CJ Perry Reflects on the Shock of Her WWE Release, on How It Triggered Her

Former WWE Superstar CJ Perry, aka Lana, joined Insight With Chris Van Vliet to discuss her WWE release in 2021 and more. Below are some highlights:

CJ Perry on Being Very Unhappy for a Long Time After Her WWE Release

“I was really unhappy for a long time, and I think I first got triggered when I got released in 2021 from WWE. It was like my whole life. It was my dream, and I loved it. All my friends are there. You spend 300 days of the year with these women and men, and then you can’t even come backstage again. I struggle with being very ADHD and severely anxious, and it just triggered me into this manic time of my life that I didn’t understand that was an issue for me. So, actually, it was Kendall Jenner on Jay Shetty’s purpose podcast that she was talking about anxiety in 2021, and I was like, wow, that’s me. I didn’t realize how much my relationships were suffering from anxiety, and my marriage was suffering from me being severely ADHD and severely anxious.

“I think divorce rate is 50% more in ADHD people, depression and anxiety is 50% more in ADHD people, and suicide is 50% more in ADHD people, because nothing’s good enough, and you get bored and you want to move on. And so WWE was the perfect storm for me, because I was go, go, go, new city. Stimulation, stimulation, dopamine hit when you go and perform. Then, when I didn’t have all that, and I had to make myself happy, I was turning to all the wrong things. I was even turning to Miro too much to make me happy, and also he was turning to me to make him happy. In reality, the only person that can make us happy is ourselves, and I had to do some severe changes. In 2023, I got MRSA, remember, with my finger. It was so bad. I think a lot of it was because I was so stressed and so anxious, and it shows you that your body, stress can kill us. And so we really have to take care of our mental health and our emotional health first, because that will affect our physical health.”

On How She Was Shocked by Her Release

“I was shocked. I was on television and in big, big storylines the whole time. Had a great relationship with Bruce and Vince, everyone. I was devastated. But now looking back, I’m thankful, because that’s life, and sometimes our hardest moments is our moments that teach us. Now looking back, I realize, not in a mean way, but nothing’s guaranteed in life. We can’t compare ourselves to other people, because we all have a different journey. And also, we don’t live forever, so everything has to come to an end, so let’s focus on all the great things I was able to have, versus it may be finishing too soon.”

Perry’s husband, Rusev, returned to WWE earlier this year after a stint in AEW. She also signed a Legends deal this year.