CJ Perry recalled Vince McMahon being adamant that Lana start to wrestle.
In 2015, Lana, after being absent from a contract signing between John Cena and Rusev, became one of the most popular characters on the program and the fans were clearly getting behind “The Ravishing Russian.” Shortly thereafter, Lana break away from Rusev and in the summer of 2015, Lana began to get in the ring as part of a storyline that also included Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler.
Speaking about the program with Renee Paquette on The Sessions, CJ Perry recalled Vince McMahon being adamant that she either agree to a relationship storyline or go back down to NXT and learn how to wrestle because WWE is a wrestling company and she would have to learn how to resolve her conflicts in the ring.
“I'll never forget Vince called us into the office. This was after we had split up because he was adamant,” she recalled. “He was like, ‘You cannot be with Rusev anymore.’ Once the ‘We want Lana’ chants started , He was like, ‘That’s it. You have two choices. We can either do a relationship story, or you're gonna have to go back down to NXT to learn how to wrestle.’ I was like, ‘I'll do a relationship story, that's cool.’ So then that started, and then, you know, month and a half in, he brings Summer in. We had no idea and Miro’s like, ‘Why? What's happening? [Vince is] like, ‘Well, we're gonna have a match.’ Miro didn't want me to wrestle, he's very, very old school. He gets worried, he doesn't want me to get hurt. On top of it, he's like, ‘You're so good at what you do. Why are you gonna go try to —’ you know, Paige just got up. Becky, Sasha, all those girls were about to come up. I'm not going to catch up with those people. It's going to at least take 10 years, it takes a long time.”
Despite feeling that she was better as a manager because she was providing something that not too many people outside of Paul Heyman were providing at the time, she eventually agreed with Vince McMahon that WWE is a wrestling company and she should, at least, know the basics.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I'm fine with that. But I just think I'm great at this, let me do what I'm great at,’ versus, ‘I don't know if I want to catch up to these girls.’ We had this conversation in His office,” Perry continued. “This is actually the first time saying this story.I was just like, ‘I just don't think I'm gonna ever be that great.’ I want to be great at stuff. Not good, right? He’s like, ‘No, this is a wrestling company. You have to, at the very least, know how to bump.’ He goes, ‘You have to know how to resolve your conflicts in the ring, and your conflict is with Summer, and you're gonna resolve it in the ring.’ That was that. Miro didn't say anything else and I was like, ‘Okay, and you're right. This is a wrestling company. If I just want to do acting, I probably should fuck off, right?’”
Lana would continue to wrestle up until her WWE release in 2021. Currently, she is very focused on building her brand over at CJPerry.com but she is open to returning to wrestling one day.
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