Throughout her time in WWE, Lana has played many roles on television. Whether she's had a Russian accent, has been a love interest, a dancer, gone through a table weekly, or, more recently, found success in a tag team with Naomi; Lana has consistently delivered in the job she's been tasked with.
Appearing on the Truly Anything podcast, Lana credited her time as an actor for preparing her for life on WWE television.
"I was hired because I was an actor and a professional dancer and I spoke Russian. What moved me up a lot quicker than most, from NXT to the main roster, really was being an actor. I played this Russian character with an accent. She was a villain and didn't smile. You go to developmental to learn either how to wrestle or act. Some people come in as actors and need to learn how to wrestle. Some people already know how to wrestle but maybe need to work on their acting. Acting helped me so much. Obviously, everything is pre-determined and we don't dictate who loses or write our promos. Sometimes we have some say, but sometimes Vince McMahon has an idea and you have to do what he wants. It's always been a lot easier for me to understand that these losses are pre-determined. 'Oh, you need me to go out there and have everyone laugh at me?' It's not personal, it's a story and I'm a character. I'm not going to argue with Steven Spielberg like, 'Why are you killing me in the movie? Why are people laughing at me? Why do you want me to lose?' I find it funny when I work with people who get upset about these things that everyone knows it's pre-determined. Acting helps, coming from that world," she said.
Lana is currently owed a WWE Women's Tag Team Title match alongside her partner Naomi against the current champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax. The duo won a number one contenders bout on the February 1 episode of WWE Raw.
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