Shotzi has spoken out following her WWE departure, expressing disappointment and the belief that the company “gave up on me.” She shared her perspective during an appearance on the Rulebreakers podcast hosted by Saraya, addressing her contract not being renewed earlier this year.
Her WWE deal expired in May 2025, and she returned to the independent circuit the following month. The release came after nearly a year on the sidelines recovering from a torn ACL.
When asked if she expected to be let go, Shotzi described mixed emotions. She recognized the business reasoning but also felt personally let down, especially in regard to her perceived support from WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. “Yes and no. I had just came back from an ACL tear. So coming back from a huge injury and not being on TV for like almost a year, I was kind of not surprised. I’m like, ‘Well, we lasted a year without you, so we’ll just let you go now that your contract’s up.’ So, in that aspect, I wasn’t really surprised. But I don’t know. I always thought like Hunter [Triple H] really believed in me, so it was just a little disappointing. I just felt like, ‘dang, they gave up on me.’”
She continued, “It’s just like I was in such a bad space for a few years, you know, just with everything that I was going through. I was coming back from injury so much stronger, and not just physically but mentally too. I was just ready to kill it coming back, and I didn’t even get the opportunity to. So I just felt like they left a lot of meat on the bone. I was coming back on fire and ready to give them me — the real me. And I didn’t even get the chance to show it.”
Asked about a possible WWE return, Shotzi emphasized her current focus on the independent scene, where she aims to build her profile until she becomes “undeniable.” “Not right now. Just because I am having so much fun on the indies, and I think I just need more time to do me and have fun before I go in there,” she said. “Because I want to make so much noise here doing me to where, I would go back there and be undeniable. Like, they couldn’t throw me into catering. They’d have to use me, you know? I want them to be forced to utilize me.”
Shotzi originally signed with WWE in 2019, quickly gaining attention in NXT with her tank-driving persona. She won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with Ember Moon before moving to SmackDown, later returning to NXT where the knee injury occurred. Since her release, she has appeared for GCW, House of Glory, PROGRESS Wrestling, and Maple Leaf Pro.