Bea Priestley recently opened up about the creative limitations she experienced during her time in WWE, including restrictions on changing her hair color and getting tattoos.
Earlier this year, Priestley—who performed under the ring name Blair Davenport—was released from her WWE contract after stints in both NXT and on the SmackDown brand.
In her first post-WWE interview, speaking with Cultaholic, Priestley looked back on her time with the company and shared how even personal style choices like body art and hair color were met with resistance.
“I think I just did a lot of things that I wasn’t able to do while under contract,” she said. “For example, I got a forearm tattoo recently. Back when I was in NXT, I actually asked for permission to get one. They gave me this whole spiel about how it would affect promotional photos, scanning for video games, and re-capturing my image for different platforms. If I had really pushed, maybe I could’ve gotten it approved, but it felt like more trouble than it was worth. So I just didn’t bother.”
Priestley also touched on her long-standing blonde hair and the pressure to keep it, even when she wanted a change.
“I stayed blonde for so long because they kind of locked that in as my look,” she explained. “If people remember me from STARDOM, I was changing my hair color practically every month. I actually liked being blonde, but there were times I thought about switching it up. Still, I felt like I wasn’t really allowed to because of how much promotion and branding was tied to my appearance.
“It was a strong, recognizable look, and if I changed it, I’d have to adjust to an entirely new version of myself. And I didn’t feel like I was in a position where a drastic change would have made sense. Like when Sasha [Banks] changed her hair color—it was tied to a heel turn, a whole character shift. I didn’t feel like I had that same kind of momentum to justify doing something bold.”
(H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.)
