Killer Kelly left WWE. Nobody knew about it for quite a while after.
Kelly started popping up in adverts for companies not associated with WWE, a big no-no if you're under WWE contract. It led to speculation as to Kelly's status with the company. As it turns out, this is what Kelly herself had mapped out, even though she enjoyed her time learning in NXT UK.
"It was something that I really didn’t want to talk about. I didn’t want to emphasize. There were a lot of people that left NXT UK, and that made a big fuss out of it. I don’t like to go to every corner and shout, ‘Hey, guys! I’m out!’ I strategically started, like, ‘Okay, what’s my plan?’ I want to do more wrestling. ‘Cause I didn’t do much on NXT UK. I loved, love, loved the PC, training with people, meeting new people and especially William Regal, like learning from the best. So, once I left, I was like, ‘Okay, I need to reorganize my career. I want to wrestle all over. I want to continue wrestling for WXW.’ ‘Cause I love WXW, it’s my home promotion. Without WXW I wouldn’t be here. So, I quietly and slowly started picking out places and like, ‘What should I do? What should be my big announcement and my big coming out?’ Then there was WrestleMania week. I was like, ‘I’ve never been to one of these things.’ The closest that I’ve been was to SummerSlam in Canada where I was allowed to wrestle because it was Canada and not the United States. But, I had a knee injury, so I couldn’t wrestle," Kelly recalled.
As the weeks went by, the speculation fueled. Personally, I tried to find out Kelly's status, but gained no insight, and that's the way she drew it up.
"That’s the way I want it. I didn’t want to make a big fuss out of it. I just wanted people to be like, ‘Oh. So, that means… No, it couldn’t. Does it?’ I wanted to keep people wondering. SMART!"
Kelly healed up after Summerslam weekend, and left WWE. She was announced for Josh Barnett's Bloodsport during WrestleMania weekend, a sure-fire sign that she had departed NXT UK. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic put a hold on that.
"I was so mad. So, so mad . I watched all the shows, but I was so mad. This was my big opportunity. I was like, ‘I need to see what shows are on and what I want to be associated with.’ Then I saw BloodSport, I was like, ‘That! That’s the thing that I want to do.’ The other shows that I had came after that. But, BloodSport was my number one. If I only had BloodSport that week, I would be thrilled. But, then, a lot of places, a lot of big surprises as well, and then COVID hit and my career was like, ‘There’s no big coming out.’"
Kelly had just walked away from WWE and guaranteed paycheck and walked in to the most uncertain time independent wrestlers have ever experienced.
"I was mad, sad, regretted everything. ‘Cause once I left, I was like, ‘Oh! So, many opportunities. So much can happen.’ Then that big punch to the nose that was COVID. It left me broken because I was so happy and so many plans and nothing came into fruition," Kelly said.
Kelly's future lies in the balance during a very odd time. She admitted that she's been in talks with wrestling companies, but her residential status outside of the United States has created another hurdle. The Pandemic? Another hurdle.
"Right now it’s very, very difficult. I have been talking to some people, but the main issue is the VISAs. Because right now, with COVID, everything is super slowed down. Everything. Even getting married, that I’ve been looking into it, it takes a while. A long, long while. Because there’s like embassies that are closed or minimal hours and just getting paperwork through is just super, super hard. With the people that I’m talking to, we’re working on solutions and I cannot say to whom I’m talking. It’s difficult but, I’m trying really hard to make something happen. It’s so difficult. Literally my plan was, ‘Okay, I’m going to have a run in the US. I’m going to have a good showing at the Collective, which I had, I’m very, very proud.’ Now, I want everyone to come talk to me, but they’re afraid because I am from Portugal and they cannot legally have me. I’m like, ‘Oh, goddamnit, I really want to do something. Please!’"
Kelly is at this week's IMPACT Wrestling tapings.
You can see our full interview with Killer Kelly at the top of the page, and you can follow her on Twitter at this link. She also streams on Twitch, which you can watch at this link!
