Former WWE Superstar Lana (CJ Perry) recently spoke with Liam Alexander-Stewart of Inside The Ropes to discuss various topics. She talked about the recent allegations of misconduct about former WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, and their working relationship, noting that while she had a great relationship with McMahon, she believes misconduct should be brought to light. She also talked about learning from Vince and some of the obstacles she faced in WWE.
“Oh, gosh, it’s I feel like such a controversial issue right now and it’s really unfortunate everything, to be honest. I’m a big believer that we should bring things into the light and even though I had amazing relationship with Vince, and he was very kind to me and taught me so many things that I’m going to take with me for the rest of my life, It doesn’t mean that other people didn’t have a very different experience,” she said.
Lana continued and said as a victim of sexual assault and harassment herself, she feels compassion for the women who have alleged misconduct by McMahon, and she wants the situation to be handed properly.
“I… in general, not with people in WWE, but in general, but being a victim of sexual harassment and being a victim of people trying to pull favors from you that I really just don’t ever really talk about, and maybe one day will be more comfortable with talking about at a bigger on a bigger level. But, you know, I have compassion and empathy for those women, and I think it does need to be handled properly, however it is,” she said.
Lana admitted this is a complicated situation in her mind as she had a good working relationship with Vince, and she learned a lot from him.
“With that said, gosh, I mean, I’ve learned a lot of lessons that I take with me in life I kind of learned from him,” she revealed. “You know one of the stories he would always say to me is like, ‘It’s okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from it.’ I think when we really understand that it’s liberating and freeing and because we’re all going to make mistakes in life, you know, and if we allow ourselves to be motivated by fear, like, ‘Oh my God, if we do this, I’m going to fail, I’m going to make a mistake.’ Then really, we’re never going to do anything. My time in WWE was a lot like that. Like my first match, my first match was at WrestleMania in front of 101,000 people, or my first singles match was with Naomi at a pay per view for the title. It was like, you know, that’s really scary.”
Lana continued and elaborated on the fact she knew she was going to fail on a number of occasions in her career, and that she knew she might face backlash from fans as a result. With that said, Lana is confident that she hustled so get where she is today, and she accepts the fact that any failures were just a part of that hustle.
“I had to accept the fact that I was going to fail and I was going to fail in front of all the fans and all the people, and I was going to fail on national television and people are going to be angry that I’m getting that opportunity over a girl who has been wrestling in the indies, in barns and grocery stores, in front of five people for ten years who maybe does deserve for actually probably 1,000% deserves it more than me,” she said. “I understood that. I think coming from Hollywood, where I might have not slept in my car to become a professional wrestler, but I slept in my car that become a professional storyteller and to become a professional entertainer. So my road was different, but my hustle was the same.”
She talked more about working harder after not growing up as a fan of pro wrestling, and getting the chance to live someone’s dream. She added that she’s grateful for Vince and how he taught her not to be as scared to make mistakes as long as you learn from them.
Lana added, “I always had so much compassion and empathy to these people that wanted to be in the WWE and that was their childhood dream. I was kind of living their childhood dream and that’s why I worked my ass off, because I’m like, the least I can do is give respect to this business that I’ve gotten this incredible opportunity that so many other people want, you know? I see that in Hollywood all the time. There’s so many things that I auditioned for since I’ve been 18 years old that I want that I, I know I’m better than the other person but they get booked for it. That’s just life. You know, things are not fair. I’m sure that people look at Sasha Banks who are actors and go, wait, why did she get Mandalorian? Why didn’t I get Mandalorian? You know, but that’s that’s life. That’s show business, it’s not fair and it’s a matter of opinion. But the least I could do is try to work hard to give respect to this business that so many people out there are hustling and struggling to get into to the spot. So I’m thankful that Vince taught me that to not be as scared to make mistakes as long as you learn from it.”
Lana has been away from WWE since being released along with other budget cuts on June 2, 2021. She continues to do modeling, acting and runs her own website at CJPerry.com. Lana will make her first appearance with husband Miro of AEW at Starrcast V in Nashville this weekend.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more. Below is ITR’s full interview with Lana:
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