Melina is back at the forefront on NWA programming, but for a while it looked like she might be done in wrestling.
After being released by WWE in 2011, Melina worked select independent dates for just under a year. It would be a late 2015 set of dates before anyone would see her wrestle again. When speaking with Fightful, she said that she wanted to support the relationship she was in, and that meant taking time off the road.
"What I wanted to do, because I was in a relationship at the time?I felt like I needed to cater to my relationship and I wanted to be a supportive significant other and make sure that that person?s dreams all came true and that it was about them, and it wasn?t about me. I feel like, sometimes you need a person to be the rock and the foundation and the person at home while the another one goes out, and I?m not saying it?s impossible to do that two people set out and start their dreams and they go for it at the same time. But, I feel like since my personality type tends to nurture that I was going to take that role and then go back to school and do psychology, and so that?s what I planned on doing," Melina said.
Melina would return for a Stardom USA tour in 2015, but didn't seem to be taking regular dates for another full year, effectively having her out of action for the better part of four years. To her, connecting with the loyal fanbase that supported her was an integral reason that she ended up wrestling more starting in 2016.
When speaking about it, she even got emotional, citing their dedication and explaining her thought process behind getting back in the ring after the aforementioned relationship didn't work out.
"When it didn?t work out, it was like, ?Well before I settle down and finish school full time, I want to travel the world.? So, I wanted to travel the world and just start seeing as many fans as I can and thank them for my career. Because they show me so much love, like I?m gonna start crying, but the thing is when I got let go, I thought nobody could see who I was as a human being. I love my character and I love how heelish she is. But, it kinda hurt me because it was like I was invisible, because nobody could see the person I was in real life. So, no matter who I came in contact with it seemed like nobody could ever see me. But, after I left people started to see me through social media and they started to show love and I was so grateful for that that I wanted to give back. So, that?s why I started going back into wrestling," said Melina.
You can see Melina weekly, every Tuesday on NWA Powerrr, which streams on Fightful.com.