Madison Rayne got `the call' and she cried.

Tears of joy, she accomplished one of her goals, officially joining the TNA Wrestling roster in February.

``I got the call two days before my birthday, so it was a double celebration,'' said Rayne, 23, who hails from Ohio. ``Being a part of TNA is a dream come true, and I couldn't ask for a better job.

``I called my mom and called my dad, and they came and spent the weekend with me. We went to dinner, and we talked about when I was a little girl. Most girls got lipstick and Barbie dolls for Christmas. I got wrestling T-shirts.''

Probably an HBK T-shirt.

``Shawn Michaels was my favorite,'' she said. ``I think when I was younger it was because I thought he was cute and wore shiny pants. As I grew older and learned more about the sport, the way he captivates an audience and the emotions on his face, we become intrigued with everything he is doing.

``He also was told maybe you're too small. [Michaels 6-1, 220]. I dealt with the same thing. It's neat for me to see someone, who was told the same negative things I was told, go out and do all the things he's done and accomplished. It gives me faith, knowing that I can do the same thing.''

The 5-3, 115-pound Rayne is taking it step-by-step.

``I've wanted to be a wrestler since I was 8-years-old,'' she said. ``Along the way, I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to be a model. I wanted to be a pageant girl, and I tried all that, but it wasn't where my heart is.

``From the time that I was small, I watched wrestling. I studied it. I got into it. The way they can go out there and be athletes and also captivate an audience and toy with their emotions is something that I wanted to be part of.''

An athletic, talented wrestler who is also pretty, Rayne quickly found herself aligned beautifully with, of course, the Beautiful People -- Angelina Love and Velvet Sky.

``The Beautiful People, it's awesome,'' she said. ``We're on top of the world. We're nearly undefeatable.''

Rayne is on top of the world, being involved with the original Beautiful People.

``Angelina Love is a genius,'' Rayne said. ``She's beautiful. She's gifted inside the ring and out. She knows what she wants. She goes after it, and she always gets it.

``Velvet Sky, the same. She is gorgeous, and she has people eating out of her hand. I'm learning from two of the best.''

After graduating from Ridgewood High School in West Lafayette, Ohio, Rayne (Ashley Simmons) attended college.

``At first, my family was hesitant about me wrestling,'' Rayne said. ``I was in college for about a year and a half, and I carried a 4.0 [grade point average]. So my mom was heartbroken when I told her I'm going to stop going to school, getting all these good grades and furthering my life that way, and I'm going to try to be a professional wrestler.

``My mom doubted it and was disappointed, but I think the fact I set my goals, and I knew what I wanted, and I went after it, and I didn't stop no matter what anybody said until I reached a goal, made my parents proud that they instilled that in me. They always wanted me to do well, and they wanted to make sure I was safe.''

In her TNA iMPACT! debut in January, Rayne was defeated by TNA's best Awesome Kong.

``It was really cool coming to TNA and having my first match here and going home and watching it with my family and looking over at my parents, and they had tears in their eyes because they were so proud of me.

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