Kayla Braxton Believes WWE Exit Was the Right Call

Kayla Braxton, who joined WWE in 2016, ended her time with the company after the June 28th episode of Friday Night SmackDown. She now feels that leaving WWE was the right decision for her.

Following the June 28th episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Cody Rhodes gave an emotional farewell to Kayla Braxton, marking the end of her impressive eight-year career with WWE and since then she has been keeping herself busy with numerous projects.

Following her departure from WWE, Kayla Braxton has been actively discussing her future in media through several interviews. Not long after leaving, she made headlines by revealing that she had just finished production on “Stranglehold,” a new comedy thriller.

While speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Kayla Braxton shared her feelings about life after WWE. She expressed that she feels great and has no regrets about leaving the company. Despite experiencing a bit of FOMO when she sees WWE shows and friends posting about their matches, Braxton believes she made the right choice to step away. She felt that she had reached a point where she could no longer contribute significantly and that it was time for someone else to take her place. Braxton emphasized that her departure was a positive decision and not due to any negative experiences.

“I feel really good. I think anytime you’re somewhere for so long and it becomes such a big part of your life, I think it was difficult for me to know how I was going to feel when I stepped away. I’ve had a little bit of FOMO when I see the show is on, or see my friends posting about their matches and stuff backstage, but I feel really good. I think I made the right decision. It was definitely time for me to go. There was nothing negative about my reason for leaving. It was just done everything I can do there, I’ve hit the ceiling at this time. At that point, I was just kind of wasting my time, and I think everybody else’s time. Someone else could be moving into my spot, and then I could be moving on to the next part of my life. So I’m really at peace with it.”

Braxton also explained that her decision to leave WWE had been on her mind for a while. After stepping down from The Bump and moving to Los Angeles, she felt it was clear that she needed to find the next phase of her career. WWE supported her transition, even setting up a studio in her apartment for her to continue working on The Bump until she decided it was time for Megan Morant to take over full-time.

Braxton noted that with the constraints of a two-hour SmackDown show and her reduced involvement in backstage interviews and kick-off show panels, it was becoming apparent that her role was diminishing. She felt it was the right time to move on, and she appreciated the support and open door from WWE as she embarked on her new journey.

“I think it’s something I’ve been kind of contemplating for a while. I think once I stepped down from The Bump, I moved to Los Angeles, it was very clear I was kind of trying to find what my next phase of life was going to be career-wise. I think the company kind of acknowledged that as well, and they were very supportive. When I moved out to LA they put a studio in my apartment. They wanted me to continue doing The Bump until I was like, ‘Okay, I think it’s time that Megan Morant takes over this role full-time, and you have your studio crew in Stamford.’ Then I feel like on SmackDown, it’s hard, it’s a two-hour show, so there’s not a lot of room for backstage interviews on SmackDown. You gotta get the stories in there.

So I wasn’t doing much backstage at SmackDown, and then I wasn’t really doing the kick-off show panels anymore. So I was just kind of seeing the writing on the wall a little bit and just thought, you know, I feel good at where my life is outside of WWE. So I just thought it was [time], and while everybody was getting long, everything was amicable. The company was very supportive of me stepping down too, the door is always open. It was very nice to hear. But yeah, everything was just the perfect timing to do that.”

We have also reported that WWE has left the door open for Braxton to return to the company one day. Only time will tell when fan will see her in a non-wrestling role, as they are excited for her future.

What kind of role do you believe Kayla Braxton will excel at now that she is no longer in WWE? Do you feel a wrestling return might still be possible? Sound off in the comments section below!