CJ Perry's AEW debut could have come a little sooner, as Miro had a different idea for it.
At AEW All Out 2023, CJ Perry, formerly known as Lana in WWE, finally made her AEW debut. She tried to reunite with Miro, but the former TNT Champion walked away from her. Perry has regularly appeared on AEW TV ever since.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, CJ Perry discussed her arrival in AEW and noted that she as excited to return to wrestling. She made it clear that her AEW debut being in Chicago made it even more special, as the city has been a significant place during her career.
"I was really excited. I was so excited to return to wrestling, especially in Chicago. I love Chicago. I actually debuted in WWE in Chicago. My first live promo was in Chicago. CM Punk had just left, so everyone’s like, ‘You gonna be okay? There’s gonna be CM Punk chants.’ I feel like I held my own, with Miro. Then the first time the ‘We want Lana’ chants happened was in Chicago, and Miro came out. At the time, he was Rusev, he came out with a really bad Russian lawyer, and it was on my birthday, and they started chanting, ‘We want Lana.’ So that was cool. My official babyface turn happened there in WWE, so it was really cool to be able to have that special moment with AEW of debuting there. Because I love Chicago, and the fans have always rooted for me so much. So it’s really awesome to be able have that special connection now with AEW as well, Perry said.
Pery then noted that Tony Khan wanted her debut to be in Chicago. She again made it clear that shwe was excited, as she called Chicago her favorite wrestling city. Perry then explained that Miro pushed for her to get brought in, and a lot of the story was his idea. She revealed that Miro wanted her debut to be in London, as she seemingly referred to AEW All In at Wembley Stadium.
"Miro was pushing, a lot of this was his idea, a lot of the story. He wanted it to be in London, but Tony really had a vision for it to happen in Chicago, and he’s from Chicago and loves Chicago and I love Chicago. So here we go," Perry said.
When asked whether there was ever any talk of her joining AEW when Miro first joined the company, she looked back on how she was with WWE at the time. She then stated that she wanted to take a break following her WWE release. After that, it was a matter of figuring out the timing, as she and Miro had things going on, and AEW had a loaded show.
"Well, when Miro first joined AEW, I was still in WWE. So that was in 2020, he started there in September, I think. So I was in WWE still, and I had a very lucrative contract. I was on TV every week, so we both thought it made sense for me to stay. Then I finished my time a year. 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.’ So I needed a little bit of a break. At the beginning, I wanted to be gone for a little bit, and I wanted to do things…I didn’t want to jump right back on the road. So I took about a year, and it was just trying to figure out the time. Tony Khan had great things going on with his show, and I had things going on, Miro had things. It’s all about timing," she said.
In an interview with Fightful, CJ Perry stated that she is on her own path in AEW. Click here to see what she had to say.
Check out Perry's comments on the Bobby Lashley storyline here.
Perry previously reflected on her AEW debut and called Miro a method actor. You can find her comments at this link.
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