Lana Comments on WWE Release, Working in WWE After Miro’s Release, Her Match at Survivor Series, & More

A recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast had former WWE talent Lana, real name CJ Perry, as the guest. Some of the topics discussed included Lana’s thoughts on her WWE release, the difficulties of working in WWE after her husband Miro’s release, being glad to work at WWE’s ThunderDome, Roman Reigns causing a table spot to be nixed from her match at last year’s Survivor Series event, and her thoughts on her notable feud with Nia Jax.

On the topic of her release from WWE and wanting a no-cut clause for her next wrestling contract, Lana stated:

“I didn’t want to get fired. I wanted to make sure I was an essential worker, you know that they’re like, ‘No, we need you.’ I know from day one, my future endeavors — all of those future endeavors start day one of working in WWE, so I was preparing for it. So I rented this house and decided to take my family on a family vacation here. So I could train a lot more and not have to travel. Two weeks in, I rented it for a month, two weeks inI got a call from Johnny Ace. The crazy thing is I thought he was calling me about something completely different. Because I was —- I can’t tell you yet what the show is, but I was offered to do another television show and they went through the whole process with WWE and they approved that. So I thought he was calling me about more of those details, you know, because that’s what we were all discussing the day before, you know?

He goes, ‘I’m calling you about your 90 days. I was like ‘Wait, what?’ I was like, I couldn’t even understand. He’s like, ‘I’m calling you about your 90 days. You’re getting released.’ I was literally standing right next to a pool. My heart dropped. At the same time, I felt really relieved, which was really weird. Because I did not expect the feel relieved. Like I felt like a weight lifted off my shoulder and I could breathe. If someone would have told me that would have happened. I would have been like, ‘No way,’ because I love my job. I love the people that I worked with. I mean, yeah, things are shitty at times. But like, that’s why it’s a job, you know?

He’s like, ‘Stay in touch. Thank you. He goes, you’ve worked your ass off.’ I go, ‘Is there anything that I did wrong? He’s like, ‘No, he’s like, you worked your ass off. You’ve improved tremendously in the ring. Thank you for working hard. Stay close.’ I’m glad it wasn’t Mark Carrano that called me. Because like, I just see Johnny as this role, you know? Mark kind of becomes like homies a little bit more and like Ace is just like, so. corporate. He was like, ‘No, just budget cuts.’ I said, Okay, Thank you for everything.’ That was that.

I felt really relieved in the sense of like, I’ve been waiting for this call. That’s the part I don’t like about the environment. I want to — whatever wrestling contract I have next if I stay in wrestling, which I hope I do, I want a no-cut clause, that was the worst.”

On the topic of the difficulties of working in WWE after Miro’s release in early 2020, Lana stated:

“With Miro (being released by WWE), that f—ed me up. I was, first of all, shook. Never in a million years would I have thought he would have been fired before me, never – and that place makes you feel that way, that place makes you feel that men are more important than women. That place makes you feel, especially if you’re a manager or valet, you’re secondary and yeah, maybe you are secondary but I do feel I was a big part of his success and I think I’m a big part of his success behind closed doors at AEW and I can talk about that now. A big turn for him was when we started really talking about, ‘let’s make your message a bit more clear over there’ and it’s reassuring to me that I do grasp storytelling and wrestling as well. So, when he got fired I, God I was beyond devastated. Between the combination of the pandemic and not knowing what the world was going to hold and I just remember I would text Becky (Lynch) and she was like, ‘you can do it, you’re a strong woman’”

On the topic of being glad of WWE moving to the ThunderDome for live shows during the coronavirus pandemic, Lana stated:

“I was so excited that we were back to live television and that Vince could rethink it and rewrite it seventeen times. Because that’s what was happening. One time, I was there for 19 hours to do a 60 second backstage. Nattie and I did this whole segment with Mickie James and debuted Chelsea… I was managing Nattie for the first time and Chelsea was supposed to debut with Mickie and we did it all. We did it all. We went home, you know, I’m in bed, and we get a call from one of the writers that they’re cutting it. Vince looked at it and said, no, cut the whole thing.

We had to go back to film another backstage, all of it, Chelsea didn’t debut, we had the match and all. It was just like constantly weird stuff like that. That it was just once we went to live television, I was excited. I was like, yay. We can’t rethink it. It’s out there like, for better or for worse.”

On the topic of Roman Reigns causing a planned table spot to be nixed for the Women’s Survivor Series match at last year’s Survivor Series event and Vince McMahon changing the plans for her in the match, Lana stated:

“We were supposed to do this whole table spot on the show, and then Roman did not want that because he had a table spot with [Drew McIntyre]. There was some major pushback between the Samoans, Nia and Roman. I’m caught in the middle. We had a huge spot.

I was supposed to be laid out in the very beginning. I was supposed to get in the ring, and Nia snatched me because the whole point was that everyone on the team were heels. I was the only ‘babyface’, and they were going to be all against me and she was gonna lay me out.

And then at the end, I had this whole sequence with Bianca [Belair], and Bayley was supposed to get involved and cheat. We were all so excited about it. I was excited I was gonna get to wrestle, then there’s the whole Samoan rivalry that happens.

So the whole table spot got taken out, and then Vince thought it would be hilarious if I didn’t get in the match at all. Nia would not let me get in at all, and then I win because everyone gets eliminated, and he thought that was the most hilarious thing. Shane McMahon thought it was hilarious. They’re like, this has never been done before, and in many ways, I understand because Undertaker was retiring that day and I understand, let’s give something different on the show.

I get that business side of it all, but it was really dramatic. There was all this stuff happening. I’m crying in a corner because I’m like, I just want to wrestle. I’m calling Nattie. ‘Nattie, I’m hiding in this corner and crying. I just want to wrestle. I want to prove myself,’ and Nattie’s like, ‘You’re still winning? Who cares?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I want to prove myself.’ TJ [Wilson] really wanted me to get in and wrestle a little bit, and then Nia was gonna kick me out and say you have to stand there.

He had to even fight for that with Vince because he was like, ‘No, I think it’s important for her to show that she’s improving in the ring. That’s the babyface side of it is that she does want to get in and wrestle, and they’re telling her, go f**k off and stand out there.’ And that would have gotten a huge reaction. In some ways, I understood Vince was trying to recreate what Miro did to me in 2015. They would be like, ‘We want Lana.’ He would send me to a different part. They kicked me out, and the whole place boos. Those things really resonate with crowds.”

On the topic of if she had any idea of what WWE’s actual plans were for her notable feud against Nia Jax, Lana stated:

“I’ll never forget Mandy [Rose] and Dana [Brooke] were like, ‘Do you know where this is going? Do you know what’s happening?’ And I’m like, ‘I have no idea. I have no idea.’ They’re like, ‘You have such a great attitude for losing,’ and it’s like, well, someone has to lose, literally. Unless there’s a DQ, someone has to lose, and I would rather be losing than sitting at catering.

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1 & 2, PostWrestling.com, WrestlingInc.com