WWE LFG Winner Tyra Mae Steele On The Undertaker: 'That Man's Like A Dad' (Exclusive)

The first season of WWE LFG on A&E has come to an end with Olympic Gold Medalist Tyra Mae Steele picking up the win for the females.

Known as "The Real Deal" due to her stellar credentials as a gold medal athlete in women's freestyle wrestling, Steele proved herself throughout the 15 episode run of the show and credits much of her success to the coaching from the legends, in particular The Undertaker.

During the first episode of LFG, Steele had the opportunity to choose her own coach out of the legends and chose WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker.

"The number one thing I learned from The Undertaker was to not be afraid to be myself and to have the passion that he has," Tyra told The Takedown on SI. "I didn't understand how much I could love this industry until I was around The Undertaker."

Under the leadership of "The Deadman," the WWE LFG female winner learned to be her authentic self and to never put on an act in any scenario she faces in pro wrestling.

"And every situation I saw him in, I went, 'wait is he actually mad, I'm confused, I feel every emotion radiating off of him. I, I don't know if he's acting or not.' And I was like, 'ahhhh (laughs).' So just watching that, it just gave me permission to be more real, to not put on a show, not put on an act."

Considered one of the most respected legends in the history of the business, The Undertaker is a former seven-time WWE World Champion and a five-time WrestleMania main eventer.

Through his coaching, Taker gave Tyra the permission to be as real as possible in every situation and iive in every moment she experiences in the industry regardless of the consequences.

MORE: WWE LFG Winners Tyra Mae Steele & Jasper Troy Discuss Their Journey To NXT Contracts (Exclusive)

"I'm super bubbly and I'm a happy person, but I get angry sometimes. If you cross me, there will be consequences, but you'll be forgiven. Okay, you'll be forgiven (laughs)," Steele said. "But forgive me for my wrongs because I've just begun. So, you want to come and act up with me, Undertaker just gave me that permission."

Explaining what she learned from "The Phenom" throughout her run on WWE LFG, Tyra explained that Taker helped her realize how much passion she can have for the business.

Most of all, The Undertaker helped her to hone in on all the tools she already possessed and had a fatherly influence over the Olympian.

"He just said, 'you already have everything you need. Just keep having that passion, just keep being you.' And man, that man's like a dad, he's so sweet and he's so real all at the same time."

The long journey and process of WWE LFG helped Steele know what she has to tap into and what sides of herself she needs to explore.

Tyra is a genuinely happy individual who wants to spread love, but scenarios like the promo she cut when CM Punk visited the LFG hopefuls allowed her to open up in a way she isn't usually used to.

“Don't get me wrong, I will still be friendly to people. I will still love on people and you will get to know a little bit about me, but you won't really get to know what's upsetting me and how we can like fix it together. I'll tell you bluntly like, 'Hey, I didn't appreciate that,' and then move along."

"And if you try to tell me something rude, I really won't care. But me and my husband, my family, we be having arguments because I care, and so when I had that promo in front of CM Punk, I let everybody in."

The Undertaker's teachings and the experiences along this season came into play during the final episode of LFG when Tyra Mae Steele competed in Madison Square Garden for the first time.

Comments from @bullyray5150 got @MensahTamStock absolutely FIRED UP on #WWELFG! 🔥😡

SUNDAYS at 8/7c on @AETV pic.twitter.com/zWCyYMij6c
— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 2025

Standing across the ring against Team Bubba Ray Dudley's Zena Sterling, Steele couldn't believe how the experience made her feel and filled her with excitement.

With Steele competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no crowd in attendance for the global event, so this match in front of a sold-out crowd in The Theater at MSG was an unbelievable experience.

"I don't know why I compared empty to full because it was just way more colorful, way more loud, way more invigorating, but it was so exciting like honestly, it felt like The Olympics that I never had, and I want to have that experience again and again and again and again."

That rush of adrenaline performing in The Garden gave her a high unlike anything she has ever experienced and is something that WWE could continue to offer moving forward in her career.

"WWE can provide that for me. I want to always be on that high. And if they're booing me or if they're cheering for me, it literally does not matter because I will get to hear noise because I did not get to hear that when I was at The Olympics."

Picking up a victory in her match against Sterling, Tyra performed a dance that showed just how much joy this bout gave her.

Ava welcomes Jasper Troy & Tyra Mae Steele to NXT after winning Season 1 of WWE LFG. She says they'll make their debuts in a few weeks.

Jasper Troy says he plans on making an impact tonight 👀#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/HJHuqWJGuM
— The Movement - Pro Wrestling (@TheMovementXx) May 21, 2025

"When I won, I did a little dance and some people might perceive the dance to be a little weird, but I was like whatever it doesn't matter, I still was like, (dances)," Steele stated.

"It was great because I was really feeling it and I felt like, 'man I can really get used to this, this is awesome.' Like I knew I was meant to be here, but it's nothing like I had envisioned and I love that. I freaking, it's better than what I thought."

The season one finale of WWE LFG: Legends and Future Greats aired on the A&E Network on Sunday, May 18. You can watch the full interview with both winners of this season, Tyra Mae Steele and Jasper Troy at The Takedown On SI YouTube channel.

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