CJ Perry, previously known as Lana, was released by WWE in 2021 alongside several other Superstars. Two years later, she made her AEW debut at the All Out PPV when her now ex-husband Miro (Rusev in WWE) faced Powerhouse Hobbs.
After her and Miro's real-life relationship broke down, Perry was paired with Andrade. She's been absent from AEW television ever since and has today confirmed that her time in Tony Khan's company is over.
Telling USA Today that her "time with them has just finished," Perry confirmed she's now free to sign with any company and hopes to continue being a manager.
"I'm really focused on finding talent and cultivating them and helping them become the best wrestler, champion possible," she said. "I guess you could say I want to be the Paul Heyman."
Okay then.
On a slightly less deluded note, Perry did add, "Women need to be represented, and yes we are different than men. But we bring value. We can sell tickets. I mean look at Liv Morgan right now. It shows you that we need everything. We need the competitors, we need the badasses, we need the love stories and there's a spot for everyone."
It's since been reported that Perry was quietly let go from AEW in April, suggesting Khan didn't see much value in keeping her around. That's a shame as she does have a lot to give; whether WWE will be interested remains to be seen.
"I was in WWE and I had a very lucrative contract," Perry said last year of why she remained in WWE when Rusev left. "I was on TV every week, so it just made sense for me to stay. I finished my time a year later and Miro wanted me to come over to AEW and he was plugging me in the story and that's how I got the name 'hot and flexible.'"
As for how her release played out, she added, "If someone would have told me that would happen, I would have been like 'No way' because I love my job and I love the people I worked with. Things are shitty at times, but that’s why it’s a job. I go, 'Is there anything I did wrong?' [Laurinaitis is] like, 'No, you’ve worked your ass off. You’ve improved tremendously in the ring. Thank you for working hard. Stay close.'
Keep checking back here for updates as we have them.