Teagan Thorne describes herself as a “real-life Monster High doll,” combining Frankenstein-inspired imagery, gothic glamour and an intentionally layered personality.
The darkness surrounding Thorne is not simply a costume or fictional backstory.
In a written interview with WrestlingHeadlines.com, Thorne said she was pronounced deceased at the scene of a childhood car crash before an emergency responder continued working to revive her. She survived, spent weeks in a coma and faced an extended rehabilitation that required her to relearn basic parts of everyday life.
Years later, that survival story became the foundation for the wrestler she now presents to audiences.
“I am a literal living dead girl story. Why don’t I just embrace that?”
PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE
Thorne said she was around 11 or 12 when she was traveling with her father and two of her brothers. According to Thorne, their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver.
She believes she fell on top of her youngest brother after losing consciousness and absorbed the most severe impact. Thorne suffered significant injuries to her skull and orbital socket, while her father attempted to protect her injuries until emergency responders reached the scene.
“I was initially pronounced deceased on scene. But bless the EMT working the scene that helped me, they refused to let me die and did CPR which luckily brought me back.”
Being revived was only the beginning.
Thorne remained in a coma for weeks. After awakening, she had to relearn how to walk and talk while also adjusting to changes in her vision following repair of the orbital injury. She continued physical therapy for an extended period and said the crash left her with permanent brain damage.
The psychological consequences proved just as significant as the physical recovery.
Thorne can remember information about the early years of her life, but she said she cannot always mentally return to those memories in the same vivid way she can with experiences after the crash.
“You’ve got a shelf of DVDs and VHS tapes, but only a DVD player to use. You can remember what’s on the VHS tapes, but you can’t actually vividly see or experience it mentally again.”
That limitation affects how she approaches the time and relationships she has now.
“I want to make every moment count and memorable and mean something for me, the fans, or any other people.”
WRESTLING ENTERED HER LIFE DURING RECOVERY
Professional wrestling was not originally part of Thorne’s plan.
She said she did not care for wrestling when she was younger, despite growing up around it through her father. That changed after the crash, when she was spending more time at home and began watching wrestling with her father and brothers.
The breakup of The Shield and the rivalry between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose pulled her into the larger stories. The women’s division, including AJ Lee, Paige and The Bella Twins, made wrestling feel like something she could potentially pursue herself.
Paige’s path into professional wrestling particularly resonated with her.
“Something in me really attached to Paige, and I remember reading about her story getting into wrestling, and that really made me start to think, ‘If she could do it, couldn’t I?’”
Thorne did not immediately begin training. The opportunity developed in 2019 after her cousin began training at a wrestling school connected to shows Thorne had attended while growing up.
Her father, “Wildthing” Chuck McRoberts, was already helping her cousin and gradually began guiding Thorne as she participated in more training sessions.
“After a few practices, I think my dad knew I was hooked, because it became my life. It was almost all I thought about.”
LEARNING TO EMBRACE THE UNPREDICTABILITY
Thorne identified McRoberts, Van Martigan and Marksman Fudd as the three most important coaching influences from the beginning of her career.
The most lasting lesson was not a move or a technical sequence. Her trainers taught her to stop fearing that an exaggerated personality might make her look foolish.
“I was very shy when I first started and wasn’t sure how to be so big with personality in the ring. They told me the ‘fake it till you make it’ approach. ‘Fake the confidence now, and you’ll grow into the confidence later.’”
They also taught her that wrestling gives performers permission to embrace ideas that might appear excessive anywhere else.
“You’ll only look stupid in wrestling if you tell people you look stupid in wrestling. Embrace the fun and the unpredictability of it. That’s where the personality shines through.”
Thorne said that lesson helped create the loud, occasionally comedic presence that now exists alongside her darker presentation. She watches for whatever makes an audience respond, whether fans are supporting her, laughing with her or reacting to her in-ring behavior.
CREATING THE “LIVING DEAD GIRL”
The current Teagan Thorne character began taking shape while she was sidelined by a knee injury in late 2023.
Her earlier ideas combined influences from the Bride of Frankenstein and Poison Ivy, mixing an undead appearance with imagery involving nature. The complete version of the character did not emerge until later.
Thorne said she began feeling lost while attempting to determine what made her distinctive. Coaches and producers repeatedly advised her to identify a genuine part of herself and amplify it dramatically.
Eventually, the answer became unavoidable.
“One day it just kind of clicked with me. I was like, ‘I am a literal living dead girl story. Why don’t I just embrace that?’”
That decision required Thorne to make one of the most traumatic parts of her life visible to wrestling audiences.
“It means so much to me now because I think it was the first time I let myself be truly vulnerable in wrestling. I laid it all out there, started to tell my story of what had happened to me with the traumatic car wreck and the impact it had on me.”
Thorne initially feared that audiences might interpret her survival story as evidence of failure or weakness. Instead, fans began responding to her as an underdog who had survived an almost impossible obstacle.
She now estimates that Teagan Thorne is approximately 30 percent constructed character and 70 percent her real personality intensified.
The presentation can operate on several levels. Some fans may simply see a gothic wrestler with an interest in undead imagery. Others may see a dark diva or an antihero whose questionable choices exist beside a genuine survivor story.
Thorne enjoys the fact that the complete meaning is not immediately obvious.
“I love the variety I can provide wrestling fans. I think it makes me more unique as a wrestler with all the layers there are to my character.”
A NEW LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE AT EMERGE
Thorne competed against Leela Hall at EMERGE 98: Back In The Saddle on August 1 in Columbus, Indiana.
Her history with EMERGE nearly began much earlier. Thorne said she had originally been considered for a refereeing opportunity when she first started training, but the plan did not materialize.
She believes the delay ultimately worked in her favor. By the time she appeared at Back In The Saddle, she felt more prepared and confident in what she could contribute.
“This time around I was prepared, ready and confident in what I was bringing to the table at Back In The Saddle. And I personally feel I delivered on that confidence I carried.”
Although Hall won the match, Thorne said her most important takeaway was the confidence she gained while leading a match with someone who had less experience.
“It helped me feel more confident in my abilities to help younger, less experienced talent breaking in be able to leave as big an impact as they can anytime I’m in the squared circle with them.”
That approach is not limited to protecting her own position.
“I root for everyone to win this wrestling trade in the long run.”
WRESTLING FOR SOMETHING BIGGER
Thorne returned to action August 14 at Headlocks for Henry in Seymour, Indiana.
The benefit was held for 18-month-old Henry Emily and his family during Henry’s fight against Grade 3 Type A metastatic ependymoma. Thorne defeated Cherry Valentine during the event.
Thorne said the show gave the wrestlers an opportunity to perform for people who were not necessarily regular independent-wrestling fans but had gathered around a shared community cause.
“It was a show I had a lot of fun doing, and I think it also felt good wrestling in front of non-wrestling fans or just ‘casual’ wrestling fans because we entertained a crowd that was there for a good cause as much as we were. It was an amazingly positive experience.”
“I’M TAKING OVER THIS DAMN BUSINESS”
Thorne couldn’t define success through one specific contract or promotion. She is more interested in becoming impossible for wrestling audiences and decision-makers to ignore.
Surviving the crash taught her not to treat rejection, negativity or doubt as final answers. She instead views them as additional obstacles.
“Life is far too precious and far too short to spend it dwelling on things. I think it’s what made me such a chaser. If I want to do something, I will find out what steps to do to do it and I’ll try my damnedest to get it done.”
Her definition of making it is not limited to reaching one destination.
“The biggest thing I want for the next phase of my career is just to become someone so memorable, undeniable, someone who is everywhere that you can’t get away from, even if you want to, because I’m taking over this damn business and leaving my mark one way or another.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit WrestlingHeadlines.com and Tim Rose for the interview.
