even when I first started out in NXT and the girls wanted to do certain moves in matches, and I remember, our coach would tell us, 'You don't have to do that. You don't have to learn that. This is what is required of you.' And it was a lot of hair pulling, a lot of slapping. And it just wasn't seen as being taken seriously.
I'm not going to lie. I've done the 'Twisted Bliss' off of Braun Strowman's shoulders before, but that's not nothing to be on top of an Elimination Chamber pod.
It was very spur of the moment. When I heard WWE was having tryouts... I would not let the opportunity pass me by. I hired someone to make my video, and I sent in the video, thinking nothing would come of it.
When I first joined with Murphy, I had to make a character change. I wasn't confident in myself about that at all, but I remember my mom telling me that once something clicks with me... I had to... come in and kick the door down and let everyone know who I am.
When it comes to the Alexa Bliss character, everyone says the character has to be an extension of yourself turned up. But I feel like I am the complete opposite of Alexa Bliss.
I hope that I can be a role model and positive influence to anyone else who is struggling with insecurities within themselves.
Blake & Murphy didn't seem to appreciate who I was and what I was doing for them. After losing the NXT Tag Team Championship, they went on a long losing streak. They needed me yet just used me as an accessory.
Of course I expected to rise so quickly. I know what I'm capable of. Even though other people didn't know, I was going to make sure they knew exactly who Alexa Bliss was, and I was going to make sure they never forgot it.
I want to be the longest-reigning Raw Women's Champion. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.
Obviously, wrestling is a lot of fun, and I love it. But on the mic is where I have the most fun.
