Former WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler has addressed her departure from the company for the first time, revealing that she was released in July despite having recently signed a contract extension.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former NXT Women’s Champion clarified that her exit was a release, not a contract expiration, and that she still had significant time left on her deal.
She said, “I was released. I had, not too long ago, signed an extension. I wish it would have ran out, but I was released.” Baszler noted she had “like three more years” remaining on her contract.
While being let go mid-contract was still a blow, Baszler admitted it didn’t come as a complete surprise.
She pointed to WWE’s handling of her faction, the Pure Fusion Collective with Sonya Deville and Zoey Stark, as a clear warning sign.
Deville’s contract was not renewed in February, and the group disappeared from television shortly afterward. “From that time, Zoey and I just weren’t on TV. You kind of get this feeling… we were trying to pitch stories and ideas and doing our own stuff on social media and that sort of thing. Nothing was hitting with creative,” Baszler said. “It’s a bummer in that moment, but I kind of knew where we were at.”
Baszler’s release brought an end to her eight-year run with WWE, where she was a dominant two-time NXT Women’s Champion and a three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.
The full interview with Shayna Baszler is available now below.
