Blair Davenport, the former Bea Priestley, made her in-ring debut on last week’s episode of WWE NXT UK when she beat Laura Di Matteo.
Her signing was made official in late June when a vignette aired on NXT UK that had been hyping a new talent.
Davenport spoke with talkSPORT to discuss what led to her joining WWE as well as her departure from AEW in 2020.
“It was the right opportunity and the right timing for me. There were so many other things that I wanted to do first and I didn’t want to be in the position where I would make such a big jump in my career and wish I could’ve done things before coming here. I wanted to do everything that I wanted to do, then come to this part in my life. During the pandemic, there was a small window.”
Davenport continued by noting that when she left AEW, her visa expire and there was no hope for a new visa happening at that time. Thus, there was a window in August where people who had Japan visas could go back, so she went back to Japan. She felt very isolated in Stardom because she was the only foreign wrestler there at the time unlike before. She felt there was only so much she could do in Stardom.
“This is when we got in touch with WWE and we were chatting. I almost wanted a bit of time at home as well to have a bit of a rest, but I love NXT UK so much and it’s definitely where I want to be right now.”
Regarding her name change, she noted that “Blair Davenport” was not her first choice, but she felt confident that she could make it work and it was a fresh start for her. She noted that she is not the same version of Bea Priestley that she was before as she has progressed.
On the topic of transitioning from Bea Priestley to Blair Davenport, she shared that she was offered a handful of new first and last names. “Blair Davenport” was not her first choice but she felt she could make it work.
“It’s a new way to recreate yourself and feel refreshed. It’s not a clean slate because I don’t want to forget everything I’ve done, but this is the next level now.”
Davenport is now in a women’s division that features the likes of Meiko Satomura, Kay Lee Ray, Xia Brookside, Jinny, and Isla Dawn.
