Lana Released By WWE, Lana Comments; Why It Happened

Lana gone from WWE as part of six major releases, as reported by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp.

Lana was signed by WWE in 2013 and paired with her real-life husband Rusev (Miro in AEW) as his manager. Lana used a Russian accent as Rusev’s manager during her early run, but the accent was slowly dropped over time.

Fightful Select reported the following

Lana’s WWE release was attributed to several factors based on those that we talked to. Higher ups didn’t feel as if she and Naomi had chemistry and the team “wasn’t working,” but Lana was also among the talent that signed a huge new deal in 2019. At the time, WWE thought they would be able to retain Rusev, now Miro, but he wouldn’t sign the contract extension they offered and left the company. At that time, WWE was offering a disproportionate amount of money to keep talent in the company, and Lana signed through 2024. More details on Lana’s time with WWE emerged to Fightful in the days following, and it would be noted that if Lana didn’t have anything going on, it wasn’t for lack of her trying. We’ve heard several stories about how she (and Naomi) would follow up about their creative and constantly try to ensure they were doing something. There were significantly different plans for Lana earlier this year before Charlotte’s return, but we’re told that Vince McMahon personally assured her that wouldn’t be the end of the Lana character and they’d have more for her.

Lana competed in her first match on the main roster in 2017 when she faced Naomi at WWE Money in the Bank. Lana would consistently be used as both a wrestler and a manager during her time on the main roster. She was famously involved in multiple weddings, including a wedding to Bobby Lashley in December 2019, which ended with Liv Morgan revealing that she and Lana had a previous relationship.

More recently, Lana had been involved in the women’s tag team division, first teaming with Asuka for a brief period and then establishing a team with Naomi. Lana teamed with Naomi on Monday’s WWE Raw, losing to Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose.

Though Lana never won gold in WWE, she often earned praise from her peers by constantly wanting to improve in-ring.

She signed a new five-year deal with WWE in November 2019.

Lana posted the following comments after her release was announced:

I will never forget the fans, and the love they showed me. Whether it was a tank, power-suits, flags, CRUSH, Rusev, 900 partners, weddings or tables: I tried to always entertain you, and you definitely elevated me. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/n7W5i5KAMI

— CJ “Lana” Perry (@LanaWWE) June 2, 2021

Lana was among multiple releases made by WWE on Wednesday. You can view the full list by clicking here.