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Tenille Averil Dashwood (March 1, 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler previously signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the Raw brand under the ring name Emma. Emma has wrestled on the independent circuitRing of Honor and Impact Wrestling under the ring names Tenille Tayla, Tenille Williams, Valentine and Tenille Dashwood.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Tenille was introduced into wrestling by her older brother Jake, when she was about 8 years old. She involved herself in the Australian wrestling scene and did some training from the ages of 13 to 15. In 2005, Tenille made some appearances for the Australian wrestling promotion PWA under the name Valentine. However, from the age of 16 to 18, Tenille was limited to setting up the ring at events and helping out after she suffered a shoulder injury. In 2007, she moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a few months to train with Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy. In the fall of 2008, Tenille returned to Australia. She wrestled for several promotions, with one of her most notable appearances being at Nightmare Wrestling, where she teamed up with Christy Hemme, Kellie Skater and Sara Jay to defeat the team of Traci Brooks, Vixsin, Sway and Aurora. On February 22, 2009 Tenille also won PWA Queensland's first-ever "Queen of the Warriors" tournament, after defeating Shazza McKenzie, Jessie McKay and Kellie Skater.

Canada and Shimmer Women Athletes (2009–2011)

On May 2, 2009 Tenille made her debut for all-female American promotion Shimmer Women Athletes, at the tapings of Volume 23, losing to Amber O'Neal. Tenille wrestled on Volumes 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 34 and 36 in a variety of matches.

She made her debut for the Canadian wrestling promotion ECCW on May 22, 2009 under the name Tenille Dashwood. In her debut match Dashwood defeated Nicole Matthews to earn a shot at the SuperGirls title. She challenged the then-champion Veronika Vice, but was unsuccessful. On August 1, 2009 Tenille defeated Veronika Vice and Nicole Matthews in a 3-way match to win her first-ever ECCW SuperGirls title. Tenille held the championship until November 27, 2009, when she lost it to Veronika Vice. On March 19, 2010 Tenille defeated Veronika Vice to re-capture the ECCW SuperGirls championship. Tenille defended the championship against Lylah Lodge, Nicole Matthews, KC Spinelli and Veronika Vice, before losing it to Matthews in a tables match. In addition to Shimmer and ECCW, Dashwood wrestled for wrestling promotions such as RWF, Prairie Wrestling Alliance, MLW, PCW and Wrestling Fan Xperience. In early 2011, Tenille returned to Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy for further training, during which she became one of the ten trainees featured on the World of Hurt reality television show.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2011–2017)

NXT (2011–2014)

On March 4, 2011 Tenille Tayla attended a FCW tryout camp and it was reported that WWE had signed her to a developmental contract. In July 2011, Dashwood decided to undergo surgery for her shoulder, which had caused her problems throughout her career. In June 2012, Dashwood relocated to Florida, and eventually reported to WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling.

Dashwood debuted in the rebranded NXT Wrestling under her new ring name, Emma. On the November 28 edition of NXT, Emma made her televised debut in a losing effort against the evil Audrey Marie. Emma began acting as a heel with the gimmick of a clumsy dancer character on the January 9, 2013 edition of NXT in a losing effort to Paige. From April, Emma began to rack up wins (over the likes of Bayley and Audrey Marie), while becoming a babyface due to the high number of cheers she received. On the June 26 edition of NXT, Emma competed in the NXT Women's Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champion and defeated Aksana in the first round. She went on to defeat Summer Rae in the semi-finals on the July 10 edition of NXT. Two weeks later, Emma was defeated by Paige in the finals for the NXT Women's Championship tournament. On the August 7 edition of NXT, Emma defeated Summer Rae to earn another shot at the NXT Women's Championship. In the following months, Emma teamed up with Paige to feud with The BFF's (Sasha Banks and Summer Rae), On the 18 December episode of NXT, Emma was challenged by Natalya for Emma's title shot at the NXT Women's Championship, which was contested on the January 1, 2014 episode of NXT in which Emma was victorious. At NXT Arrival on February 27, Emma was defeated by Paige in a match for the NXT Women's Championship. A week later on NXT, Emma was defeated by Charlotte. On the April 3 edition of NXT, Emma defeated Sasha Banks in singles action.

Main Roster; Various Feuds (2014)

On the January 13 episode of Monday Night RAW, Emma made her first appearance on the main roster when WWE acknowledged her appearing amongst the live audience, Emma continued to appear in the crowd on Raw and SmackDown that month, with tensions developing between her and Summer Rae.

On the February 3 episode of RAW, Emma was invited into the ring by Santino Marella to participate in a dance-off against Summer Rae, which Emma won by fan vote. In the following weeks, the feud between Emma and Rae continued and Emma eventually began teasing a on-screen relationship with Marella, showing romantic feelings towards one another on both RAW and SmackDown. The two would finally face off in a match on the February 24 episode of RAW, where Emma would defeat Rae. Week later, on the March 3 episode of Raw, Emma and Santino would defeat Rae and Fandango in a mixed tag team match, when Emma once again made Rae submit. On the March 25 episode of Main Event, Emma teamed up with Natalya, The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) and Eva Marie in a losing effort to the team of Rae, Alicia Fox, Aksana, Layla and Tamina Snuka, when Snuka pinned Naomi. On the March 27 episode of WWE Superstars, Emma once again defeated Rae via submission. On April 6 at WrestleMania XXX, Emma competed in the "Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational" match for the WWE Divas Championship, which was won by defending champion AJ Lee. The following night on Raw, Emma and Marella once again defeated Rae and Fandango in a mixed tag team match, with Emma making Rae submit.

On July 2, 2014, two days after Emma was arrested for sixth-degree larceny in real life, WWE released Emma from the company. However, within hours, WWE reversed their decision and reinstated Emma while stating that they would still "take appropriate punitive action" against her. She returned on the July 15 episode of Main Event, where she defeated Cameron in a singles match. In August, Emma was placed in a feud with Alicia Fox, with the latter facing Fox in three matches on Superstars and Main Event, which Emma would win the first two bouts before losing to her on the September 4 episode of Superstars. Emma returned during the September 18 episode of NXT, facing NXT Women's Champion Charlotte, but came out on the losing end. At Survivor Series in November, Emma participated in an elimination tag team match, where she eliminated Summer Rae before her team won the match with a clean sweep.

Return to NXT (2015–2016)

On the January 28, 2015 episode of NXT, Emma announced that she would be returning to NXT, stating that her tenure on the main roster was not working out. The following week, in her return match, Emma was defeated by Carmella. In March, Emma turned heel after criticizing Bayley in a backstage segment which prompted a match between the two on the 1 April episode on NXT, which Emma lost. Emma continued her feud with Bayley, when she provided a distraction during Bayley's match with Dana Brooke, ensuring Brooke the victory and forming an alliance with her in the process. On the May 6 episode of NXT, after Emma was defeated by Charlotte and later attacked by Bayley, a tag team match was made between Emma and Brooke and Bayley and Charlotte at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, which Emma and Brooke lost. On the May 27 episode of NXT, Emma got retribution over Bayley, and after the match, Emma and Brooke attacked Bayley and Charlotte.

Emma ended her feud with Bayley when the latter returned from injury in mid–July, and defeated Emma. On the August 26 episode of NXT (which was taped at the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn event), Emma won a fatal four-way match against Dana Brooke, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch. In mid–September, Emma and Brooke were involved in a feud with newcomer Asuka, and confronted her during a contract signing with William Regal, which led to a match between Brooke and Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Respect on October 7, where Emma was attacked by Asuka after attempting to interfere.

Throughout November, Emma started provoking Asuka, including an attack planned by Emma and Brooke, which occurred on the November 25 episode of NXT, resulting in a match between her and Asuka at the NXT TakeOver: London event on December 16, which Emma lost, despite interference from Brooke. On the January 13, 2016 episode of NXT, Emma competed in a number one contender's battle royal, which was won by Carmella.

Return to main roster (2016–2017)

On the 22 March episode of Main Event, Emma made her return to the main roster alongside Summer Rae by attacking Alicia Fox and Natalya during a match between Paige and Naomi, distracting Paige, and subsequently aligning herself with Team B.A.D., Lana and Rae, after a reconciliation between Lana and Summer. The following week, in her return match, Emma defeated Paige on the March 28 episode of Raw, after being helped by Lana. Post-match, she along her allies, attacked Brie Bella, Natalya, Alicia Fox and Paige, before a returning Eva Marie cleared the area. As a result, a 10-Diva tag team match between the Total Divas team (Brie, Fox, Natalya, Eva and Paige) and the newly dubbed team B.A.D. & Blonde (Naomi, Tamina, Lana, Emma, and Rae) was announced for the WrestleMania 32's pay-per-view pre-show. At the event on 3 April, they were defeated by team Total Divas after Naomi submitted to Brie Bella. After WrestleMania, Emma began a feud with Becky Lynch, and defeated her on the May 2 episode of Raw, however, she lost to her and Natalya in a tag team match the 5 May episode of Smackdown. On the May 9 episode of Raw, Emma and her NXT tag team partner Dana Brooke assaulted Lynch during a backstage segment. On May 16, WWE announced that Emma had suffered a back injury during a live event which would require surgery.

On October 3, 2016 episode of Raw, a repackage vignette was shown, teasing about a "makeover of Emma to Emmalina". After more promotional videos, it was announced that the Emmalina character would first appear on December 12 episode of Raw. However, she did not appear on that episode, with another video stating she would be "premiering soon". Even into January 2017, Emmalina had yet to appear despite WWE's constant promotions of her upcoming return. In early February 2017, journalist Dave Meltzer, in describing the Emmalina situation, wrote that it was "a running joke and there's no spot ready for her." After 17 weeks of promotion, the Emmalina character first appeared on February 13, 2017 episode of Raw, only to promptly announce "the makeover from Emmalina to Emma". Reportedly, the Emmalina gimmick was dropped due to WWE producers feeling after rehearsals that Dashwood could not pull off the character which was to be a throwback to the likes of Sable and The Kat.

Emma appeared on the April 3 episode of Raw, following a number of vignettes promoting her return as her previously established villainous persona. She teamed with Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax against Dana Brooke, Sasha Banks and Bayley in a losing effort. On May 7, Emma suffered a shoulder injury at a live event in Liverpool, England. Emma made her return on the June 12 episode of Raw in a six-woman tag team match, where she, Jax, and Alexa Bliss were defeated by Banks, Brooke, and Mickie James. On the September 4 episode of Raw, Emma teamed with Jax to defeat both Bliss and Banks to earn spots for herself and Jax in the Raw Women's Championship match at No Mercy, her first pay per view match since the 2014 Survivor Series. At the event, she was unsuccessful after Bliss pinned the returning Bayley.

On the October 9 episode of Raw, after confronting General Manager Kurt Angle about who would face the debuting Asuka at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Emma defeated Sasha Banks, Alicia Fox, Bayley and Dana Brooke to earn the right to face Asuka, where she lost via submission. Frustrated over her loss, Emma challenged Asuka to rematch. On the 23 October episode of Raw, Emma was defeated by Asuka in what would be her final match in WWE.

On October 29, 2017 WWE announced they had released Emma from her contract.

Independent circuit

American promotions

On a January 3, 2018 Facebook post, All Pro Wrestling announced Emma would make her APW debut on March 17 at Kick Rocks under her real name, to face Nicole Savoy. Dashwood made a double-debut on February 3, for WrestlePro and Impact Wrestling at the WrestlePro Brace For IMPACT event. There, she defeated Angelina Love.

On February 11, Dashwood debuted in the newly-formed Wrestling Has A Tomorrow promotion, at WHAT II, where she wrestled in a special Storm Wrestling Academy Showdown, officiated by her former trainee and WWE alumni Lance Storm. In the showdown, Dashwood defeated fellow Storm trainee Rachael Ellering. On February 16, Dashwood made her Atomic Wrestling Entertainment debut at AWE Chapter 2: The Rebellion, where she defeated Leva Bates. The following night on February 17, Dashwood debuted in Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling at PPW Undisputed where she defeated Allie Recks by disqualification. Dashwood debuted in Bar Wrestling on February 22 at February Stars, where she defeated Taya Valkyrie.

Dashwood debuted in the newly-formed Stand Alone Wrestling promotion on February 24 during its inaugural event SAW Liftoff held in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, where she defeated Brittany Blake. On February 25, Dashwood made her America's Most Liked Wrestling debut at AML All For The Glory, where defeated Savannah Evans. On March 2, Dashwood made her debut for Northeast Wrestling at NEW Wrestlefest XXII where she defeated Deonna Purrazzo. Dashwood made her Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA) debut on March 24 at the 17th Anniversary Show where she defeated Kat Von Heez. On the following day on March 25, Dashwood debuted in Women's Wrestling Revolution (WWR) at WWR From The Pinnacle To The Pit, where she defeated Team PAWG member Jordynne Grace.

On April 5, she returned to the ring at the WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow teaming with Madison Eagles, Nicole Savoy, Shazza McKenzie and Tessa Blanchard to defeat Caleb Konley, Jake Manning, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Trevor Lee & Zane Riley in an intergender tag team match. Eight days later on April 13 at AAW Never Say Die 2018, Dashwood teamed with Hudson Envy, Samantha Heights in a six-woman tag match to defeat Jessicka Havok, Kimber Lee & Su Yung. Dashwood made her Westside Xtreme Wrestling debut at the 2018 wXw Superstars Of Wrestling on May 5 where she challenged for the wXw Women's Championship held by Toni Storm but did not succeed in winning the title.

After her departure from Ring of Honor in September 2018, Dashwood returned to the ring the following year in July 27, 2019 for a Black Label Pro booking for their BLP Dropkicks & Dragons event. There she defeated Allie Kat.

UK promotions

Travelling to make her UK bookings, Dashwood made her Pro Wrestling Chaos debut in Rochester, Kent, England at PWC Jumpers For Ringposts where she defeated Sierra Loxton. She made her International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom debut on April 28 at IPW:UK International Battle Royale to challenge defending champion Xia Brookside for the IPW:UK Women's Championship but did not succeed in winning the title due to both competitors securing what was ruled as a Double Pin during the ending moments of the title match.

Ring of Honor (2018–2019)

Dashwood made her Ring of Honor debut on February 9 at ROH Honor Reigns Supreme, where she teamed with Mandy Leon in a tag match defeating Kelly Klein & Stacy Shadows. During the February 10 ROH TV Tapings, Dashwood eliminated Stacy Shadows to advance in the First Round of the ROH Women Of Honor Title Tournament. Dashwood returned to Ring of Honor on 3 March, to wrestled at Manhattan Mayhem, where she teamed with her previous Northeast Wrestling opponent Deonna Purrazzo to defeat Jenny Rose & Sumie Sakai in a tag team match. Six nights later on March 9, during the ROH 16th Anniversary Show, Dashwood advanced in the Women of Honor Championship Tournament Quarter Final after eliminating Brandi Rhodes.

Two nights later on April 7 at ROH Supercard of Honor XII, Dashwood wrestled in a Women of Honor Championship Tournament Semi Final match where she was eliminated by Sumie Sakai. Eight nights later on 15 April, Dashwood returned at ROH Masters Of The Craft where she teamed with Deonna Purrazzo and Sumie Sakai to defeat Brandi Rhodes, Jenny Rose & Madison Rayne in a tag match. On May 9, during the first night of the ROH-NJPW War Of The Worlds 2018 event, Dashwood teamed with Sumie Sakai to defeat Deonna Purrazzo & Skylar. During the May 12 ROH TV-Tapings, Dashwood defeated Karen Q. Twelve days later on 24 May ROH Honor United: Edinburgh, Dashwood teamed with Sumie Sakai in a tag match lost to Chardonnay & Kelly Klein. Two days later on May 26 at ROH Honor United: London, Dashwood defeated Kelly Klein.

Dashwood returned on June 15 during the opening night of ROH State Of The Art, teaming with Sumie Sakai in a tag match defeating defeat Kelly Klein & Thunder Rosa. During the final night of ROH State Of The Art, Dashwood defeated Thunder Rosa in a singles match. On 29 June at the 2018 ROH Best In The World pay-per-view, Dashwood teamed with Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani and Sumie Sakai in defeating Kelly Klein and team Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Hazuki & Kagetsu). On the June 30 edition of ROH, Dashwood finished the month competing in a Four Corner Survival No. 1 Contendership match for the ROH Women of Honor Championship against Madison Rayne, Karen Q and Kelly Klein. After a month touring in independent shows in Australia and New Zealand, Dashwood returned at the 2018 ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, challenging reigning Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai, but did not succeed in winning the title after the referee stopped the match. On the September 29 episode of ROH Dashwood competed in a dark match teaming with Jenny Rose, Stella Grey in defeating Ashley Vox, Kris Stadtlander & Riley Shepard. After this match, Dashwood parted ways with ROH.

Dashwood made a surprise appearance, returning to ROH on January 26, 2019 during the third night of the ROH Road To G1 Supercard Tour. At the event, Dashwood was seen accompanying Tracy Williams to his match against Rhett Titus.

On March 31, 2019 Tenille announced on her Twitter page that she was a free agent and had left Ring of Honor.

Impact Wrestling (2018–2022)

On February 3, 2018 at WrestlePro Brace For IMPACT, Dashwood made her debut in a singles match defeating Angelina Love.

On July 29, 2019 it was announced Dashwood signed with Impact Wrestling. She first match was held on the 13 September episode of iMPACT! Wrestling defeating Kiera Hogan. The following week, Dashwood returned on the 27 September episode of iMPACT! where she defeated Madison Rayne. The following month Dashwood returned on the October 4 episode of iMPACT!, where she won a three-way match defeating Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne.

All Elite Wrestling (2019)

In 2019, Dashwood debuted in All Elite Wrestling on August 31, during AEW All Out, participating in a battle royal won by Nyla Rose.

Return to WWE

Personal life

Dashwood grew up in Boronia, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Dashwood has an older brother named Jake, who introduced her to wrestling. She cites Stone Cold Steve AustinTrish Stratus and Lita as her inspirations in wrestling. In 2002, at the age of 13, she met Stratus at the WWE Global Warning tour in Melbourne, and Dustin Rhodes in 1997.

On June 30, 2014, Dashwood was arrested in Hartford, Connecticut. She did not appear on the episode of Raw that aired live that night. Police released her after she agreed to appear at Hartford Community Court, which she did the following day on July 1. Her lawyer claimed that she forgot to pay for an iPad case when using a self-checkout machine at a Walmart. The court ordered her to perform community service and an online course, after which the charge would be dismissed. This initially led to WWE releasing Dashwood, but they reversed their decision hours later.

Dashwood was previously in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Matthew Cardona, better known by his ring name Zack Ryder.

Other media

Dashwood regularly appeared in the WWE web series The JBL and Cole Show, until its cancellation in June 2015. In September 2015, Dashwood began a short-lived cooking show on YouTube entitled Taste of Tenille.

Emma has appeared in three WWE video games. She made her in-game debut at WWE 2K15 as a DLC and appears in WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, and WWE 2K18.

Filmography

Web series

Title Role
The JBL and Cole Show Herself

Television

Title Role Notes
Total Divas Herself Guest

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2014 WWE 2K15 Herself DLC with the NXT Arrival pack
2015 WWE 2K16 Herself
2016 WWE 2K17 Herself
2017 WWE 2K18 Herself Last appearance

In wrestling

  • Entrance themes
    • "Feedback" by Janet Jackson (Independent circuit)
    • "#Emmalution" by Brian Randazzo (NXT; 2013–2015)
    • "Chemical Mind" by Jason Davis (NXT; 27 May 2015 – 22 June 2015)
    • "Real Deal" by CFO$ (NXT; 1 July 2015 – 21 August 2017)
    • "Who's That Girl" by Jim Johnston (28 August 2017 - 28 August 2017)
    • "All About Me" by CFO$ (4 September 2017 - 29 October 2017)
    • "Spotlight" by Hot Tag Media Works (ROH 2018-2019)

Championships and accomplishments

  • Pro Wrestling Alliance Queensland
    • "Queen of the Warriors" tournament (2009)

External links

2015 PWI Top 50 Females
Nikki BellaPaigeSasha BanksSantana GarrettGail KimCharlotteNaomiCherry BombCourtney RushTaryn TerrellBayleyBrie BellaSexy StarCheerleader MelissaLufistoNicole MatthewsBecky LynchKimber LeeNatalyaJessicka HavokAwesome KongCandice LeRaeBrookeAthenaIvelisseJadeMadison RayneLeva BatesBarbi HaydenAngelina LoveEmmaSaraya KnightVeda ScottVelvet SkyMadison EaglesKay Lee RayMarti BelleKellie SkaterNikki StormEvieHeidi LovelaceTessa BlanchardPortia PerezAlicia FoxCat PowerCrazy Mary DobsonXandra BaleLa Rosa NegraMalia HosakaVanessa Kraven
2016 PWI Top 50 Females
Charlotte FlairSasha BanksAsukaBecky LynchBayleyJadeNatalyaGail KimSexy StarSiennaIvelisseMadison EaglesNicole SavoyRosemaryAllieNicole MatthewsKimber LeeCandice LeRaePaigeHeidi LovelaceEvieCheerleader MelissaNia JaxSantana GarrettNaomiDana BrookeMadison RayneKay Lee RayAlexa BlissLufistoAmber GallowsMarti BelleEmmaTaylor MadeVanessa KravenSu YungEmber MoonTessa BlanchardJessicka HavokShayna BaszlerCrazy Mary DobsonMalia HosakaThunder RosaCarmellaKC SpinelliVeda ScottJessica JamesXandra BaleKaitlin DiemondEva Marie
2018 PWI Top 100 Females
Ronda RouseyAlexa BlissCharlotte FlairIo ShiraiAsukaShayna BaszlerCarmellaNia JaxMayu IwataniKairi SaneBecky LynchSumei SakaiSu YungSasha BanksTessa BlanchardAllieBayleyKagetsuToni StormNatalyaEmber MoonRosemaryLufistoNikki CrossNaomiNicole SavoyCharlie MorganKris WolfMercedes MartinezDakota KaiRuby RiottMomo WatanabeSarah LoganHiroyo MatsumotoSarayaTaya ValkyrieChihiro HashimotoMia YimKelly KleinShazza McKenzieVanessa KravenMickie JamesTsukasa FujimotoMadison EaglesCheerleader MelissaMeiko SatomuraDelilah DoomJordynne GraceDeonna PurrazzoKimber LeeStarlight KidChelsea GreenLiv MorganViperSantana GarrettZoey SkyeNicole MatthewsFaby ApacheIvelisseHana KimuraJungle KyonaCandice LeRaeRhea RipleyTenille DashwoodKC SpinelliJessicka HavokKiera HoganLeva BatesMandy RoseDalys La CaribeñaBritt BakerSonya DevilleRisa SeraMadison RayneMari ApacheKaitlin DiemondJinnyShotzi BlackheartSammii JayneBea PriestleyKay Lee RayRhia O'ReillyXandra BaleBrandi RhodesBianca BelairKaren QMelanie CruiseNevaehKikyoRachael ElleringGisele ShawPeyton RoyceAlicia FoxHudson EnvyVeda ScottZoe LucasAlexia NicoleSamantha HeightsJewells MaloneSkylar
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