Taryn Terrell is “badass” personified.

The 29-year-old New Orleans native has been knocked out by Will Ferrell, set on fire, graced the pages of Playboy and Maxim, ruled ECW as general manager, fallen off ladders, crashed through tables and for the last 216 days she has called herself the reigning, defending TNA Knockouts Champion.

This Friday night Taryn looks to break down one more barrier – defending her title in the main event of Impact Wrestling.

“Ever since I got into wrestling all I wanted was to be champion, and for that championship to truly mean something – and now it does.” … “Who can say that? Who can say ‘I’m main eventing on Impact?’ Not that many people get that opportunity.”

Not that many indeed. Back in 2004, WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita – two women Taryn lists as her biggest inspirations in wrestling – had the opportunity to headline Monday Night Raw; a match and a moment fans are still talking about over a decade later.

“It’s just surreal. The fact that I’m main eventing as the Knockouts Champion is a dream come true. I started in 2007 with the [WWE] Divas search, went down to FCW, and to ECW, then Smackdown and now TNA. I’ve watched my career unfold over the years, and now it’s to the point where I’m on top, and I’ve got this championship, and this main event match against Awesome Kong.”

Friday’s episode of Impact Wrestling is unique. They’re calling it “TKO: A Night of Knockouts”, and while at least one match on the card will be worked by men, TNA is going all-out this week to celebrate what they consider to be a superior brand of women’s wrestling.

“It’s a women’s dominated show and that just doesn’t happen. As Knockouts we have this opportunity to set the bar higher for women’s wrestling everywhere. To have a company that believes in the division so much is such a blessing.”

Taryn admitted to me that she is definitely an adrenaline junkie. When she’s not taping episodes of Impact with Awesome Kong and Gail Kim, one of her life’s greatest passions is stunt acting.

I don’t know why I enjoy beating myself up for a living, but I do.
I think I’m addicted to the adrenaline. There’s something about getting set on fire, or getting hit by a car. There’s just something about it. I love the trust that you have to put in your own body. There’s a sense of accomplishment, like ‘wow I just trusted myself to light my body on fire, and I’m totally fine.’ It’s an interesting feeling to be engulfed by flame.

Spike TV's I jokingly asked Taryn if she would be down for the first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match, and the champ was characteristically excited at the idea – “hell yes.”

“I love taking challenges, and creating something spectacular. And that’s not always going to happen, but I will try like hell to make sure that it does.”

These days her free time is few and far between, as the brand new mom dedicates her waking hours to one-year-old daughter, Emerson. Still, she manages to find brief windows of opportunity between baby naps and mommy work-outs to watch tapes, as the Knockout knows she still has a whole lot to learn about pro wrestling.

“Wrestling isn’t easy, and it’s not something you learn in a couple of weeks,” she told me. “I’ve been wrestling on and off for eight years and there’s still so much that I have to learn.” Taryn credits her bosses in TNA for not only having the flexibility to work around her hectic life, but to listen to what she wants as a performer – a change of pace from her time in WWE.

“There’s so many people in WWE and it’s much harder to get a spot on TV. It’s much harder to fight for a spot. In TNA it’s a more intimate environment where you can talk to your bosses and get that one-on-one time. The difference is you get a say.” … “We really get an opportunity to show who we are as wrestlers and as Knockouts. We get matches that have time, and that have different stipulations.”

“I started as a referee, and that’s not what I wanted to do. When I was at WWE and I was the [general manager of ECW] I was given an opportunity to be on stage and connect with fans. That’s really cool but that’s not why I got into wrestling. I want to wrestle. I was able to talk to people in TNA and tell them what I wanted. I went up to OVW for a couple of weeks to get back in the ring and get my footing again, and they let me wrestle.”

“I’m really fortunate having opportunities to work, and then to have a baby, and to come back and continue to live my dream. Not only that, I’m champion and I’m main eventing at Night of Knockouts.

Headlining Impact is just the start for Ms. Tarrell and the incredible Knockouts division.

“I get that it’s a male dominated sport, we all get into it with that understanding. But what we bring to the table is something really cool and interesting, and it would be awesome to have two or three women’s matches every Friday night. We have an amazing roster of Knockouts. These girls are incredible, and everybody brings everything that they have. It really does create some awesome TV, so to have more time on the show would be a dream.

Watch Taryn defend the TNA Knockouts Championship against the imposing and dominant Awesome Kong – THIS FRIDAY AT 9PM ET ON DESTINATION AMERICA!