Emma had an interesting run in WWE and was one of NXT's most popular Superstars for a time. Her time on the main roster had its ups and downs between her partnerhip with Satino Marella, that scrapped transformation into Emmalina, and then the popular "Evil Emma" but fans were still really disappointed when she was released from the company.
Now, Emma - who goes by Tenille Dashwood these days - has revealed that she was as shocked as the rest of us when it happened.
"No, actually, it wasn’t me [who asked for the release]. It was actually a really big shock for me. I had no idea … At the time, I was in a feud with Asuka and we had just done the PPV. And that was her PPV debut. I think it was her actual debut as well. And we had an awesome match, I remember everyone loved it and then we had a match on RAW the night after. And then basically by the end of the week, I had a call saying I was released."
Dashwood went on to try and explain what led to her release and it sounds like one mistake is what led to Vince McMahon making that decision (this isn't a surprise all things considered as he's often stopped pushes because a Superstar has made a single error he wasn't a fan of).
"From what I heard, it was just that — honestly, I don’t even know what [it was], because I feel like there is more to it than what I was told. And it was kind of a very brief conversation, and not necessarily everyone agreed, or whatever it was. But basically I think the boss wasn’t happy with something, and that was kind of it. And I was very shocked, because I literally was packed to go on the European tour. So a two-week tour overseas, had my bags packed. I was going to the airport, it was on a Sunday. I was on the way to the airport basically and got a call and was like ‘What?’"
At the time of Emma's release, it was said that she had backstage heat for her use of social media and rumours swirled that Vince was unhappy with her for never committing to the Emmalina persona he created for her (which was ultimately given to Lana). It's a shame things ended for her the way they did in WWE but she's finding great success of the independent scene and in IMPACT Wrestling.