Dani Luna discusses her WWE release.
Luna, like many other NXT UK stars, was let go following the news that NXT UK would be going on hiatus prior to the launch of NXT Europe.
In an interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, Luna was asked whether she was released or asked to relocate. She made it clear that the company nicely let her go.
“No, I was released. I don’t want to set any of those rumors alight. I was released under very nice terms. I wasn’t fired. It was just a case of what they’re doing at the moment doesn’t fit what I’m doing at the moment kind of thing. Obviously I was in good company, so I can’t be too upset. I still have all my friends," Luna said.
As for whether she was blindsided by the move, she noted that she understood the company's mentality with the way it felt the need to make sweeping changes ahead of the new brand's launch.
"I don’t know if blindsided is the word. It’s just I guess, NXT Europe is planning to be such a bigger than NXT UK ever was. So to do that, they have to take these big steps, and I understand that. If, down the line, they’re like, oh, we want Dani Luna in NXT Europe, then great news. But until then, I’m just me," she said.
When Fall brought up the way NXT UK somewhat dropped off and didn't get promoted as much as one would expect for a WWE product, Luna pointed out that the Speaking Out Movement might have been a factor. However, she expressed her belief that the brand featured some excellent wrestling and her wish that more people got to watch it.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if it was necessarily WWE’s fault, or obviously we had the whole Speaking Out Movement over here as well, so I don’t know if that obviously affected it a little bit too. So I don’t know if there was just a period, especially during the pandemic, where wrestling was just kind of a touchy subject, and I feel like sometimes we just got the bad end of that. But I do think, completely unbiased, that we had some of the best pro wrestling in that ring, and it’s a shame that more people didn’t get to see it because I watched some of the best matches I’ve ever seen. But I don’t think so. I think it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time," she said.
Luna was also asked to describe when she found out about NXT UK's hiatus, and she noted that while the roster didn't get a lot of notice, they heard the rumors ahead of the official announcement. She stated that while she was upset, the move made sense from a business perspective.
“It was a pretty quick turnaround, to be honest. But the same you hear all these rumors, we hear them all too, and it’s even more unsettling when you work there, you know. So it just a case of it happened, and we were all understandably upset, but like you said, it didn’t necessarily have the biggest viewership in the world. So from a business perspective, you can’t really be like, ‘Oh that’s unfair.’ If it’s not making them money, I can’t be like, ‘Oh you have to keep me because I want to work in WWE.’ It’s not up to me. It’s a lot bigger than just us all," Luna said.
Shawn Michaels recently discussed the launch of NXT Europe and noted that the new brand has been Triple H's goal for a while. You can check out his comments here.
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