Despite the fact her husband, Miro (formerly known as Rusev), decided to leave WWE and sign with AEW, it appeared Lana was quite content remaining with the company she started her pro wrestling career in. As a result, fans were definitely surprised when the news broke she had been released as a result of "budget cuts" last month.
Now, Lana - real name CJ Perry - has opened up on the fallout from he release, confirming that WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon reached out to her by text after the release.
"I got a text. He thanked me for my incredible work ethic, and for my unrelentingly desire to be the best that I could be and all the contributions I gave to WWE," Lana explained. "So that really meant a lot to me, and I thanked him for everything that he’s taught me because I learned so much."
"I’ve learned so much life lessons and performing. I’m incredibly thankful. The hardest part for me, maybe they’ll change this in the future, especially after Mickie and the garbage bag, is the goodbye part. Now it’s changed a little bit. People at least talk to each other. It used to be cut off. I would have liked to maybe give Vince McMahon one last hug goodbye. I want to say goodbye to the writers."
Lana went on to say that she wishes the door was open to released talent being allowed to go and collect their belongings and say goodbye to their fellow Superstars and members of the creative team. It's an interesting point, but it does make sense that WWE doesn't necessarily want potentially disgruntled former employees arriving at RAW or SmackDown to publicly air their grievances.
There's currently no word on what Lana has planned for her post-WWE career, but she remains under a 90-day non-compete so we're unlikely to find out what her plan is until September is at the earliest.
Keep checking back here for updates as we have them.