WWE released quite a few wrestlers from its roster as part of its coronavirus cuts, and NXT wasn’t immune either. A number of stars were let go from the black and gold brand, including Taynara Conti, and now Conti has opened up about her release and the frustration she was dealing with before she was let go from the company. In an interview with Ring The Belle, Conti described her last few months with NXT as frustrating because of the lack of movement or progression, saying she wasn’t feeling useful there and was stuck on the same step (via Pro Wrestling Sheet).
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“I need to feel like I’m useful,” Conti said. “The last couple of months, I was not feeling that anymore. I was trying to have conversations asking for opportunities. And don’t get me wrong. I never asked for a TakeOver match. I never asked for a title shot. I know everything is step-by-step. But I was on the same step for a long time.”
Conti also said that she tried to shake up her gimmick and look several times during her time in NXT, but the team at NXT always told her not to change and promised the opportunity was coming.
“I picked like a hundred different gimmicks. They were like ‘no, keep doing what you’re doing,’” Conti said. “I tried to change my hair, to change my gimmick, to change my gear and they were like ‘no Tay, don’t change, just keep going, the opportunity is coming.”
She also expressed frustration at the fact that other individuals with more experience were being brought into the company and would automatically get pushed past her.
“I asked them ‘what about me?’ and they were like ‘well, there’s people coming with more experience, they have wrestling backgrounds of ten years,’” Conti said. “In my mind, I was like, if you keep signing people who have like ten years of experience and you don’t use me, why do you sign people that don’t come from pro wrestling?”
Despite the frustrations, Conti did not expect to be released. “I was not expecting it at all. I was training, I was doing live events,” Conti said. “When I got the call, not gonna lie โฆ what a bad moment. I was feeling so bad, so bad. I got the call and I was by myself at home and I was just crying.”
She’s also unclear on why she wasn’t released sooner, and at a time when she could’ve found work with another company.
“I’m not able to do anything right now,” Conti said. “I’m getting kind of crazy because I’m at home doing nothing. Why didn’t they give me my release a couple of months before? Because then I would be able to do something.”
As for what’s next, Conti is hopeful about the future, and while some of it will be new for her, she is up for the challenge. “I don’t know much about indies or other companies,” Conti said. “It’s kind of new for me. But I know I can learn, and that’s exciting.”
Where should Conti head to next? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things WWE!