Tag: lana

Former Lana addresses WWE absence and potential return

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Since parting ways with WWE in 2021, Lana, aka CJ Perry, returned to WWE in 2025 under a “Legends” contract. However, she is yet to make her TV return.

While her husband Rusev has been back on television for nearly a year and is set to compete at this year’s WrestleMania 42, fans have not yet seen Lana by his side. While the two appeared together regularly during their time in AEW, such has not been the case in WWE.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Perry was asked about her absence and possible return to Rusev’s side.

“Lana, right now, is exiled in Siberia. She let her country down and is doing work there. CJ, when the time is right, I will appear. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, I’m focusing on writing for Uncrowned. I love new journeys,” she said.

“If I can be in the world of storytelling and entertaining, if it’s on a podcast, stand up, writing a wrestling column, I am very grateful that I can stay in the business or storytelling and hopefully entertain and put a smile on faces,” she continued.

Sharing her “dream” of working again with her husband, Perry added, “That would be a dream, for sure. I love working with my husband. One of my favorite things to do is collaborate with, [and] create with other creatives, and I think my husband is one of the most creative, smart, funny, athletic, iconic wrestlers and creative minds that I know.”

Rusev is currently scheduled to compete for Penta’s WWE Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match at WrestleMania 42.

CJ Perry shares ‘incredible’ WWE advice Brock Lesnar gave her

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

CJ Perry detailed advice she received from Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for one of her promos in 2016. She recalled being particularly impressed by Lesnar’s knowledge of the industry. 

In her Yahoo Sports column, Uncrowned, Perry wrote about a promo from 2016 ahead of Rusev’s match with Lesnar for a WWE live event. Heyman shared his feedback which she followed up by noting Lesnar’s take on the same. 

“Back in 2016 in San Jose, I got to see up close how smart Brock is to this business. It was Brock vs. Rusev on some WWE live events, and my husband and I were just starting out. Before the show, Paul Heyman gave me pointers on part of my promo and then asked Brock what he thought about it.”

“Brock took a second and thought, and then gave me notes on how I could say it. He took what Paul and I had come up with, and spun it in a completely different direction by anticipating the audience’s reaction, and then having a plan to deal with that reaction.”

“We went out there that night and did our promo, and the match with Brock vs. Rusev was incredible. When we came back, Brock pulled me aside and gave me notes on my execution. He told me I was ‘stepping on my on pop by not allowing them to boo longer’ and to ‘wait a bit longer for the crowd to start chanting.’ It was incredible advice I got from Brock, and the whole experience really helped Miro and I grow as performers and on the mic,” Perry wrote. 

“But I was more blown away by how wise Brock was to this business. I guess I bought into what he wants us all to see, which is the viking destroyer character, but backstage there’s few smarter than him in knowing how to pull the most from a beat, or a movement or a moment.”

Perry made her WWE debut in 2013 as Rusev’s manager and competed in her first match at the WrestleMania 32 pre-show. She was released from the company in 2021 and a couple of years later joined AEW until November 2023. 

Last year, Perry signed a Legends deal with WWE. She has not officially retired from in-ring competition and expressed interest on numerous occasions on a potential return.

Former WWE star Lana planning indie return

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Former WWE and AEW personality CJ Perry (Lana) is planning a return to the professional wrestling industry.

On a new episode of TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Perry laid out some of her plans for 2026. She is now part of Inside the Ring as a regular contributor, and Perry is about to start attending stand-up comedy classes ahead of her first comedy show happening this March. Perry also stated that she will be returning to the indies as a manager.

“I will be returning back to professional wrestling and I’m going to be hitting the indie scene,” she announced. “Definitely on the mic and managing, 100 percent. And that’s also why I’m enrolling in stand-up, because I want to be so good on the mic. I want to be so sharp. I want to be so iconic. Paul Heyman is my favorite manager of all time. I’m always studying him and watching him. And yeah, I’m going to go on this journey. So I’m going to start going to wrestling events, and I’m going to start searching for the next super athlete.”

Perry said it’s to be determined whether she will be appearing as herself or going back to her Lana persona. She is also not closing the door on competing in the ring.

“My goal is not to start wrestling, but if someone has an issue with me and I need to resolve some conflict in the ring, you better believe I’m going to be ready,” she hyped.

When her husband Rusev returned to WWE in 2025, Perry signed a Legends contract with the company. She’s said the Legends deal could potentially lead to her getting involved in WWE storylines when the time is right.

Perry hosts her own podcast called Identity Crisis along with appearing on Inside the Ring. Her husband Rusev is opening up his own wrestling school in their home city of Nashville in March.

Lana: TKO has ‘really strict rules and regulations’ for WWE tickets

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Under the TKO Group umbrella, complimentary WWE tickets are no longer as freely available to talent and former wrestlers as they once were.

Lana — who is under a Legends contract with WWE — appeared on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast and noted that she bought her own ticket to Survivor Series: WarGames this past weekend. She has no problem doing so and — along with going to Survivor Series to support her friend Liv Morgan — has needed to purchase a ticket every time she’s gone to watch her husband Rusev perform since his WWE return.

“It’s a little weird situation. I think that’s all TKO,” Lana said about the ticketing process. “You know, when TKO came on, a lot of these changes, like, you have to buy tickets. Everyone has to buy tickets. Yeah, like everyone. Liv had to get all the tickets for her whole family and everything. My husband had to buy — it was like, to bring his whole family in at WrestleMania when he debuted and me, it was $5,000, like, had to buy for the suite.

“And it’s all TKO. This isn’t [Triple H], this isn’t Bruce [Prichard], this isn’t — I mean, John Cohn, you’re the best, I love you so much. And so, like, John Cohn is always trying to give us a deal, you know? He’s talent relations, he was a ref for a long time, he’s literally the best. So there’s all these really strict rules and regulations.”

Lana said she loves going to wrestling shows and has so much fun at them. She admits that the TKO process is a “little crazy,” but she has no problem showing support for her friends or the product itself.

“I don’t have a problem paying for tickets, because I believe in these people. I believe in Liv Morgan. Of course I’m going to buy a ticket for her return,” Lana said. “I love her. I love wrestling in general. Of course we’re going to go see Miro, you know? He’s had to buy tickets numerous amounts of time. Every time I’ve gone to see Rusev, he’s bought the ticket. So those are the new TKO [rules].”

Former WWE talent Scarlett Bordeaux also noted last month that it became more difficult to get comp tickets during the TKO era. Bordeaux said TKO’s increased ticket prices were a point of discussion in the WWE locker room as well.

Lana: Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio could be ‘literally the main event’ of WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Lana believes Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio have the potential to be the top act in all of WWE.

On a new edition of TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Lana discussed attending WWE Survivor Series: WarGames and being in attendance for her friend Liv Morgan’s return. Lana said that, while some fans weren’t happy about Morgan and Dominik still being paired together, she thinks there is more story to be told before a breakup.

“I think this pairing is the greatest pairing. I think that if played right, if done right, they could be literally the main event for the company,” Lana said. “They’re there every week. Roman Reigns is not there every week. Brock Lesnar is not there every week. And I think there’s nothing greater than women and men together in storylines. I think that’s always higher engagement, higher talked about, because you’re getting the best of both worlds, right? We all love the women. We all love the men, you know? And, like, why not have them both?

“And so that’s where it’s like — Liv Morgan’s character is wild. And Dom’s character is really cool. And so I think like that opposite, just from a story world, also pulls them in interesting directions and creates interesting dynamic relationships.”

Pointing to examples like AJ Lee, Alexa Bliss, and herself, Lana said she thinks women’s performers can become more over when they’re incorporated into the male storylines. As evidenced by Dominik, the same can also be true by men being part of women’s storylines.

“Dom gets more over being with the women,” Lana said. “Obviously, he’s Rey Mysterio’s son, a ton of legacy in there that you can’t just create. But he also really got over in the Rhea story — and then Rhea really got over in the Liv story. Also, Rhea got really over being paired with Dom. So, I think we should do more of this stuff and they can be both in the divisions. And then we’re talking about the most epic breakup.”

In her return, Morgan helped Dominik regain the Intercontinental title from John Cena. She had been away for several months due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Lana is under a WWE Legends contract and is “always ready” for a TV return if given the chance.

Lana ‘shocked’ to be considered WWE Legend, always ready for TV return

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Lana was “shocked” when she got the call from WWE offering her a Legends contract.

The deal was signed by Lana (CJ Perry) around the time her husband Rusev returned to WWE in April 2025. After recently announcing the news publicly on her Identity Crisis podcast, Lana received some backlash on social media over being considered a WWE Legend. She addressed that on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, saying she understands there’s a big gap on the legends scale between her and someone like Randy Savage. Still, Lana is thankful to be considered part of WWE history.

“Oh my gosh. I’m like, I’m still processing it,” she said about the Legends contract. “It’s funny because I would say it’s been kind of controversial. One of the biggest things that I had on my podcast last week was announcing that I’m a WWE Legend. And you thought I stole their Christmas presents or something, you know? People were so mad. People were like, ‘It’s a stretch’ and they’re fighting, and then other fans are coming in and defending me. So I just want to acknowledge, I understand. I was that shocked too. I absolutely understand that there’s a huge difference between the character Lana and Randy Savage on the legend scale. I get it. But this is what WWE calls their contracts, post being a full WWE Superstar.

“They called my agent. My agent called me. I was crying. I was shocked. They gave Miro a contract and they gave me the WWE Legend contract at the same time. I’m so thankful. I’m so, so, so thankful.”

Along with the merchandising opportunities the Legends contract offers, Lana said the deal could potentially allow her to be reintroduced back into WWE storylines in the future. She would love for that to happen whenever the time is right.

“Of course, you know, I would love to. And I just think it’s all about timing and story,” Lana told Van Vliet about a possible return. “But I’m always ready. I’m always ready.”

Lana was released by WWE in 2021 and later had a stint in AEW with Rusev. She has not wrestled any matches since her first WWE run.

CJ Perry provides update on in-ring career and retirement status

Posted on by Ian Carey

The former Lana in WWE, CJ Perry, says she’d love to get back in the ring but also doesn’t feel that’s where she adds the most value.

Perry spoke with TMZ in an interview published Monday and dispelled a rumor that she recently announced her retirement. She explained the rumor stemmed from comments she made on Sonya Deville’s podcast that were misinterpreted.

“I think when I said I was retired I was being very sarcastic,” Perry explained.

“I would love to wrestle again, but I do believe that my money pocket and what I add the most value to wrestling companies is talking and promoting their talent. At the end of the day, we’re in the business of promotion.”

“We’re in the business of selling tickets and promoting. That’s why Logan and Jake (Paul) are so good at what they do is because they know how to tell stories and they know how to promote and they know how to make it really entertaining,” she continued. “I believe I do well at those things. And Lana knows she can help Rusev.”

Asked if she misses performing, Perry said:

“Are you kidding me? I miss it so much. I feel like a drug addict a little bit. It’s like that’s the high. There’s no high and no adrenaline rush like that in the world.“

Perry was announced as having signed a WWE Legends contract in April 2025 at the same time her husband Rusev returned to the company as an in-ring performer. Her last match took place on May 31, 2021, inside the ThunderDome setup in Tampa’s Yuengling Center. She teamed with Naomi in a loss to Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose on WWE Raw that night. Naomi and Lana had just wrestled in the Women’s Tag Team Turmoil match the previous month at WrestleMania 37.

Perry was released by WWE in November 2021. She briefly appeared alongside her husband Rusev in AEW in an storyline involving Andrade in late 2023.

Her full interview with TMZ is available below:

CJ Perry launching podcast, announces first guest

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

CJ Perry is jumping into the podcast game.

Revealed on a new Instagram account, the show is called Identity Crisis and will be co-hosted by she and film producer Jonathan Saba, described as “two professional fakers who’ve made a living playing the part!”

Saba is listed as both the co-president and executive producer at Saban Films with previous roles at Anchor Bay Film, Image Entertainment, and Rilean Pictures which he co-founded.

The first episode launches on Monday, November 3 with a familiar first guest: current WWE wrestler and Perry’s husband Rusev. A short clip can be found below.

Since leaving the business after a short run with AEW, Perry has transitioned into acting with roles in two 2025 movies: Guns Up and The Stranger In My Home. Earlier this year, it was announced the former Lana in WWE is co-writing the novel Bulletproof Angel with author & screenwriter Blake Northcott as part of a new book-to-film initiative.

CJ Perry to release spy novel as part of book-to-film collaboration with Paradigm

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Lana is writing a book.

Deadline reported on Monday that the former WWE and AEW star will team up with author and screenwriter Blake Northcott on a fiction novel titled ‘Bulletproof Angel.’ The collaboration will be part of Paradigm’s new book-to-film initiative with The Sports Group that sees athletes team with bestselling authors.

The sypnosis from Deadline reads: “Bulletproof Angel is a high-octane international spy thriller that centers on a brilliant young CIA agent and her estranged mother, a retired operative with a haunted past. They are forced to work together behind enemy lines to stop an AI-powered weapon system capable of triggering global catastrophe.”

“I’ve always been drawn to stories of espionage, betrayal, and resilience, and building a world around two powerful female operatives was a dream,” Perry told Deadline. “Blake is an incredible partner, and Bulletproof Angel is just the beginning.”

Northcutt told Deadline: “CJ has a sharp creative instinct and a cinematic sense of story. She’s a true storyteller. This book is a fast-paced, emotional ride with explosive action and a core that’s all heart.”

Rusev and Lana both re-signed with WWE earlier this year, with Rusev making his return on the Raw following WrestleMania 41. Lana has remained off television, signing a Legends deal.

Former WWE & AEW stars Miro and CJ Perry reconcile, renew wedding vows

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Former WWE and AEW wrestlers Miro and CJ Perry have reconciled and renewed their wedding vows.

TMZ reports that the couple have reconciled following their 2023 separation, and renewed their wedding vows in a Los Angeles ceremony “a few weeks ago.”

Exactly one year ago today, TMZ reported that the couple, married since 2016, had separated. The report emphasized that neither had accused the other of cheating, and that the pair had simply grown apart over the years.

In Tuesday’s reconciliation report, the outlet notes that the couple began speaking again last June, with things progressing over the ensuing months as “they slowly continued to rekindle their relationship.” TMZ also reports that the couple never officially divorced.

As Rusev and Lana, Miro and Perry were paired together on and off throughout their WWE stint from 2014 to 2020. Miro was released by WWE during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Perry remained with the company until she was released in June 2021.

Miro debuted for AEW in September 2020, and worked infrequently for the company until being granted his release earlier this year. His last match for the promotion took place at Worlds End in December 2023. He wrestled his first match post-AEW at an indie event in Qatar last month, losing to Alberto El Patron.

Perry briefly joined AEW for an on-screen stint between October and December 2023, but announced she was no longer with the promotion last year.

Tony Khan: CJ Perry hasn’t signed long-term deal with AEW

Posted on by Joseph Currier

At All Out, CJ Perry (former WWE wrestler Lana) made her surprise AEW debut.

Perry appeared after her husband Miro defeated Powerhouse Hobbs on Sunday night. When Hobbs attacked Miro after the match, Perry made her entrance and struck Hobbs with a steel chair. Perry and Hobbs then went face-to-face. As that happened, Miro picked up the chair and laid out Hobbs with it.

Miro looked confused about his wife being there and left the ring without her. As Miro left, he yelled that Perry wasn’t real.

Tony Khan addressed Perry’s contract status during the post-show press conference on Sunday night. Khan said it’s not a “long-term guaranteed thing,” but it was great having Perry at All Out:

I think it’s great to have CJ here. It’s not a long-term guaranteed thing or anything, but at least for tonight, it was great to have her appearing with us. And I thought it was a great surprise, it was a great show. Miro and Hobbs was a match I really believed would be great for All Out, and it’s important to have great matches on both shows [All In and All Out].

On social media, AEW uploaded a backstage interview with Perry following her appearance. Perry said she was just there to help Miro and didn’t know what was going on between them.

Perry also wrote: “I’m not the kind of woman you renounce @ToBeMiro #AllOut  @AEW”

Perry was released by WWE in June 2021. She hasn’t wrestled since then.

Lana/CJ Perry makes AEW debut at All Out

Posted on by Ethan Renner

CJ Perry, formerly known as Lana in WWE, made her AEW debut at Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view. 

Perry’s debut came in a post-match angle following her husband Miro’s match against Powerhouse Hobbs. After Miro defeated Hobbs, the two shook hands, then Hobbs used a blindside attack on Miro. 

Perry then entered with “Hot & Flexible” on the video wall behind her and made her way to the ring. Perry hit Hobbs with a chair, which Hobbs did not sell. Hobbs confronted Perry, then Miro hit Hobbs with the chair and Hobbs left the ring. 

Perry was never referred to by name on the pay-per-view broadcast by the commentators.

Miro and Perry stared at one another, then Miro walked off muttering “you’re not real”, leaving Perry standing in the ring.

Lexy Nair conducted a follow-up interview with Perry for AEW’s social media channels where she asked about the interaction with Miro. 

Perry then posted on social media: 

Perry was with WWE from 2013 to 2021 under the Lana name, primarily as a manager for Miro (then Rusev) in NXT and on the WWE main roster. 

Following Rusev’s WWE release in April 2020, Lana was often a challenger in the company’s women’s tag team division with various partners until her June 2021 release from the company.

Wrestling Observer Radio: John Cena, WrestleMania, Miro

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Topics include:

  • John Cena and his availability for WrestleMania
  • Miro and Lana
  • Ric Flair documentary comes out on Monday
  • Tony Khan and Honor Club
  • NFL Sunday Ticket
  • More Netflix docuserieses
  • AEW Dynamite rating
  • Sasha Banks rumors
  • UFC PPV prices

The video version of this show is available for video subscribers at video.f4wonline.com.

Click Here To Listen

Miro rejected AEW creative plans for match at Full Gear

Posted on by Ian Carey

AEW’s Miro hasn’t wrestled since All Out 2022 and his spouse, CJ Perry, recently implied the couple could wind up back in WWE someday. 

Our own Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Miro was presented with and rejected creative plans that would have built to a match at Full Gear.

“In September, they came to him, Tony Khan came to Miro and he had this idea which would build to a match on the November 19 pay-per-view and [Miro] didn’t want to do it,” Meltzer said.

Meltzer continued to talk about former WWE wrestlers in AEW who are hesitant to do jobs. 

“It’s weird, a lot of people who come from WWE are very leery, obviously, Bryan Danielson being the exception, about doing jobs,” Meltzer continued. “Then it becomes very difficult to book when you don’t really want to do programs where you are going to lose.”

CJ Perry recently commented on Miro’s absence from AEW programming as well. She noted during an interview with Mike Wennmacher from 92.7 WMAY that “everyone always returns back to WWE.” 

“Rusev Day will never die. It’s always going to be around, the kids are going to want to sing it and I’m sure it will make a return in WWE at some point. Rusev — well, whatever he shows [up] back in; whatever frickin name or gimmick or character he returns [as] at some point, in WWE is going to be iconic. You know, he, that’s the great thing about wrestling is it doesn’t matter what company you work for, what promotion, anything can happen. Let’s be honest, we know that everyone always returns back to WWE at some point,” Perry said (Transcriptions courtesy of Fightful).

Meltzer would continue to say now that Full Gear is over, the plan was to go back to Miro with more ideas but it is not clear if Perry’s comments will hinder that from happening. 

Meltzer said: 

“Now November’s over and now we’re in the new cycle and they were going to bring him back and try to come up with ideas for him and they very well may. Then his wife comes in and says, ‘well you know, Rusev Day is going to come back, and everybody goes back to WWE.'”

“When people go like, ‘he’s not using this guy,’ it’s like, there’s reasons. If you’re going to play ball, that’s fine, and if you really don’t want to, if you’re just biding your time to go somewhere else then it should be different. That’s the basic situation.”

“If you are in AEW and you want to be gone, I think the one thing you should do is don’t go public and say it, or don’t have your family members go public and say it because then if I’m the promoter, I’ve got other guys I can push. So, I would say keep quiet if that’s your goal because saying it will probably just hurt the amount of TV time you get and rightfully so.” 

CJ Perry/Lana addresses Miro’s AEW absence: ‘Tony Khan has his favorites’

Posted on by Ian Carey

CJ Perry (FKA Lana) has opened up about Miro’s run in AEW. 

During an appearance on Busted Open Radio on Tuesday, Perry was asked how her husband is enjoying his time in AEW.

“I mean, he wants to be champion so he’s not going to be happy until he’s champion,” she responded. “I’m just going to leave it at that.” 

Perry was then asked why she thinks AEW does not use Miro regularly on its programming. 

“I have a lot of opinions about this. Tony Khan has a vision. At the end of the day, if it’s 100% real, I think there’s this illusion at AEW that the talent book the show. That was definitely the conversation, ‘Oh you go there, you’re going to basically become whatever you’re made of’ but at the end of the day, he’s booking the show.”

“It’s really no different than WWE, it’s just a different director and a different person’s point of view. It’s like comparing NBC to HBO but at the end of the day, you still have the exec who is going to make that final call and that’s what it is. Tony Khan has his favorites and he’s going to push the favorites just like Vince [McMahon] would push his favorites, just like Hunter is going to push his people. It’s show business, it’s nothing personal, it just is what it is.”

“I think my husband is incredible. I feel Vince really valued him in that way and saw that. They hit heads a lot of times towards the end on creative differences. Vince really wanted him as a villain and Miro wanted to explore this new world.”