Shayna Baszler was released by WWE back in May this year, which came as a shock for many. But if you were to ask Baszler, she’d have a different story since Baszler wasn’t really surprised by her release.
While speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, Shayna Baszler confirmed that she had been released from WWE, noting that she had recently signed a contract extension and still had about three years left on the deal. While she said it is never a good feeling to be let go, the decision did not come as a surprise.
After Sonya Deville’s contract was not renewed, Baszler and Zoey Stark were no longer featured on television, leading her to suspect the end was coming. She and Stark continued pitching ideas and creating content on social media, but nothing was connecting with WWE’s creative team.
“I was released. I had actually, not too long ago, signed an extension, so I wish it would have just run out. I had like three more years.
You know, it’s funny because I wouldn’t say it’s ever a good feeling, but it was not unexpected. As far as Zoey and I and Sonya got—since they didn’t renew her contract—from that time we just weren’t on TV, me and Zoey. So you kinda get this feeling. We were trying to pitch stories and ideas and do our own stuff on social media, but nothing was really hitting with creative. As much as it’s a bummer in that moment, it’s kinda like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we kinda knew this is where we were at.’”
When the release happened, Baszler received a direct call rather than finding out through social media, which she was thankful for. She described the conversation as straightforward and filled with the usual polite but cliché phrases, without any dramatic explanation or specific reasons given. She added that she is not the type to dwell on questioning why it happened.
“They called me. I was fortunate to not be one of those to find out through social media. Yeah, it’s kinda just straightforward—like, you know, ‘We always hate doing this, we wish you the best’—normal, kinda cliché stuff. Nothing dramatic, no real reasons why, and I’m not a person who’d think, ‘But why?’”
While Baszler did work as a producer for an episode of NXT, that doesn’t mean she is back in the company. Regardless, only time will tell what’s next in store for Baszler as it’s clear her time in WWE is a thing of the past now.
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