Former WWE NXT star Priscilla Kelly, now known again on the indies under her real name, made headlines years before joining WWE with a now-infamous “bloody tampon” spot. While appearing on Saraya’s Rulebreakers podcast, Kelly finally opened up in detail about the inspiration behind the moment, the backlash she received, and how support from wrestling legends helped her push through the storm.
“It was a 21 and up bar show in California,” Kelly recalled. “There was no ring, just bar fights. I was like, ‘I have this idea.’ The chick I was wrestling, her name was Tuna… I asked if she was okay with the spot. She was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ She was pretty punk rock.”
Kelly confirmed the tampon was real, but clarified the blood was not. “I don’t think she would have said yes to that,” Kelly joked. “At first, I didn’t want to reveal anything. I really wanted to wig people out.”
She also credited AEW’s Brody King for encouraging her to go for it. “I asked him, ‘Is this too crazy?’ He was like, ‘F*** that. Do it.’ He probably doesn’t even remember saying it, but I did it—and thank God the clip cuts before I botch a stage dive and go headfirst into a chair.”
Priscilla Kelly pulls out her tampon 😬pic.twitter.com/7wUW6JOLvM
— Suhr Majesty™ (@ULTRA_MAJESTY) August 12, 2024
The Backlash
What began as an edgy spot at a local show quickly snowballed into a viral moment—and a personal storm for Kelly. “I’m working at GNC and my phone starts going nuts. ‘What the f***.’ My internet is blowing up,” she said. “It was really bad at first. Gail Kim didn’t like it. A lot of people I looked up to in the business were calling me disgusting, an embarrassment… saying I was setting women’s wrestling back.”
But just as the pressure became overwhelming, Lita reached out privately with a simple, powerful message: “I think you’re awesome.” She continued, “That’s all it took to get me out of this mental hole. I didn’t care what anyone else said after that. Lita thought I was cool.”
She also received public support from Tommy Dreamer and Taz, which helped her push past the initial negativity. “They came from ECW, so they got it. Tommy tweeted, ‘You, my dear, are hardcore.’ That meant the world.”
Kelly reflected on how perceptions changed over time. “Back then, nobody knew who I was. I was just some random chick… but once people see your actual work, it’s different.”
Now years removed from the controversy, Priscilla Kelly continues to embrace her unique path in wrestling, unapologetically creative and unshaken by criticism.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more wrestling stories, interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights.
