CJ Perry is officially back in the world of professional wrestling.
During the most recent episode of TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Perry announced that she would be returning to the world of wrestling. The star, who has been away from any promotion since 2023, said that she’d be on the independent scene soon, and is hoping to manage.
“I’m making an announcement that I will be returning back to professional wrestling and I’m going to be hitting the indie scene,” Perry said. “Definitely on the mic and managing, 100%. 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. Yeah, I’m going on this journey. I’m gonna start going to wrestling events, and I’m going to start searching for the next super athlete.”
Perry won’t rule out an in-ring return either
Currently, her first focus will be managing and mic work. However, Perry didn’t rule out the chance that she’d be inside the ring again at some point, either.
“The bottom line when you get into any professional wrestling in any shape and form, you got to be ready to resolve conflict in the ring,” said Perry. “So when you go, ‘Will you be wrestling?’, 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.”
Perry, best known as Lana during her time with WWE, is also married to Rusev and formerly appeared alongside him. In 2023, she made her last appearance in AEW, alongside Rusev (then Miro), who defeated Andrade in a match. In April 2025, Perry signed a Legends contract with WWE and also returned to WWE RAW briefly, then, too.
READ MORE: CJ Perry Reveals Why Rusev Was Frustrated With End Of AEW Run
If you use any of these quotes, please credit TMZ with a link to this article for the transcription.
