Shayna Baszler had plenty of time left on her WWE contract before her abrupt release.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former two-time NXT Women’s Champion was asked if she was released or if WWE let her contract expire.
“I was released,” Baszler responded. “I had actually not too long ago signed an extension. So yeah… I wish it would have run out, but yeah, I was released,” adding that she had “like three more years” on her contract.
Shayna Baszler says her WWE release was not unexpected
“You know, it’s kind of funny because I wouldn’t say it’s—it’s obviously never a good feeling, I don’t think, in rare cases—but it was not unexpected. As far as like Zoey (Stark) and I and with Sonya (Deville) being released, they didn’t renew her contract.
“And from that time, me and Zoey just weren’t on TV. So you kind of get this feeling. We were trying to pitch stories and ideas and do our own stuff on social media and that kind of thing. And just nothing was really hitting with creative. So I mean, as much as it’s a bummer in that moment, it’s kind of like, ‘Yeah, I kind of knew this was where we were at.'”
Baszler further stated she was notified of her WWE release via a phone call.
“They called me. I was fortunate to be one of those that did not find out through social media,” she said, adding that the whole process was “kind of just straightforward.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of just straightforward. They say, ‘We’re doing this, we want to wish you the best,’ all the normal kind of cliché stuff. Nothing dramatic, no real reason why. I’m not a person that’s going to sit in that moment and be like, ‘Well, why?'”
Elsewhere in the interview, Baszler revealed if she’d be open to signing with AEW. Fans can read her full comment here.
