Taynara Conti was waiting for an opportunity that never came in WWE.
Conti was signed by WWE in October 2016 and competed in both Mae Young Classics before making various appearances on NXT television. However, Conti never made the impact she was hoping to have, leading to her reportedly walking out on NXT in February 2020 over a disagreement. She returned shortly after, but was part of the April 15 cuts.
"I need to get better and think about my future and feel that I'm useful," Conti told Ring The Belle. "In the last couple of months, I was not feeling that anymore. I was trying to have conversations, asking for opportunities. I never asked for something big. I never asked for a TakeOver match or title shot. I was in the same spot for a long time, doing 3-4 minute matches to put someone else over and I was not able to show what I was able to do. Give me a 10 minute, 50/50 match, and I can show more about my character and what I do in the ring. A two-minute match, I can't do much. If the match is for someone else, I need to make them look good. At first, okay, that was my time to put people over. It's okay, I don't mind. But at some point, I was like, 'I have been doing the same thing for a long time. It's time to get better and show them more about me.' I would never do a promo and that was frustrating for me. 'You guys keep saying I'm good and will be a star.' All the feedback was amazing. I pitched like 100 different gimmicks. And they were like, 'No, keep doing what you're doing.' I tried to change my hair, my gimmick, and they were like, 'No, don't change, the opportunity is coming.' The opportunity never came. So, I was not happy."
She continued, "I asked them, 'What about me?' 'Well, there's people coming with more experience.' In my mind, I was like, 'If you keep signing people with more experience and you don't use me, why sign people that don't come from pro wrestling? Am I wasting my time here?' That was my feeling. I was like, 'What if I go wrestle outside and come back and have experience.' It just wasn't working. It was comfortable to have money every week, but I'm 24, I'm not scared of work. I wasn't happy anymore."
When Conti returned following the February incident, she began wearing a shirt that said "Released" at NXT live events. Conti last appeared on NXT television in December, losing to Candice LeRae.
Later in the interview, Conti said she started to feel bad for herself following her release, questioning why they didn't release her months ago when she would have had more opportunities. But in the end, she is grateful to WWE and excited about the future.
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